Warden wrestling raises over $10k at golf tournament
A tournament winner from the 2022 Please Hit Straight tournament places his title belt over his shoulder. The same team won the tournament this year at the Sage Hills Golf Club in Warden.
FILE PHOTO
Campers compete against each other at the Warden wrestling summer camp last July. The camp features instruction by four-time state champion Chris Castillo.
WARDEN – After beginning the Please Hit Straight tournament last year, Warden Wrestling returned to the course last weekend and raised more than $10,000 for the Cougar wrestling program.
“It was incredible,” said Alan Martinez, an assistant coach for Warden Wrestling and tournament organizer. “We had 17 teams this year, so nine more teams than last year. Five more sponsors – our goal was to raise $5,000. We thought that would put us in a really good position. We found this out yesterday, we raised over $10,000.”
The unwavering support from the Warden community and beyond was present, as teams from around the Columbia Basin traveled to Sage Hills Golf Club for the tournament on Saturday.
“We’ve never had an event of this magnitude raise this much money for Warden wrestling,” Martinez said. “We’ve had two events, and we’re already making strides like this. We had (teams from) Othello come out, Moses Lake come out; a lot of different areas, surrounding areas come out to show their support as well.”
A team from Royal City won the tournament for the second-straight year, leaving the Please Hit Straight tournament with the winning professional wrestling-style belts. Martinez said the idea to give out belts as a trophy stemmed from the coaching staff’s interest in pro wrestling.
“You obviously want something unique, and it came up organically,” Martinez said. “I think it’s a really cool trophy.”
Taking the lessons from last year’s tournament, which raised $3,000-$4,000 according to Martinez, preparations for the 2023 tournament began earlier and feedback from both players and businesses was listened to.
“We took a lot of advice from the community and listened to what the people in the tournament wanted to do,” Martinez said. “We took their advice, and it really benefitted us.”
The primary function of the tournament was to raise money for Warden’s summer wrestling camp being hosted later this month, which is open to Warden students from grades 5-12. The camp, which features instruction by four-time state champion and former Boise State University wrestler Chris Castillo, gives wrestlers the chance to get to know one another before hitting the mat in the winter.
“Throughout the season, you could see that our team had already bonded,” Martinez said. “They were already like a family atmosphere prior to us getting to that season because we did that camp.”
The camp is hosted from July 21-22 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Warden High School gym, according to the team’s Facebook page.
“The (support) we got from the community this year, it’s almost hard to believe,” Martinez said. “We just can’t thank everybody enough.”
Ian Bivona may be reached at ibivona@columbiabasinherald.com. Download the Columbia Basin Herald app, available for iOS and Android.
