Royal to host SCAC girls league tourney Wednesday

ROYAL CITY — As girls wrestling continues to grow across the state, teams in the South Central Athletic Conference will travel to a new tournament Wednesday. 

Royal will host the inaugural Girls SCAC League Championship Tournament on Wednesday at 4 p.m. 

“We finally have enough teams in the league where we can have a (league) tournament,” Royal head coach Jesus Villa said. “I think it’s really good; it speaks on how girls wrestling is growing really, really fast. Even last year, there weren’t enough girls to host a league tournament.” 

The growth of the sport stretches beyond the local level. In the 2022-23 season, the WIAA expanded the Mat Classic from an all-girls division to a 3A/4A division and a 2A/1A/B division. With increased interest in the sport, local teams are seeing more girls turn out. 

“They’re not scared of a challenge, and they’re willing to do something that’s (been) considered to be, for a long time, a boys-only sport,” Villa said. “It goes to show that girls are tough too, and they like the challenge. I think it’s fun.” 

Wednesday’s tournament will be the third event at home for the Knights this season, following their home tournament back in December and a home dual against Warden last week. 

“When they heard we were going to be hosting this league championship, they were super excited because we get to do the dance one more time in front of their crowd, right before we go into the postseason,” Villa said. “Everybody’s super excited.” 

Joining the Knights will be Cashmere, College Place, Connell, Kiona-Benton, Naches Valley, Wahluke, Wapato and Zillah. Each team will also be at next Saturday’s Sub-District tournament in Warden, joined by teams in the Eastern Washington Athletic Conference. On Feb. 14, the remaining teams travel to Granger for the district tournament ahead of the Mat Classic.  

With the postseason looming, when wrestlers will see familiar competition in the coming weeks, Villa said it’s important to take it one bout at a time. 

“We try to just focus on our technique and our conditioning,” Villa said. “We’ve just got to take it one match at a time and try to be as perfect as we can for that match and for that moment.” 

Royal is coming off a sixth-place finish at the Othello Lady Huskie Invite last weekend, a nearly 60-team tournament where junior Sharon Arroyo, sophomore Isabelle Barajas, senior Lauren Jenks and junior Analy Castillo all reached the podium. Arroyo, Jenks and Castillo are all returning state veterans.  

It’s the most recent high finish at a tournament for the Knights this winter, who have also finished in the top 10 at the Davis Girls Invite, their home Royal Girls Wrestling Tournament, the Kennewick Lioness Invitational and the Eastmont Ladycat Kickoff Classic.  

“I couldn’t ask for anything more of the girls; they work really hard,” Villa said. “The upperclassmen told them, ‘You’ve started something, and they’ve kind of got a legacy in girls wrestling.’ It’s been really fun to see them come together as a team, and we’ve scored really high in some of these big tournaments. They’ve been doing really well.” 

Wrestling begins Wednesday at 4 p.m. in Royal City. The winner of the tournament will be crowned as league champions, with the top three wrestlers in each weight class receiving a medal. 

“It’s not going to give you any seeding going into our district or sub-regional tournament,” Villa said. “It’s just for our league.” 

    Royal junior Sharon Arroyo, top, works to flip her opponent at the 2024 Mat Classic in Tacoma.