Wrestling: Pacific Coast Championships a success!

    
With dozens of matches happening 10 hours a day over a two-day period, the Pacific Coast Championships, held December 29 and 30, was a wrestling fan’s paradise.

There were the cameras, the lights, the large crowds. Moms were cheering, Dads were jeering, and peers screaming for their favorite sons to win their matches. There were a lot of happy faces, as well as tears and disappointment, but overall, most looked like they had a good time.

Hosted by Evergreen High School and held at Hudson's Bay High School, the Pacific Coast Championships attracted nearly 900 fans.

The event, which brought high school wrestling teams together from all over Washington and Oregon, was a real joy, said Kurt Reynolds, a father from Portland, who came to cheer his son.

"I think we had a great showing out here," Evergreen High School coach Mark Castle said. "… The combination of having it near I-5 and including all the best schools from Washington and Oregon just makes anyone who's into wrestling interested. This place was packed."

The Plainsmen had the best score of the remaining 4A Greater St. Helens League teams in the tournament, and finished in 16th place with 73 points.

Evergreen's Cory Dodge took second place at 171, losing 13-6 to Jefferson's Barry Hood.

Of our local wrestling teams, Camas finished in 18th place with 60.5 points, Mountain View placed 25th with 43 points, Hudson's Bay took 27th with 38 points, Columbia River was 28th with 36 points, and Hockinson High finished 29th with 30 points.

 "Everyone had a lot of fun and got to watch some of the top wrestlers in the Northwest … it was two days of success for all the teams involved," Evergreen assistant coach and tournament coordinator Norm Friehauf said.

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