Cascade Middle School hosted 50 athletes, representing several schools, Tuesday

Paul Valencia
ClarkCountyToday.com

Stella Rickard and her colleagues are part of a new generation of athletes in a growing sport.

“I like that so many girls are trying wrestling, and they love it, and they do so well,” said Rickard,  a seventh-grader at Cascade Middle School.

She took time in her busy schedule to talk about the sport in between her matches at the Greater St. Helens Middle School League girls wrestling tournament.

What makes this tournament stand out is it is for girls only. At the middle school level, girls and boys wrestle on the same teams. There are not enough girls wrestling at each school to have separate teams during the regular season.

But at least once a year, courtesy of Cascade Middle School coach Tyler Wooldridge, there is an event specifically for girls wrestlers.

“I coached high school wrestling for 10 years. In high school, we have separate. We have boys state, and we have girls state. At the middle school level, it’s combined,” Wooldridge said. “To mirror the high school and college experience, we wanted to help grow our sport by hosting a girls-only tournament.”

This is the third year of the tournament at Cascade Middle School, featuring athletes from middle schools from two school districts: Evergreen and Camas. Wooldridge is open to the idea of inviting other school districts, but some districts have different schedules for their wrestling seasons.

“The feedback from the wrestlers and coaches is great,” Wooldridge said. “We just hope to continue growing it. The goal is to have separate teams like they do in high school and college.”

There are plenty of options for young athletes. They can try a lot of different things before heading to high school. Rickard is grateful she gave wrestling a chance.

“I joined because I wanted to try something new,” she said. “It’s just really fun. I’ve had fun the last two years.”

Wrestling is just part of her hectic schedule. She said she also participates in track and field, cross country, dance, volleyball, softball, and basketball.

Of course, wrestling coaches are hoping athletes such as Richard stick with their sport in high school. But even if they don’t, girls wrestlers deserve their own tournament.

“Women’s wrestling is the fastest growing sport in college,” Wooldridge said. “It has helped the longevity of wrestling. We’re hoping to see a domino effect.”

Find athletes who are willing to try wrestling at a younger age, train them, watch them develop, and a whole new world can open with scholarship opportunities and more.

Or, the athletes simply have fun wrestling at a local tournament as a sixth-, seventh-, or eighth-graders.

Wooldridge credited his former athletic director, Ian Lefebvre, who helped Wooldridge in the creation of this tournament. Wooldridge also said he appreciates the support of Allison Harding, the principal at Cascade Middle School. 

“The coaches have reached out, saying the girls had a blast,” Wooldridge said. “They’re looking forward to next year. Coaches appreciate it because we had never done it before three years ago. It’s just a great opportunity. The kids like it, so we want to continue doing it.”