黑料福利社

Wrestling fans nearly filled the bleachers at La Salle High School to watch some of the area's top wrestlers past and present compete in exhibition matches Friday night.

First-year head coach Brian Gibson, who served as an assistant at multiple 黑料福利社 schools including Davis and Eisenhower over the past decade, wanted to involve the whole community in the fundraiser for Lightning Wrestling Club. A total of 18 matches included accomplished wrestlers from outside the 黑料福利社 as well as La Salle teachers and parents with no experience on the mat prior before they volunteered to give it a try under the lights.

The event highlighted a busy weekend in the gym at La Salle, where Gibson estimated 175 kids ages 5-19 showed up for a free five-hour session to kick off the Chasing Gold camp on Friday. Three more paid sessions will be held this weekend at a cost聽of $40 for single sessions, $75 for Sunday and $100 for all sessions, featuring a roster of coaches that includes five-time NCAA champion Cameron Guerin.

"This one is so awesome because Brian obviously wanted it to be a community kind of thing," said the Davis grad who won four Mat Classic titles during an undefeated high school career. "I wanted to come and the more kids the better, so I wanted to be here for as many kids as possible."

She sat and watched Friday as several of the coaches squared off, culminating with the main event, a rematch of the 2001 4A quarterfinal between Spanaway Lake's Pat Pitsch and Southridge's Seth Weeks. Pitsch went on to win two state titles and back-to-back Pac-12 titles at Arizona State while Weeks, also a state champion, coached the Royal girls to a 1B/2B/1A title last February.

Several other past Mat Classic winners and potential future contenders in Tacoma took on challengers, many of them for their first competitive matches in years. Selah's 2022 state champion at 145 pounds, Jesse Salinas, not only took on former Wapato state champion and Ike assistant coach Sergy Ramirez, but also agreed to face former 4A medalist Shawn Abeyta from Davis after his original opponent dropped out.

"Everyone wrestles different so maybe (kids) will see a certain way how me or Sergy wrestles and they want to wrestle that way," said Ramirez, an assistant coach at his alma mater for the past four seasons and a key mentor for 2026 unbeaten Mat Classic champion, D'Anthony Garcia. "So I think it's just cool that they did this."

The crowd issued one of its loudest ovations when three-time Mat Classic champion and West Valley graduate Alyssa Chaney (n茅e Calhoon) rallied to pin former Davis state champion and current Ottawa University (Ariz.) wrestler Shawnnastasia Jackson in the second period. Chaney said she hadn't competed since winning her third state title back in 2011, when she had to practice and compete during the season against the boys as the Rams' only girls wrestler and one of a select few in the Valley.

Guerin recalled looking up to Chaney, who trained at the Yakima MMA Gym owned by聽Cameron's father,聽the late Rich Guerin. Girls wrestling in the Valley exploded in popularity over the last 15 years, and Chaney's coached at West Valley Middle School for the last five, which made helping out at the camp a no-brainer.

"It's just crazy, it's been so long and I'm just grateful that women's wrestling has grown so much," Chaney said. "Just giving back what I got from wrestling and just watching what it is now, it's so fun."

Other assistant coaches set to arrive Saturday include three-time 2A state champion Haiden Drury, an NCAA qualifier at Utah Valley, and his younger brother Landon, who went to Colorado for high school due to the pandemic and to focus on Greco-Roman wrestling. Campers will also learn from Frank Almaguer, a three-time 1A state champion at Granger before he wrestled in the Big 12 for California Baptist.

Guerin said the weekend sessions will focus much more on technique than Friday, when she emphasized believing big accomplishments are possible.聽 She's still pursuing some of her own goals in wrestling and hopes to return to competition later this year following a short break.

"I haven't done everything I want to but I'm on my way to get there," Guerin said. "So I feel like if I can be an example for them that's all I want them to take away from it."