Wrestling is one of the oldest and most widespread sports in the world, practiced in the ancient cradles of civilization in the central Nile valley, on the Indian subcontinent and by – maybe most famously – the Greeks. The Olympic sport only requires two people with a strong survival instinct. For seven minutes, the opponents use every fiber of their muscles to deconstruct each other. Strength is important, but matches are usually won with leverage and will.
Wrestlers, who compete in weight categories, aim to take control of their rival in myriad ways and receive points each time they put an opponent at risk of being pinned. Their legs and arms are their support. Without punching or kicking, the aim is to disable the supports, or pillars as they are called, of one’s opponent to gain control of their body – and mind.
The minds and bodies of the Kodiak Wrestlers are guided by head wrestling coach D’Andre Jesus Vasquez, a 2019 graduate of Cascade High School. Vasquez, who wrestled in middle school, all four of his years at CHS, and for a time at Washington State University, is in his first year as head coach, after having volunteered with the team since 2019.
“I’ve loved the sport of wrestling since the 7th grade,” related Vasquez, while speaking of bringing that love and his passion to the team as they compete in the Caribou League, which Vasquez describes as “becoming very competitive. “The 1A high school league is comprised of Omak, Quincy, Cashmere, Chelan and, of course, the Kodiaks.”
“The league, as a whole, has a lot of young talent mixed with experienced upper classmen,” reported Vasquez. “Among CHS’s many talented wrestlers are our captains [junior] Angel Sandoval, [junior] Mya Herrera and [senior] Frank Rosio,” Vasquez continued. “Sandoval has wrested at State, Mya is ranked second in the state, and Frank is hoping to make it to State.”
Herrera, who leads the Kodiak girls' varsity team, said that her “favorite thing about the team is how close we are and how everyone feels like family.” The third-year high school student, who has been wrestling for eleven years, and is known for her work ethic on and off the mat, relates that she “loves weekend practices and when we have two-a-day sessions. It’s fun to put what we learn in practice to use in competitions.”
Sophomore Cruz Martinez echoed Herrera’s sentiments saying that the best part of wrestling for him is “being part of a great team and making memories with friends.” Martinez continued that “going to State last year was really amazing and just made the team closer.”
Head coach Vasquez plans to keep that tight bond among his wrestlers going, in part, by “trying to build a room full of champs. To me, success is growth, and all our kids are growing. The team has been state champions twice and more as league champs. We are going to build off that. This year we have a young team that is showing a lot of progress, some of whom we hope to send to State. Wrestling’s allure is its difficulty. It takes a strong individual – both mentally and physically – to participate in this sport, but it will change your life forever for the better.”
The Kodiaks are 2-3 in league matches this year and are battling with Cashmere for third place behind strong Omak and Quincy teams. The CHS grapplers next hit the mat today, January 27th, with the junior varsity team visiting Omak. Then, on February 4th the varsity squad also travels to Omak for a league-wide tournament.
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