All boys and girls regional wrestling tournaments scheduled for this weekend have been cancelled due to weather conditions, the WIAA announced on Friday morning.
Instead, the Mat Classic field will double to a 32-entry state tournament beginning Feb. 15. In the past, it has been a 16-entry tournament.
BREAKING: Due to weather conditions, all boys and girls Regional Wrestling tournaments have been cancelled in the best interests of our student athletes’ safety.
Event managers will develop a 32-entry Mat Classic tournament.https://t.co/1pUy7T7N8j#matclassic #regionals pic.twitter.com/Y76SPFCRNK
— WIAA (@wiaawa) February 8, 2019
The cancellation came a day after the association gave the go-ahead for the event and sent out its inclement weather policy, which says teams not able to travel to their regional tournament would forfeit.
Day one of the Region IV tournament at Camas High School on Friday is still on. The 16-wrestler field will be whittled down to eight starting at 4 p.m. Weigh-ins are at 2:15 p.m.
Some coaches and athletic directors say the cancellation forces a format they have advocated for in the past — no regionals, 32-entry Mat Classic.
“We’ve been trying to get a 32-man tournament for years,” Union wrestling coach John Godinho said. “We vote every year on it, WIAA says no, no, no.”
Camas athletic director Rory Oster also prefers a system where wrestlers qualify to state straight from the district tournament.
“I love it,” Oster said. “People have been pushing to get it done for years. I hope this is an opening into future.”
The Mat Classic will still be hosted at the Tacoma Dome. Schedule will be released Monday morning.
2A, 1A district basketball postponed
District officials postponed all of Friday’s 2A and 1A boys and girls first-round basketball games. Some 2A games are rescheduled for as early as 2 p.m. Saturday, but could be moved to Sunday, Woodland athletic director Paul Huddleston said. La Center AD Matt Cooke said all of Saturday’s second-round 1A boys games at Hoquiam and King’s Way have been moved to Monday. One girls game is scheduled for Sunday — Tenino at Stevenson, 2 p.m.
