Longtime Yelm head wrestling coach Gaylord Strand, who is in his 49th year of coaching the Tornados program, picked up his 400th career victory on Thursday, Dec. 15 in a South Sound Conference matchup against the Peninsula Seahawks.
“If you stick around long enough, you’ll get those kinds of wins and accolades,” Strand said after the accomplishment. “Win 400 was a tough win though. Peninsula came at us hard.”
The Tornados picked up the team victory by defeating Peninsula 42-26.
Freshmen Wesley Thompson (120) and Logan Ketter (138) each picked up wins for the Tornados. Lake Harris (145) won his match 15-1, and Dan Snyder (152) picked up a forfeit victory for the Tornados. Dallin Rosenberg (182) defeated his opponent 10-2. Senior William Carreto, who bumped up to the 220 pound weight class for the evening, won his matchup via pinfall.
Strand said Carreto has won every match he has wrestled in this year by pinfall.
“I was happy for my 400th win, but we didn’t wrestle nearly as good as we could’ve,” Strand said. “They made some adjustments going from Thursday to the tournament over the weekend though. Overall against Peninsula, we lost some very close matches but I’d say it went well.”
Strand said his team has sported an undefeated league record since 2015. He added that his team must be ready every time they step onto the mat if they want to continue their streak.
Leading up to his 400th win, Strand said he didn’t realize he was nearring the accolade until the conclusion of the 2021-22 season.
“I keep records every year, and last year after the season, I realized I was three wins from 400. I didn’t realize it until then and I had a great opportunity to clinch it this year against a very competitive school in Peninsula,” Strand said. “The kids fought hard for it and they were very happy in the end.”
Strand also recalled some of his favorite memories as a Yelm coach outside of his athletes winning state championships.
“I remember my first year here at Yelm. We were in a single a wrestling league and we were wrestling North Mason for the league championship,” Strand said. “The gym was full (and) the middle school just defeated North Mason before we wrestled to set the table for us as well. It came down to the same scenario once it was time for us to wrestle and it came down to our heavyweight needing to get a pin for our team to win. John Prince pulled it out. He ended up pinning his opponent, resulting in my first league championship ever.”
Strand then reflected on when his team knocked off South Kitsap, who hadn’t lost a league match in years. He said the Tornados ended up beating South Kitsap to end their opponent’s streak, which ended up as one of the most rewarding feelings for Strand.
“Coaches from all over the area came to that matchup because they wanted to see South Kitsap get beat,” Strand said. “That was a moment that I’ll never forget. The atmosphere was similar to the Tacoma Dome and the Mat Classic.”
The Tornados next match will be at 1 p.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 21 against Lakeside High School (Seattle). Strand said Lakeside’s coach is one of his former college wrestling teammates and noted the match should be a “fun one.”
