YHS girls wrestling defeats Graham-Kapowsin, Bethel in home dual

Team sets sights on SPSL championship in inaugural league season

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Yelm High School’s girls wrestling program remained undefeated and inched closer toward  an undefeated South Puget Sound League (SPSL) championship after defeating Graham-Kapowsin, 45-18, and Bethel, 36-30, on Thursday, Dec. 19 at home.

YHS’s head girls wrestling coach Ben Hawk, a Bethel alumnus, said the duals against the Eagles and the Braves went pretty well. Due to some scheduling conflicts with the choir, the coach said he had to change up the lineup and put some of his athletes in new roles.

“It went pretty good against GK and Bethel. We had a few girls that stepped into varsity roles, and their wins affected the outcome of the dual. It was really cool to see because we asked girls to step into those roles, and they kicked butt for us,” Hawk said. “We had girls that were a part of the choir who were able to make the first part of the duals but not the second part of the duals. We asked our girls to step in and spread across the weight classes to help get forfeits and wrestle. We had some girls wrestle up some weight classes to make us the most competitive.

“We had a couple of girls get into trouble early into their matches and had to fight off their backs,” Hawk continued. “They helped the team out by not giving up and fought through it to pick up some victories.”

Hawk highlighted Bella Venuto, who came back to win her contest against a Bethel wrestler after a “wild match.” He also highlighted Aryana Forouhar for earning her first ever varsity match victory, which she won via pinfall.

“To come out with a dual victory against a pretty seasoned Bethel team was awesome. They ended up beating us previously at a tournament because they’re a really seasoned squad. We were down some of our horses, and to come away with a dual win showed the grit of the team and how much they work together,” Hawk said. “These girls believe in each other, and that was a lot of fun to see them stand their ground even though they were down some horses. They still defended the home turf, and we have a path towards possibly winning a league championship.”



For the Tornados core four group of leaders: Samantha Blank, Kylie Minker, Kaitlyn Dover and Madelyn Lawson, it was business as usual at the Graham-Kapowsin and Bethel dual. Hawk said those four continue to bring firepower to the team’s lineup each time they step on to the mat.

“Those four especially really stand out because success brings attention, as well. They’re always very successful in executing their strategies they’ve become accustomed to,” Hawk said. “They’ve been in the lineup all season, and everyone around them has to wrestle at a higher level because they’re competing to win. All of the other girls are battling and fighting hard. We’ve got a few girls with .500 or better records and a few who are competing and learning how to win. We’re winning those little battles that lead to more points with some of our newer and greener girls.”

Hawk added that the team has several SPSL duals remaining against Spanaway Lake, Sumner, Puyallup, Curtis and Olympia. The contest against the Bears will take place Jan. 31, and the Tornados will celebrate their soon-to-be graduates with senior night.

“We have a really talented group of seniors. It would be fun to fill the stands and send these girls into the postseason,” Hawk said. “It would be a cool treat because they’re a really great group of girls who will be dualing for the last time in Yelm. We’d love to see the stands filled because we have talent, and we’ll try to display it one more time through these girls.”

Before Yelm can celebrate senior night, Hawk said the Tornados must compete in several tough tournaments including the Pacific Coast Championships next weekend and the upcoming “Braided 64” tournament in Kelso.

“It will really test our girls mentals by seeing the top caliber of wrestlers in the state at those big tournaments,” Hawk said. “It will have us ready to compete and try to finish out an undefeated dual season. It would be pretty cool to have our first 4A league championship start with a girls wrestling championship.”