ROYAL CITY – Looking to build off of last year’s third-place finish at the Girls 1B/2B/1A/2A Mat Classic, the Royal Knights enter this season with a bigger roster of 28 wrestlers, growing from last year’s team of 16 athletes.

“It’s really fun to see our team over the several years,” Royal coach Jesus Carlos Villa said. “We’ve had a small turnout, and finally it’s starting to pay out. Word’s getting around that women’s wrestling is growing, and there’s a lot of college opportunities. I know that’s motivating for a lot of our girls.”

The Knights lost two-time state champion Alondra Morales to graduation but returned state placers in senior Emma Villa and sophomore Sharon Arroyo. Royal had five wrestlers compete at the Mat Classic last February, with four of them winning at least one match.

Finding success at the state tournament brings along the desire to repeat it, Villa said. 

“They understand that there’s a goal, there’s expectations,” Villa said. “The other years we had Alondra (Morales) and Emma (Villa) and they did really well, but really what helped us finish where we finished was our underclassmen. I feel that now they’re doing a great job communicating and letting them know that they’re expected to do something, that there is a goal.”

Having three state veterans returning will help bring along that “big” turnout from Royal’s freshmen class. 

“They got to experience it, so what better way to motivate the younger girls than the people that actually experienced it?” Villa said. “Our coaches and parents can tell us all these stories from the glory days, but it helps when it’s their classmates and people they see every day.”

That experience has already started to show in the wrestling room.

“They’re taking pride and showing them a couple little tricks, knowing that confidence comes with conditioning and practice,” Villa said. 

Villa said this year’s team has a strong sense of unity with one another, looking to work and improve on their technique through the early weeks of practice.

“They have a good relationship with one another, to where they’re able to understand if they trust themselves, they can take this as far as they want,” Villa said. “It really helps that we have those returning girls to really show them the way; that there’s a process.”

While Morales and Emma Villa both finished in the top three of their respective brackets last season, it was the effort put in by Arroyo and junior Lauren Jenks that helped push Royal into its top-three finish at state. To repeat that this year, Jesus Carlos Villa said it’ll take for another pish by the young Knight wrestlers.

“The same thing that our younger girls did the previous year,” Villa said. “They have to trust themselves and know that there’s a job to do out there. We’re only as tough as the weakest link, so we’ve got to make everybody tough.”

Ian Bivona may be reached at ibivona@columbiabasinherald.com.

Royal Girls Wrestling Schedule

Dec. 7 — @ Othello — 7 p.m.

Dec. 9 — Royal Girls Wrestling Tournament — 10 a.m.

Dec. 14 — @ Ephrata Mix-n-Match — 5 p.m.

Dec. 28 — @ Girl’s Varsity Winter Cup — TBD

Jan. 3 — vs. Ephrata — 6 p.m.

Jan. 5 — @ Braided 64 — TBD

Jan. 5 — @ Connell Invite — 10 a.m.

Jan. 9 — vs. Quincy — 6 p.m.

Jan. 11 — @ Toppenish — 6 p.m.

Jan. 13 — @ Davis Invite — 10 a.m.

Jan. 18 — @ Wahluke — 6 p.m.

Jan. 19-20 — @ Othello Lady Huskie Invite — 3 p.m., 10 a.m.

Jan. 23 — @ Warden — 6 p.m.

Jan. 25 — @ Wahluke — 6 p.m.

Jan. 27 — @ Quincy Bring Home Da Beef Tournament — 10 a.m.

    Royal senior Emma Villa, top, placed third in the girls 170-pound bracket of the 2A/1A/2B/1B Girls Mat Classic.
  

    Royal junior Lauren Jenks, top, looks to keep her opponent down at the Mat Classic in Tacoma.
  

    Royal Head Coach Jesus Carlos Villa said this year’s team has nearly doubled in size of rostered wrestlers compared to last year.