MOSES LAKE — Big Bend women’s wrestling bobbled a little at the beginning but picked up quickly, according to head coach Desiree Alejandro. The Vikings lost their first dual Nov. 16 against Umpqua Community College 30-9, but got their own back the next day at the Mike Clock Tournament. 

“We were ranked second in the tournament, (and) as far as (junior colleges) go, fourth overall,” Alejandro said. “We had two finalists, two fifths and a fifth, a fourth and a third. They (showed) significant improvement versus the dual … We beat some of the girls that had beat us the night before.” 

Last year wasn’t nearly so rosy, Alejandro said.  

“We had seven girls on the team and finished with five,” she said. “We did not do well at all. We didn't go to nationals, we didn't participate in postseason at all, and I just focused on recruiting most of the year.” 

Women’s wrestling is one of the newer sports on the roster, having started at Big Bend in 2018, the same year that the men’s wrestling program was revived after a 23-year hiatus. It became a sanctioned Olympic sport in 2004. Washington became the third state in the country to offer girls wrestling in high schools in 2007, although girls had been wrestling on coed teams before that. 

Alejandro was one of those, she said.  

“I started when I was 4 and I’m 26,” she said. “I first started to wrestle boys, but I wrestled girls all through high school and college. It’s definitely growing. This is Big Bend’s first year in the (National Junior College Athletic Association) for both men’s and wrestling.” 

Wrestler Abby Varady is optimistic about the team’s prospects. 

“Just the energy in our practice room, there's a big difference going from last year to this year,” she said. “It's a lot more motivating when you have a lot of teammates in the room that all have the same goal. I think that we're going to do really well this season. We already look a lot sharper than we did coming into the year. So I think that our goals are achievable.” 

It’s going to take some work to get to that point, Varady added, especially where attitude is concerned. 

“The girls are all really positive, but they don't have a lot of grit,” she said. “They don't like to push through the hard stuff; they kind of let their mind get the best of them. And I think that that is a really big part of wrestling, so that is what we need to work on. Also, just a lot of shot defense and being (on the) offensive, always on the attack.” 

“We have a full lineup this year, so that's also always a plus,” Alejandro said. “I'm hoping for great things out of this year. I think we have at least a top 10 team, at least that’s my goal.” 

    Big Bend Community College sophomore Natalie Johnson shows some of the aggressive spirit her teammate Abby Varady said the team is working to build.