WARDEN — On Saturday, the Warden High School wrestling program held its annual golf fundraiser at Sage Hills Golf Course. According to Warden assistant wrestling coach Alan Martinez, they exceeded last year’s total of $14,000 by raising roughly $16,000 this year.

“Our head coach, Johnny Hernandez, says all the time, we have one of the best communities around,” Martinez said. “For whatever reason, there’s a lot of love for this program. There’s a lot of history, and our alumni always come by, and they show out and they take care of us, and then our kids and our future kids who are coming to the program get to benefit from that.”

The tee off was at 9 a.m. Saturday and the weather was suitable for golfing with clear skies and reasonably warm weather. According to Martinez, the turnout hit maximum capacity to the point they had to borrow carts from other businesses ahead of time.

“Our first year, I think we had 19 or 20 teams or so, and we thought, ‘Man, it’d be cool to really grow this thing,’ and now we’re at a point where we’re asking the people who live out here at the golf course if they can let us use their golf carts, because this tournament is just exploding,” Martinez said.

Martinez said the turnout just shows the support they have in the greater community. He said they even had golfers from other towns like Moses Lake, Othello and Royal supporting the fundraiser.

When they first started out, it was just to raise money for a free camp that the athletes could attend, according to Martinez. However, due to the early success, they were able to put extra money toward other resources that would be beneficial to the wrestlers at Warden.

In addition to camps, Martinez said they have been able to help wrestlers purchase shoes, headgear and bring in clinicians to work with the team. He said it’s changed the way they compete in the last few years at Warden.

Adrian Escamilla has volunteered for the tournament a few times now, and he said the family-oriented environment is what brings him back to support the program.

“The support the town gives, and the city gives to just back up the team and support the team. It’s a small community, but when it comes to wrestling, it’s a tight group, and everybody comes together and supports one another,” Escamilla said.

He said the tournament serves other benefits, like reuniting with friends and alumni from past years. Many alumni reunite to form teams and compete against old rivals.

This year’s champions were Camilo Mendez, the team captain, Ralphy DeLeon, Michael DeLeon and Sergio Sanchez under the team’s name, Three Bros. At the end of the day, they were awarded the Please Hit Straight Golf Championship belts.

Martinez said his inspiration for having championship belts came from himself and other alumni being old-school pro wrestling fans. According to him, the belts were an effort to create a niche attraction at the fundraiser. Golfer Christian Ramirez had high praise for the annual fundraiser as he prepared to take his swing at hole ten.

“When you want to talk about community and people coming together and supporting youth sports, this is it. This is the stuff that people dream about,” he said.

    A golfer tees off at the start of a hole at the Sage Hills Golf Course. Warden wrestling alumni gathered to raise money for the wrestling program.
  

    Christian Ramirez, far left, poses for a team photo at hole ten at the Warden wrestling golf fundraiser. Ramirez said the fundraiser is a perfect example of what the community supporting each other looks like.
  

    A golfer tees off at hole 10 at the Warden wrestling golf fundraiser. The tournament saw a maximum capacity turnout and had to borrow carts from local businesses and residents in the area.
  

    Team Three Bros pose for a team photo after winning the Please Hit Straight championship belts at the golf fundraiser. According to assistant wrestling coach Alan Martinez, they were able to raise $16,000, which surpassed last year's total.
  

    Three Bros team captain Camillo Mendez gives a thumbs up during the golf fundraiser. Mendez and his team came from Othello to support the Warden wrestling program.