BONNERS FERRY — Wrestlers from Apex Gym in Bonners Ferry are preparing to travel across the United States to compete in the National High School Coaches Association National Wrestling Championships. 

Held in Virginia Beach, Virginia, the tournament runs March 27-29. 

Ethan Matthews, who recently completed his junior season with Bonners Ferry High School wrestling, said the tournament will be an invaluable opportunity. 

“You’ve just got to try to do the best you can,” Matthews said. “Ultimately, it’s a good experience. If you’re going to get a kid that’s absolutely going to smoke you, just go out there and do your best, have fun and score some points.” 

There was no guarantee Matthews would even be able to wrestle after sustaining what appeared to be a serious injury during the district tournament against Timberlake High School. Despite the injury, he was still able to win a match at state.    

“There’s a muscle in your knee that runs along the side of your knee,” Matthews said. “It’s closer to the meniscus and that was strained, so I just ice that up and throw on the knee brace.” 

Another wrestler dealing with injury is Jackson Holman, a senior from Sandpoint High School, whose right leg will prevent him from competing in the national tournament. He still finished second at state in his final high school season. 

“It was a bummer, but I kind of knew with how bad my leg hurt,” Holman said. “That’s why I didn’t want to get an MRI before state.” 

One challenge throughout his wrestling career was managing nerves.

“The season before this one, I had pretty bad stage fright, so I had to work on mentally getting in the zone,” Holman said. “One thing that helped me was one song that I would listen to on repeat for like 10 minutes before every match.” 

Sophomore John Holman finished fifth at state for Sandpoint, a major improvement from last season, which he attributed to offseason work. 

“Last year, I didn’t do any offseason work, and I didn’t even make it to districts,” Holman said. “Just showing up all offseason, working hard, doing extra practices in season, got me first in the district and fifth in the state.” 

“A lot of people will quit wrestling because of the grind,” he said. “It kind of sucks. But over time, I got used to it and fell in love with it. Ever since then, I just couldn’t quit, even if I wanted to.” 

Coach Doc Wright said he started the wrestling club to make year-round wrestling available in Boundary County.

“There’s nothing up in North Idaho, really, for focusing on developing high school kids outside of freestyle, which is fantastic,” Wright said. “But the kids don’t have the same year-round training that most little kids have.” 

For Wright, wins and losses are not everything. 

“It’s not about the results,” Wright said. “I will be happy or upset with you based on how you perform, not the result.” 

He said the wrestlers are mentally prepared for the national stage. 

“We’ve done a good enough job with them mentally to where the lights are not going to be too bright,” Wright said. “It’s just another tournament.” 

“We just want it to be fun and for them to love it, because we love it. That’s why we’re here.” 

Tommy Holman, an eighth-grade wrestler, said wrestling rewards hard work. 

“When you work really hard, it actually pays off,” Holman said. “Some sports, you can work really hard and still not be good, but with this, you work super hard, and then it actually pays off when you win.” 

Holman said he is also looking forward to the food after the tournament, which he said tastes especially good after competition. 

Sofia Brown, who graduated from high school last year, now coaches at Apex and will travel with the team to Virginia Beach. 

“I just love seeing the kids grow,” Brown said. “They walk in through that door, and they’ve got a big smile on their faces and they run to you and say, ‘Hey, Coach, I did this weekend. I did that.’ I just love being around kids and helping them grow and become better people.” 

Brown said the tournament will be an opportunity for growth. 

“I think going down there, mentally, it’s going to help them a lot,” Brown said. “These kids are going to be so different than anybody they wrestle.” 

Taylor Dodd the Bonners Ferry high school wrestler who just won state, said he was very excited for the tournament.

"I'm excited that we are getting some North Idaho talent out to the national level," Dodd said. "There will be tough competition but that's the point. I believe in our training, our coaching and our wrestlers. It's going to be an amazing experience."