When Brian Porteous took over coaching a combined high school girls wrestling program, Bellingham United, eight years ago, he set an unusual goal.
Disband the program.
Porteous realized turnout numbers were growing and having one team for three schools, to a certain extent, was hindering the program’s growth and sense of pride.
Now athletes from Sehome, Bellingham and Squalicum high schools all have their own in-house girls wrestling programs.
Not being connected to any one school limited school pride and enthusiasm from the student body, Porteous said.
“We grew the brand of the United program, we grew the competitive level of the United program, but it wasn’t influencing the schools,” said Porteous, who is now leading the team at Squalicum. “[The teams] all needed to be moved back into the buildings so that the building could wrap around them as well.”
In its last season in 2022–23, Bellingham United had 12 wrestlers on its roster, and three reached the state tournament.
This year, a combined 24 wrestlers compete for three individual school teams, with 15 on Squalicum alone.
“We had a really strong identity as a team, but we did not have an identity in a building,” Porteous said. “I think for a program to really, truly be successful, you need not only the program’s health, but you also need the support and the infrastructure of a school community behind you.”
Bob Spain, who moved to Bellingham from Yakima less than two years ago and volunteered with Ferndale’s girls team last year, is now Bellingham’s head coach. Spain was hired 10 days before this season’s first practice, which limited his in-school recruiting opportunities.
Despite that, the Bellingham girls team has eight wrestlers this season — three of whom wrestled for Bellingham United last season.
“They were really excited about not having to travel to another school to practice, and just having their own team,” Spain said. “I think the effort of those three girls is the reason why we have eight.”
Spain’s coaching experience includes time at Davis High School in Yakima and then at Yakima Valley College, which dropped its wrestling program in 2012.
Davis just formed an independent girls team two years ago, Spain said, and the team saw its numbers skyrocket to more than 30 wrestlers.
“I think [the split] is a tremendous help, and I think we’ll see it more next year once we have a team in place,” he added.
Sehome has just one wrestler this season, Rowan Kolar, and the team is led by Western Washington University club wrestler, Griselda Cuevas.
Porteous said despite that low turnout, Cuevas will set the Mariners’ program up for success with her rich wrestling background. Cuevas did not respond to requests for comment.
“Unfortunately, they just have one kid that’s wrestling, but that one kid is probably getting some of the best coaching in the city,” Porteous said. “They’re staged for growth in the future because they have somebody that can really push those girls.”
Moving back into their high school buildings hasn’t been an issue, according to Spain and Porteous. Each program has worked out its own way to maneuver around the boys team practices and meets.
Sehome has a “collegiate-sized” mat room, Porteous said, and with its one girls wrestler, space is not an issue. Spain and Bellingham’s team use the mat room, while the boys team practices in the gymnasium. At Squalicum, Porteous has his team do weight training or conditioning until the boys team moves out of the mat room at 5:30 p.m.
“Every school has kind of come up with their own system,” Porteous said. “But I think, overwhelmingly, it’s been welcomed. I think the boys understand the value of having girls wrestling in the buildings and partnering with them rather than having it be a point of contention or stress.”
Bella Phillips, who previously wrestled for Bellingham United and now wrestles for Squalicum, said the change has been welcome — outside of having to compete against former teammates.
“When we were united, we didn’t get a lot of recognition from our school if we did place at state,” said Phillips, who finished second at 190 pounds in the 3A/4A state tournament a season ago. “We saw the boys get all this stuff. So it was kind of a little defeating that our own school wasn’t, like, repping us.”
That’s no longer an issue, Phillips said, as the team has felt much more integrated with the Squalicum community with realignment.
Phillips, who has adopted a role as a leader on the Squalicum team, is just glad the sport is continuing to grow.
“I’m so excited for the future and how this will impact national or international tournaments,” Phillips added. “I’m excited to come back one day and coach [with the high school].”
A previous version of this story misspelled Rowan Kolar’s last name. The story was updated to reflect this change at 9:37 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 9, 2023. Cascadia Daily News regrets the error.
A photo caption was updated at 9:40 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 9, 2023, to correct the names of the wrestlers. Cascadia Daily News regrets the error.
