Washington has seen 32 youth wrestlers win the U.S. Marine Corps Junior National Championships from 2013-2023.
This year, Washington sent more than 100 wrestlers, including 63 girls, to compete July 12-20 in the tournament.
More than 8,000 wrestlers competed through six divisions and 93 were crowned champions, including Squalicum’s Bella Phillips. Phillips was the first wrestler in Squalicum girls coach Brian Porteous’s coaching career to win the Junior National Championships.
The event is better known as “Fargo” since it takes place in Fargo, North Dakota. Three wrestlers and a couple of coaches represented Whatcom County. Those wrestlers included Phillips, Lynden’s Belen Lopez and Blaine’s Claire Hume. Porteous and Blaine girls coach Scott Hume joined them at Fargo.
Porteous, who is also one of the Washington USA Wrestling coaches, recruited Phillips in the eighth grade, as well as Lopez and Claire once the WIAA state tournament finished in March.
Afterward, the three wrestlers began to prepare for the national tournament.
“We had more training weekends than we ever had before,” Porteous said. “Weekend after weekend, we would be in Moses Lake, Federal Way, Mount Vernon and all over the place. That was the tip of the iceberg, it was all the individual training that these girls put in.”
An average weekday for the three girls included a couple of practices at the Whatcom Academy, a training session in Mount Vernon on Wednesdays, and traveling to larger practices on the weekends.
“I don’t know if there was a practice in which these girls weren’t in tears because they were being pushed so hard,” Porteous said. “The level of intensity was a huge difference.”
A couple of weeks before the Junior National Championships, the Washington team traveled to Pocatello, Idaho for a few days. The girls competed in dual tournaments Monday and Tuesday, went to a water park on Wednesday and battled in individual tournaments Thursday and Friday.
The squad used this week to learn about each other and prepare for the national tournament.
“I made some friends that I hope to be hanging with for the rest of my life,” Lopez said. “I am so glad to have teammates here to push me past 100%.”
Bella Phillips
Phillips, who recently graduated from Squalicum, returned to Fargo for the third and final time. Last season, Phillips became an All-American after placing sixth. Phillips registered to compete at 190 pounds this season and had to face some of their toughest competitors before the tournament began.
“(They would) beat me up at practice so it was never easy,” Phillips said. “They were beating my butt all the time and I couldn’t have done it without them. I am grateful I got such great friends because in the earlier years, I was lonely.”
After training with the Washington team, Phillips decided to skip a few camps to compete in Florida and Las Vegas before Fargo. The goal was to get through the quarterfinals and win the entire bracket.
Phillips dominated in attempting to meet their first goal, winning the first four matches 11-0, 10-0, 6-1 and 6-1. However, Phillips saw their dream slipping through their fingers when they trailed in the semifinals.
“Watching (Bella) come from behind was something special,” Porteous said. “It was the most nerve-racking moment when they was on their back and close to a pin. They got out and it was the beginning of the end.”
Phillips finished the match with a 12-10 victory and won the finals 9-0 to secure the title.
“I still don’t know how to think about it,” Phillips said. “My happiest moment was hugging the coaches and finally breathing.”
Phillips returned to the hotel with bruises and cuts across the face. Since then, Phillips has taken a break and is focusing on moving to Pennsylvania to begin a freshman year at Gannon University.
Belen Lopez
Lopez wrestled in her first Junior National Championships months after graduation from Lynden. She never wrestled outside of the high school season nor tried freestyle wrestling. So, Lopez needed to figure out how to wrestle a new style within a few months.
Once she arrived in North Dakota, she said her eyes widened with how large the tournament was compared to the state tournament.
“I thought it would be big like the Tacoma Dome but it was a lot bigger,” Lopez said. “I had to get into the groove and try to figure out the style and integrate into it.”
Lopez earned a first-round bye and won her following two matches, 12-2 and 11-5. She lost her next two matches, 10-0 and 10-0, to finish the tournament with a 2-2 record.
“I was proud of a lot of things and I am happy I went to this tournament to see all my flaws,” Lopez said. “I learned not to break down and reset after matches. I could have done better, but it was good to get that experience.”
Once Lopez was eliminated, she said she learned she needs to improve before starting her collegiate wrestling career at Simon Fraser University in British Columbia.
Claire Hume
Claire, 15, was the youngest of the three wrestlers. She recently finished her freshman year at Trinity Classical School in Bellingham. Since Trinity does not have athletics, Claire competed for her father, Scott, at Blaine High School. After the state tournament, she said she did not know what to expect on the national level.
“After state, I was excited to go to Fargo without knowing what it was yet,” Claire said. “As we were watching videos, I knew it was big and had no idea what to expect.”
Claire wrestled at 118 pounds and finished 1-2, winning her second match on criteria when time expired. Although Claire struggled in her first national tournament, she said she learned many valuable lessons.
“My favorite part of the day was winning my match and having my dad coach me,” Claire said. “It was a learning opportunity. I was super bummed and it was physically draining, but after I regathered myself I got to watch everything as a fan and teammate.”
Scott added Claire looked up to these girls and she hoped she was able to give back as much as possible while competing alongside her teammates.
Claire will return to Trinity Classic next year as a sophomore and compete with her father at Blaine again.
Nick Zeller-Singh is CDN's sports reporter; reach him at nickzellersingh@cascadiadaily.com; 360-922-3090 ext. 104.
