Mix of youth and senior leadership gives Peninsula wrestling state aspirations

Last February at the end of Mat Classic XXXI, the Peninsula High School wrestling team stood on the cusp of being a top-10 team in the state for Class 3A, in terms of team score.

The Seahawks finished 12th, thanks in part to a third-place finish by Nathan Johnson in the 145-pound weight class, a second place finish by Isaac Casey in the 160-pound weight class and a third place finish by Nolan Casey in the 152-pound weight class.

This year, the goal remains the same: ‘Earn everything that you get.’

“Our season expectations are to compete as well as we can,” said head coach Gary Griffin. “I think we have some individuals that have the ultimate goals of winning state titles. And I think that’s attainable.”

Griffin is stepping into the role of head coach for the Seahawks after spending several years coaching alongside Mark Nickels. Even though Nickels will still volunteer his time to help with the team, it is ultimately Griffin that is the head of the program.

With that transition, the Seahawks are also feeling a youth movement as they inherit a large group of freshman wrestlers experiencing their first matches on a varsity level.

“We instill in [the wrestlers] that what we’re doing is proven to be successful,” Griffin said. “Once kids get through that freshman season and buy in, those are the kids that realize what we’re doing is successful. There’s no easy way to win and we understand that.”

One of those wrestlers that has seen success through the Seahawks program is returning senior Nolan Casey. Casey returns to the team with a drive that is fueled by his third-place finish at state in February.

Casey has been fairly busy since that moment as well. Over the summer, he and fellow seniors Luke Golden and Brock Allen attended wrestling camps to get some extra mat time. He also played linebacker for the Seahawks’ football team in the fall.

“I went to some wrestling camps in the offseason, those are tough,” he said. “Of course there was football so I focused on that through the season and now it’s wrestling. “[I’m] giving it all I got. It weighs you down, but it’s senior season, so I’ll hold nothing back.”

Casey and his fellow seniors are now in the position to help encourage their younger teammates with practice, but also keep them in check if they get a little sparky.

“Right about now, [the freshmen] are starting to realize that they’re bottom of the totem pole,” he said. “We remind them that we had to be at the bottom of the totem pole at one point and they’ll be at the top when they put in the work.”

For Allen, some of the best parts of being on the wrestling team is being able to basically dominate his opponents on the mat. His ultimate goal is to be at the top of his weight class come February at the Mat Classic.

In fact, he wants to be so dominant that it is almost like he is imposing his will on the other wrestler. And that all fits right back into the team’s mantra.

“For me, it’s very rewarding to get a victory after I know I put in a lot of work,” he said. “Just that ability to impose my will, to me that’s rewarding to be able to do that. To know I’m the better wrestler and I’m tougher is a good feeling for me.”

He, Casey and Golden all met at wrestling camps when they were younger and have been friends ever since.

As for all the wrestlers, their best bet to get back into shape is to jump right into the mats and scrap it out.

Sure, they could run miles and even lift weights but there is no substitute for getting into wrestling shape quite like wrestling.

“We tend to not do a ton of running, we don’t send kids on these three mile runs,” Griffin said. “As the season goes on, we tend to wrestle a whole lot more, and get our athletes’ bodies comfortable being uncomfortable.”

The extensive wrestling time conditions the wrestlers for pushing down the next barrier they may face in competition. Because matches can last a long time and it is important to keep the body fresh.

Griffin and his coaching staff also want their athletes to fight through any adversity they may come across this season. And how the wrestlers will do that depends on how well they keep their emotions in check on the mat.

“I know what they are putting into it, and I know what it’s going to do for them later in life,” he said. “They are students first and athletes second. We want to help them to be prepared for it not always going to be fair… We want our boys to deal with that like mature, young adults.”

For Griffin, nothing makes wrestling more fun than see how his guys grow, succeed and mature as athletes. That, to him, is the greatest joy.

The Seahawks’ season began at the Edmonds-Woodway Tournament last Saturday. However, their first league meet will be against Timberline at 7 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 12 at Peninsula High School.

This story was originally published December 12, 2019 at 6:00 AM.