Bob and Andrew Turner make local history, becoming first father-son duo to officiate WIAA Mat Classic

On the mat, Andrew Turner never felt right without his father, Bob, in the corner.

The pair developed secret hand signals for certain moves, and trained on a genuine mat in the family home. Bob wasn’t a head coach, but helped his son and others regularly at practice. Until his graduation from Bellarmine Prep in 2015, Andrew insists he always performed better with Bob Turner by his side.

A shift to college marked the end of his playing career, but Andrew was never ready to depart from the sport entirely. Throughout high school, he officiated meets for local middle schools and continued on with the job while enrolled at the University of Washington. Bob, now a 33-year veteran official, drove Andrew to events, where they’d referee together.

But Friday marks a rarity in the state wrestling history books: when the WIAA Mat Classic kicks off at the Tacoma Dome, Bob and Andrew will become the first father-son duo to officiate it.

It’s a moment 10 years in the making, Andrew said on the steps outside the Tacoma Dome on Wednesday. By Saturday night, Bob will have officiated his 15th Mat Classic, Andrew his first.

“I didn’t compete here, but now I get to be here in the stripes,” Andrew said. “It’s really a cool way to still be involved. I’ll probably do better in the stripes than I would have as a wrestler,” he added, with a laugh.

Andrew’s playing and officiating career spans a decade, though his father’s mark on state wrestling history dates back five times as far.

An elementary student at Park Lodge Elementary in Lakewood, Bob was introduced to the sport in fifth grade during a visit from neighboring Clover Park’s wrestling team at the time. After a family move to Fife, he joined Surprise Lake Middle School’s team, and went on to win the 1979 state title in the 101-pound weight class for Bellarmine Prep. It marked the second individual state championship in school history.

Meanwhile, Fife’s team – many of them close friends with Bob and former teammates from Surprise Lake – went on to win a regional title that year, and was considered a top-four team in the state.

“(Fife) was just a small farming community back then,” Bob said. “Everybody knew each other… you (knew) the families. And so there’s this bond between people that were part of the Fife wrestling program. The head coach at Tahoma High School graduated from Fife… he and I are bonded. (An) athletic director in Kent School District is a Fife wrestling product.

“All of these people… those bonds were there. They still are to this day, for sure.”

Bob, now 60, spent six years in the Army, graduated from West Point Academy, and later enrolled as a graduate student at the University of North Carolina. That’s when he wanted to reintegrate himself into the sport, and decided to give back as an official.

Fast forward 33 years, and Bob enters his 15th Mat Classic, joining 35 other officials for the two-day tournament, son included. He’s the Assignor of the Pacific Northwest Wrestling Officials Association, with referees spanning roughly 100 schools in King County.

And despite the background, Bob says Andrew is a “self-made man,” who took up officiating on his own accord. In high school, Andrew studied the rule book on his own, and now shows confidence in judgment. Bob is regularly complimented by local coaches about Andrew’s officiating performance. Andrew joins former UW roommate and friend Cale Woyvodich as the youngest referees in this weekend’s state tournament at age 24.

“It’s exciting that… a young guy like him is going to be officiating the state championship,” Bob said. “A lot of times, you look down there and see a bunch of old guys like me. So that in and of itself is kind of exciting. Other younger people can look at that and go, ‘Wow, that could be me.’

“Some of these wrestlers that are going to be competing could look at someone like (Andrew) and go, ‘Wow, that guy doesn’t look that much older than me. I could do this too.’”

Friday’s tournament starts at 10 a.m., though Bob and Andrew arrive at 7 a.m. for a meeting among officials. Weigh-ins begin an hour later, and matches can last through an evening. After a day of officiating, Bob’s Fitbit once told him he’d walked 14 miles. Upon conclusion of a regional tournament earlier this season, Andrew’s device calculated a total of 2,600 calories burned.

By Saturday, each weight class will have narrowed to eight wrestlers.

“They’re going to be long days, for sure,” Andrew said. “And they’re going to be hard matches to call, and we’re just going to be exhausted at the end of each day. But the thing I’m looking forward to most is… being able to regroup after a long day and just laugh about things. Talk about calls, talk about matches, like, ‘What would you have done?’ Those are going to be the fun moments, just to dissect everything after, once it’s all said and done.”

Unlike other WIAA-coordinated state tournaments, many of which have featured the Tacoma Dome as a venue, this weekend’s Mat Classic features over one thousand wrestlers vying for state titles. With 24 mats sprawled across the dome’s floor, spectators from each corner of the state pack the seats, creating an atmosphere that’s tough to top, Bob says.

Thanks to a close-knit wrestling community, Bob enters the tournament eager to reconnect with recognizable coaches and players from the area. And for the first time, Andrew will make his mark on the state’s biggest stage.

“Just because you weren’t a state champion when you competed, you have a great way to be a part of the sport and pass it on, and even... make it to state,” Bob said of his son. “He’s made it to state now. I’m excited for him. It’s after his high school days, but it’s just as exciting to me that he makes it as a referee.”