‘A role model.’ Kaitlyn Collett on doorstep of Mat Classic history
Kaitlyn Collett smiles every time. The high school wrestling official hears it constantly:
“We’re so happy there’s a girl ref here today!”
“It’s so cool that you’re out here!”
“Yes, ma’am,” she always replies. “Keep after it!”
Collett, 19, sits outside the Tacoma Dome on a crystal-clear Tuesday morning. She thinks back to a few short years ago when the Roosevelt (Seattle) wrestler first saw female officials grace the mats at her tournaments. A future in the wrestling world waited for her.
When she graduated in 2024, Collett couldn’t fathom walking away. She contacted Pacific Northwest Wrestling Officials Association president Bob Turner and completed a PNWOA apprenticeship. She returned home from her studies at the University of Vermont to referee locally over winter break, joining an all-female officiating crew for the WIAA’s Santa Slam meet at Juanita (Kirkland) High School that December.
“I really found a passion for reffing,” Collett told The News Tribune. “I feel a little funny saying it, because it’s not a sport, but it does sort of feel like you’re involved in a sport. You have your team, I guess, of officials that you’re working with, and it’s fun to just have that involvement.”
History will be made twice over Thursday morning when Collett walks through the doors of the Tacoma Dome. She will become the youngest referee in Mat Classic’s 37-year history — and just the fifth-ever woman to officiate the WIAA’s state tournament. The meet’s first teenage referee considered it an opportunity she simply couldn’t decline.
Last year, Collett learned of the possibility to officiate Mat Classic XXXVII, cautiously optimistic of her chances. It was confirmed in January when the PNWOA approved her as a state-tournament referee.
“A woman, who is also under 20 years of age, officiating the state tournament will blow people’s minds … until they see her officiate and see how deserving she is to work the event,” Turner said. “She will serve as a role model for the wrestlers, and especially the female wrestlers, when they see her on the mats.”
Collett spends her free time near the University of Vermont as the state’s only female high school wrestling referee, an official on both coasts. You can find her inside the Tacoma Dome this Thursday and Friday officiating 4A/3A Boys and Girls matches.
“As an official, you really have to be confident,” Collett said. “If you’re making a call, you’re probably making it for a reason. And if a coach has a question, then you should have that reason on-deck and be ready to tell them about it.
“If you go in and you’re like, ‘Oh, I think that was a takedown, maybe it wasn’t,’ everybody’s going to sense that uncertainty. You’re going to be taken less seriously. You know what you know, and you have to be proud of it.”
History offers a reunion. Collett will reconnect with Roosevelt head coach Justin Kwan, who encouraged her to pursue officiating when the Roughriders senior was still on the fence. Kwan and his assistants once acted out a “crazy, fake” meet, guiding her through the chaos.
“They were just throwing everything out there, doing cartwheels on the mat,” Collett said. “It was a good time.”
She paused, then smiled. “I’m hoping he doesn’t hassle me too much over my calls.”
This story was originally published February 18, 2026 at 5:00 AM.
