These Chiawana wrestlers have just one goal — a 2nd consecutive state championship

Chiawana boys wrestling coach Jack Anderson catches himself at least once every week just stepping back, smiling, and watching his wrestlers work hard.

“This,” he said, “is the best team I have ever coached in my 20 years. The best. Not only for their wrestling ability. But they all hang out together and enjoy each other’s company. And they’ve got this mental toughness.”

Indeed, the Riverhawks have spent this entire season making mincemeat of the competition, whether it’s going unbeaten in dual-meet competition, or running away with almost every non-league tournament title.

Beginning Friday and running through Saturday night, Chiawana heads into the Tacoma Dome in a quest for a second consecutive Class 4A team title at the WIAA state high school wrestling championships.

The Riverhawks went into last weekend’s regional tournament with 27 competitors, and they came out on the other end with nine wrestlers qualified for the state tournament.

Most of those guys — including three who won state titles last year and are back — have legitimate shots for individual state titles.

“We honestly believe we have six guys who can win a state title,” said Anderson. “And there is a seventh guy who has a chance.”

The three returning state champions are sophomore Isaiah Anderson (Jack Anderson’s son) at 195 pounds, sophomore Darion Johnson, who won last year at 120 pounds but now wrestles at 152; and senior Tyson Stover at 182 pounds.

Long hours

What makes Jack Anderson so confident and happy about this team is its work ethic.

“Throughout the season, it’s a tough grind,” he said. “These guys have strength and conditioning in the mornings, then they practice after school. They go to school in the dark and they go home in the dark.”

Anderson has a coaching staff that numbers 12, many of whom are unpaid volunteers.

Former head coaches such as Gary Eby, Scott Surplus, and even Jack Anderson’s brother, Jordan, the former Kamiakin head coach who stepped down last year to spend time with his wife and new baby.

“A number of my (assistants) are always scouting opponents,” said Jack Anderson. “Some days I’ll have three or four assistants who come in and tell me they were online the night before watching video of an opponent.”

That’s a great advantage. But the head coach simply loves watching these kids step up and take care of their own business.

“Watching practice is so much fun,” he said. “I sit back and enjoy it at least once a week. I’d pay to watch them. For example, I’m watching our Monday strength session one morning, and they all just push each other. It’s positive peer pressure. Nobody wants to be the guy who doesn’t make weight.”

Isaiah Anderson says pushing each other is key.

“It’s pretty cool that we have a team where we find every way possible to embrace the grind. Average teams find a way to just get through it, but to be a great team, the whole team knows that it takes extra effort.,” he said.

“When we notice someone not giving 100 percent, we encourage them. Everyone on the team has the same goal: to win a team state title. And that’s what keeps us encouraged heading into the final stretch of the season.”

Senior Riley Cissne agrees.

“We are able to push each other in the room because we have a great team mindset,” said Cissne. “Wrestling is tough, but the things my teammates and I have gotten out of this sport are unmeasurable. This sport helps teach a mental toughness that’s hard to get anywhere else. (We) also love the bond we get to make together during the grind of the season.”

Emotional coaching

Obviously, wrestling is very physical. But there is that mental aspect of the long season, and there is an emotional element to it too.

To that end, Jack Anderson hired a mental coach, Paul Swanson out of Spokane, to help the Riverhawks out.

“That has made a huge difference,” said Jack Anderson. “We Skype with him as a team. And he talks to our kids individually.”

Anderson added the Kennewick High football team — which played in the state 3A semifinals last November — also hired Swanson.

The athletes have responded to Swanson.

“He has helped our team tremendously,” said Stover. “He will video chat with our team and has printed worksheets that helps us keep the sport of wrestling simple and easy. He is also at our tournaments talking to us individually to prepare us for the battle that we face every match.”

Cissne says the key is Swanson simplifies things for the guys.

“He also uses analogies and create habits that can help remind us of our goals both short term and long term. He has been an important part for our team,” said Cissne. “He helps keep everyone on track mentally through some of the toughest parts of the year and it has helped us a lot.”

Some of the seniors had an inkling as freshmen that good things were coming.

“Freshman year I knew we would be good, but I wasn’t thinking team state title,” said senior Robby Vaughn. “Then sophomore year, looking at the incoming freshman list, we knew that we were gonna be a tough team to beat. We had good wrestlers coming in, and on top of that we all pushed each other so hard that we all reached a new level in our wrestling abilities.”

Outwork the entire state

But the biggest key has just been good old hard work.

“We knew that we had the potential to be a great team, but it wasn’t just going to be given to us,” said Isaiah Anderson. “We had to be hungry. We had to think of ourselves as underdogs. We had to outwork the entire state.”

And it isn’t just in the middle of the current season.

“Everyone on the team wrestled off-season. Most of our wrestlers got 100-plus matches this off-season,” said Isaiah.

“’Summer wrestling makes winter champions’ is a quote that describes our team. We put in work year-round, knowing that it will all pay off in the Tacoma Dome.”

In other words, this Chiawana team has been a coach’s dream, and Jack Anderson has been having the time of his life.

“It’s been a lot of fun,” said the coach. “A lot of this is that these are my son’s friends. And we’ve spent the years hanging out with their parents. It’s a lot of fun.”

This story was originally published February 19, 2020 at 9:12 AM.