Putting Cardinal wrestling 'back on the map'

The building blocks were placed in 2021-22 for what head coach Garrett Roulston thinks could be a resurgence for Medical Lake wrestling.

"Last year we had a really young team and a lot of freshmen - three quarters of our team were freshmen," Roulston said in a recent interview.

The result was a fifth-place finish in the Northeast A League, arguably, year-in, year-out, one of if not the most competitive 1A league in the state of Washington. The NEA has produced three of the past four state team champions, is home to the defending champs from Deer Park, plus numerous top-10 finishers.

Two years into being head coach, Roulston has served as an assistant to Matt Leenhouts for four years and before that with Josh Edmondson. His goal is to continue the building process and to put Medical Lake "Back on the map, kind of like how it used to be when I was in school."

Roulston is certainly understands the culture of Medical Lake wrestling having first competed in the Mat Maulers "Little Guy" program, then in high school and now he's come full circle to coach.

Those sophomores are now juniors, and a group of freshmen from a year ago add another layer of building blocks to the foundation.

"We're young group, but I tell you what, this group works really hard and we're getting better every day," Roulston said. "That's our goal is get 1% better every day."

There are just two seniors - Gavin Chaffee, a heavyweight, and Chris Garza at 152 pounds - on the team. Juniors on the current varsity roster include Carter DiBartolo (182), Ian Steege (170) and Ty Moore (160), the latter a Cheney transfer.

Notable among the sophomores are Roulston's son, Hudson, who is slated to compete at 126 pounds and traveled to state as an alternate last season. Tru Cole (195) is also someone to watch according to Roulston.

And there's Shadrach Mason (138), who might have built-in wrestling DNA considering his father is former Cheney coach Aaron Mason. Home-schooled, Mason has yet to wrestle competitively in a school setting. "We're excited to have him full fledge this year," Roulston said.

Johnny Sumerlin (160), "Might be the sleeper that people need to watch out for," Roulston suggests.

Portions of the team spent the summer both in camps and off-season competition, including taking six wrestlers to state in Freestyle and Greco.

The Cardinals will have their first test when they host the Medical Lake Scramble tournament, 10 a.m. Saturday, Dec. 3. The event will include a number of Greater Spokane League schools such as Lewis and Clark and Mount Spokane.

"Our philosophy is you're not going to be the best until you beat the best," Roulston said.