New Asotin and Lapwai wrestling programs signify grappling growth in the area

Jan. 4—The wrestling scene in the Lewis-Clark Valley and extending areas is growing at a rapid pace.

The valley has seen the addition of two new high school programs in as many years: Lapwai and Asotin.

The Panthers and Wildcats will square off at 5:30 p.m. today at Wilcox Gym in their first home dual in program history.

Asotin once had a team of 11 wrestlers in 1978 that was later disbanded in '79, and they never had any home events.

"Everybody should get a match," Asotin coach Colt Heger said. "Hopefully we can grow this into something for the long haul and maybe get a name for it someday."

Heger, an Asotin High School graduate, has seen the LCV wrestling scene from all angles. He was a state placer competing for Clarkston due to the Panthers not having a program at the time. He grappled collegiately for Montana State University-Northern and came back to the valley to start his coaching career. He started as an assistant for both Clarkston and Lewiston and would eventually become the Bengals' headman in 2015.

He stepped down after a two-year tenure at Lewiston, and after a short hiatus from the sport, he began the Snake River Reptiles, a youth wrestling program based in Asotin, in 2017.

Asotin first approached Heger about resurrecting the high school team during the Reptiles' inaugural season, and he went on to recommend a middle school program instead.

"You got to have a feeder program," he said. "So you got to at least have a junior high program."

The middle school team had eight wrestlers on its roster during its first year, and this season, its size nearly doubled, pulling in 15 grapplers.

"You always want to see it grow bigger," Heger said. "We have a lot of big kids too at the junior high program, and we have 15 total kids and for a small school like Asotin, that's huge."

After overseeing the middle school program since its inception, Heger accepted the role of head coach for his alma mater, helping revitalize a program that has been dormant for more than 40 years.

"It's been a long time coming," Heger said. "It's really cool; it's something that my dad wanted to do a long time ago, and I grew up wrestling at Clarkston and going to Asotin, so it was something he wanted the school to be able to have."

Heger handed the reins of the Asotin middle school program to three former athletes of his: Caleb Smith, Joe Rigney and Trevor Rigney, who all were under his tutelage at Lewiston High School.

"It's growing slowly in spots," Heger said of the local growth of wrestling. "Lewiston has quite a few kids, and Clarkson is getting a bunch of kids; it kind of comes in peaks and valleys for a while. But that's what it's done all along, but I think it's slowly growing. Wrestling in general is slowly growing."

Basketball remains the premier sport in Lapwai during the winter months, but that's not to say wrestling hasn't garnered any interest, with its roster more-than-doubling from last season.

The Wildcats returned to the mat after a 30-year hiatus last season and finished with seven wrestlers on their roster. This season, Lapwai has 15 grapplers on the team, and another 15 have come out for the middle school program.

"It's hard to start wrestling as a freshman," Lapwai wrestling coach Chris Katus said. "We did that last year, and it didn't go so well. ... The basics are absolutely imperative, and in middle school you can go out there and find another first-year wrestler. If you go out there as a first-year wrestler (in high school), you'll get beat up pretty bad."

The production from his second-year wrestlers has vastly improved, with Katus saying they "look like completely different kids."

This hit the second-year coach early in the season, when he had to stick around until the end of tournaments.

"I used to bring four kids, we'd get beat, and I'd go to the coaches' room and get fat and leave early," Katus said. "This year, we have a good problem with having to stick out for the finals. We've seen our performance and all-around work ethic improve so much. I couldn't be more proud of these kids."

Growth and success might be a good problem to have, but it's a lot for two people to juggle. Katus and assistant coach Matt Lattuada oversee both the high school and middle school programs.

"We're in the process of hiring another coach," Katus said. "We're growing a bit too much for two people to juggle two programs."

Asotin and Lapwai have both seen rapid growth and will take part in a history-making dual that has been decades in the making for both programs.

"I'm really excited," Katus said. "He (Heger) reached out to put something together; I'm not too concerned about the outcome. We want to create some good experiences for our wrestlers, and we're hoping for a good hometown crowd to grow our sport."

The Wildcats, shortly after their dual with the Panthers, will host their first wrestling event in decades on Jan. 10, which will be a scramble against Potlatch and Clearwater Valley.

"Last year, before I got approval to start (the wrestling team), they didn't know how the program was going to go," Katus said. "And halfway through the year last year, they wanted to try something at home, but it was too late. So this year, we're really excited to have a home match. I think we'll have a lot of community support. Lapwai needs another winter sport, and this is it."

Pixley may be contacted at (208) 848-2290, tpixley@lmtribune.com or on Twitter @TreebTalks