The middle school wrestling season for all local youth — grades 6th, 7th, and 8th — kicked off on Monday, Feb. 10. The program runs from daily from 3:30 to 5 p.m. in the PTHS Wrestling Room.

“The first two weeks of Middle School wrestling will run at the same time as our high school post-season training,” said Coach Jim Wilcox. “Our aim is for the hard work of the high schoolers to rub off on our younger athletes, and show them how to approach sports the right way.”

It was a strong start, with 40 middle schoolers registering.

“There is room for more in our room, and we are excited to once again have seven coaches available to work with these kids in developing habits that can set them on the path to success,” said Coach Joe Banks. “Our girls won their League Championship with eight girls on our squad last year.” He noted that 17 girls registered in the first week.

“I think we will make a splash!” said Banks.

There is plenty of room for more kids to join the team. Contact EJ Rivals Athletic Director Shelby Box or associated student body secretaries at Chimacum or Blue Heron.

“The last few years we have had six to eight middle schoolers make the transition to the high school team, and our depth at the high school level has increased dramatically,” said Coach Stephen Grimm. “This year we are filling every weight class for our Dual Meets, which is a great achievement for our smaller-sized school.”

He added that “every year we get a couple of kids that ‘click’ and figure out that hard work equals success in this sport. The Middle School Program “helps immensely in making a larger pool of kids that get the opportunity to succeed.”

The EJ Rivals Middle School Wrestling Season will run two months, Feb. 10 through the League Championship on April 9 in Sequim.

Ryan White is a wrestling coach at Port Townsend High School.