When Yelm High School’s boys wrestling head coach Tim Beaudin took over for the legendary Gaylord Strand, who retired at the conclusion of the 2023-24 wrestling season, he knew he would have big shoes to fill.
So far, the longtime Yelm assistant coach is off to a hot start as his Tornados defeated the Sumner Spartans 42-31 to clinch an outright 4A South Puget Sound League (SPSL) championship on Wednesday, Jan. 29 — just one week after claiming an SPSL South Division championship.
“It was definitely a barn burner,” Beaudin said. “It was amazing seeing the community all come out and support. Two sides of the bleachers were filled, so it was a playoff-type atmosphere that was loud and a great environment.”
The Spartans were off to a big 31-8 lead over the Tornados early on, but the strength of the Tornados lineup was able to get the team right back into it as Wesley Thompson, Lake Harris and AJ Erickson each picked up pinfall victories.
“I think we had a lot of guys disappointed that they lost some close matches. I mean, Jonah was in a barn burner and only picked up three points for us where we were hoping for six,” Beaudin said. “They never quite get worried about it. They seem to all pull together, and they kind of expect to win. You know, they kind of help each other out and if one guy falters, the other one steps up and gets the W for us. It was a lot of fun.”
Beaudin said it’s an honor to be the first team at YHS to bring home an SPSL championship in the 4A classification — but he was quick to give credit to his athletes, particularly his upperclassmen.
“They've worked really hard this year, and I'm just proud of them in the community. It's endless hours for wrestlers through the youth leagues and up,” Beaudin said. “I went to some of the youth USA tournaments in Rainier on Sunday, and watched some of our future wrestlers. The time they put in to get to this point is amazing.”
Following the SPSL Championship victory over Sumner, the Tornados will compete in the subregional tournament at Emerald Ridge High School on Friday, Feb. 7, and Saturday, Feb. 8. Beaudin said he and the Tornados are hopeful to “get as many kids through to state” as they can. The top seven wrestlers from each weight class will qualify for the annual Mat Classic competition inside the Tacoma Dome.
“So there'll be 24 entries in a 32-man bracket and hopefully we're in the top seven in most of those weight classes. We’ll see how many kids we get to stay,” Beaudin said. “With the postseason here, we’re shortening the length of the practices but they’re more intense — especially on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. We’ll be pushing pretty good on Mondays and Tuesdays.”
Beaudin added the lack of a regional tournament is strange, but he understands there’s a shortage of referees – which ultimately led to the subregional tournament returning this year.
“We are going to wrestle (our tournament) on Feb. 8, and then others are going to wrestle theirs on Feb. 15. So we're gonna have a week off, which is good, but it's gonna be a different feel to how you train,” Beaudin said. “I’ll probably stick with hammering down Monday through Wednesday, and then lighten up a little bit. We’re going to do some team bonding activities to fill that time so we don’t get too squirrely.”
With a win-or-go-home environment approaching, Beaudin is hopeful to see his athletes continue to use the same work ethic that’s gotten his wrestlers to this point in their careers.
“I'm just hoping that they show up, they work hard and they don't check out,” Beaudin said. “I would like to think we can place in the top eight, and I would also like to think that a couple of kids could get to the finals this year, so that's the goal and we’ll get on it.
