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SPORTS
Shelton School Board
reverses rugby decision
It votes to take back $30K designated to fund varsity sport
By EMILY HANSON
emily@masoncounty.com
The Shelton School District Board of
Directors voted unanimously last month
to reverse the board's decision to make
rugby a high school varsity sport.
At its Dec. 10 meeting, the board, in
addition to rescinding its move to make
rugby a varsity sport at Shelton High
School this spring, directed Superinten-
dent Wayne Massie to develop a proce-
dure for the introduction and approval of
sports in the school district.
"Over these last several months, there
has been more discussion about rugby in
this room than about on-time gradua-
tion," first-year board President Brenda
Hirschi said at the meeting. "I didn't
buy into joining the school board to talk
about rugby over and over ... We have
got to get back to what's really impor-
tant. I believe the past board wanted to
give the students an opportunity. I don't
fault them at all, but I think (funding
rugby) was premature."
In August, the five-member school
board which then included Jim Bar-
rett and Brian Major -- voted to set
aside $30,000 from the district's general
fund to start a two-year pilot program for
varsity rugby.
First-year board Vice President Jim
Carnahan expressed concerns about this
plan Dec. 10 after heang from the com-
munity.
Carnahan made the motion not to
implement rugby this spring, which was
then approved by four of the school board
members. Sue McCausland was excused
from the meeting for medical reasons.
The board's decision came after it
heard comments from the public and a
presentation from SHS Athletic Director
Jim Judson.
"The entire board unanimously ap-
proved something," Carnahan said at the
Dec. 10 meeting. "To overrule a previous
board's decision takes a momentous rea-
son ... That being said, I've asked other
board members: 'If you knew then what
you know now, would you go ahead with
it?' and only one said they would."
Carnahan said the information about
starting rugby as a varsity sport was still
incomplete, despite Judson's report dur-
ing the Dec. 10 meeting.
"The process was not followed by the
rugby people, as near as I can tell," Car-
nahan said.
He added that one component of the
process was that the school's Associated
Student Body (ASB) board needed rugby
to submit documents to the ASB by May
to be included in the ASB's budget and
that didn't happen. Carnahan said the
ASB tabled its decision on rugby because
it needed more information.
Camahan said he felt the decision to
set aside $30,000 for the creation of rug-
by as a varsity sport wasn't done prop-
erly.
"I feel like this thing was so poorly
handled.., it was a giant failure of lead-
ership at that time," he added.
Finally, Carnahan said he thinks the
decision about rugby needs to be sent
back to the superintendent for one year
so he can ensure that all questions are
answered. Carnahan said the rugby
community should then go back through
the process for reconsideration.
Unresolved questions
During the Dec. 10 meeting, Judson
answered three questions posed to him
by the board after a study session Dec.
3 at the Washington State School Direc-
tors' Association in Olympia.
Those questions were:
• What criteria will be used to moni-
tor and evaluate rugby as a pilot / explor-
atory sport?
• How will district and Washing-
tin Interscholastic Athletic Assocation
(WIAA) eligibility requirements be han-
dled?
B What is the budget estimate for
rugby for the 2014 spring season?
Judson told the board that if rugby
was a spring sport, student participa-
tion would have been monitored at the
end of the season. Surveys with players
and coaches would have been conducted
and the school would have evaluated
the funding of the program to determine
whether it could continue.
He then explained that if rugby was
implemented, it would have been recog-
nized as every other varsity sport and
the athletes would have been required
to meet eligibility standards. Those stan-
dards include students passing five of six
classes for academic eligbility, and hav-
ing a current physical and medical insur-
ance.
The athletes would have also been
required to follow (WIAA) rules, even
though rugby is not a WIAA-affiiated
sport. This would have meant that ath-
letes could not play two spring sports.
During past spring sports seasons, a few
rugby athletes also participated on Shel-
ton sports teams, including track and
field and powerlifting.
See RUGBY on page B-5
Journal photo by LloycMullen
Shelton School Board President Brenda Hirschi, left, and Vice President
Jim Carnahan discuss rugby during the board's Dec. 10 meeting.
Journal photo by Emily Hanson
North Mason junior Connor Lundberg gets Dominic Perez of North Kitsap
into a pin at the Hawkins Memorial Tournament on Saturday at North
Mason High School. Lundberg, wrestling in the 195-pound weight class,
pinned Perez 42 seconds into their match.
Bulldogs 2nd at home
By EMILY HANSON
emily@masoncounty.com
It took less than one minute for
Tyler Grewell to be declared a cham-
pion.
On Saturday, the North Mason
junior pinned Kenney Loslaben of
Sultan -- his final opponent at the
Hawkins Memorial Tournament -- in
44 seconds, winning the 170-pound
weight class at the Bulldogs' home
tournament. Seventeen teams com-
peted at the tournament.
"Tyler got a good hip toss and
stuck the kid," head coach Bill Mc-
Carty said.
Although he said Grewell's final
match win was impressive, McCarty
added that Grewell's quarterfinal and
semifinal matches were tougher.
"They were both really aggressive
matches," McCarty said. "Grewell had
to go the whole way, wrestle tough
and under control and use good clock
management."
Grewell won by decision 6-2 in
the quarterfinals against Aberdeen's
Tavo Sanchez.
He then defeated Kyle Davision of
Central Kitsap by major decision 10-2
in the semifinals.
Grewell opened the tournament
with a 3:45 pin of Port Townsend's
Forrest Piatt.
His championship points contrib-
uted to North Mason's overall score
of 142, good enough for second place.
Olympic High School won the tourna-
ment with 160 points, while Sultan
took third with 132.5 points.
McCarty said he was impressed
with North Mason's showing at the
tournament because the Bulldogs
don't have wrestlers at 113, 120 or
285 pounds.
"To miss three weight classes and
still take second is impressive to me,"
he said. "The guys really stepped up
and represented our school well."
Grewell wasn't the only Bulldog to
reach the finals Saturday.
Junior Mark Phillips. and senior
Chase Davis both took second at the
tournament.
At 126 pounds, Phillips fell to Sul-
tan's Jamell Carroll in the finals with
a 5:02 pin.
After starting his day with a first-
round bye, Phillips pinned Steila-
coom's Christophe Frye at 32 seconds
in the quarterfinals.
He then pinned Clover Park's Ty-
"The guys really
stepped up and
represented our
school well,"
Bill McCarty, NMHS head
wrestling coach
ler Woods after 3:52 in the semifinals.
"Mark had a reall: good day," Mc-
Carty said. "In the finals, he ran into
a really tough freshman from Sultan.
Mark wrestled him really tough until
the second round."
McCarty said that during the tour-
nament, Phillips wrestled cleanly and
performed well.
"In the finals, he just got caught,"
he said.
At 220 pounds, Davis was pinned
by Sultan's Taylor Comfort at 1:20 in
the finals for second place.
Davis reached the finals after a
quarterfinal technical fall victory
against Woodland's Nathan Cloud
16-0 and a 42-seconds semifinal pin
over Aberdeen's Henry Fultz.
He started the tournament with a
first-round bye.
"Chase wrestled really well earlier
in the day," McCarty said. "Finals
wasn't a good match for him. Chase
wrestled a bit tentative and not with
his normal aggressive style."
He said Davis is usually good at
picking the pace for a match. When
faced with a fast-moving opponent,
Davis will slow the match down and
vice versa.
"In the finals, unfortunately, he
wrestled a little off and Comfort just
thumped on him," McCarty said.
Finally, North Mason had five
wrestlers finish the tournament as
co-third placers. Wrestlers didn't
compete for third place because they
were not allowed to have more than
five matches in one day.
Senior Kyler Hockaday at 132
pounds, senior Grant Hunter at 152
pounds, senior Morgan Grewell at
160 pounds, junior Connor Lundberg
at 195 pounds and senior Tommy
Marsh at 220 pounds all finished as
co-third placers.
The Bulldogs compete next at the
Battle of the Ax Tournament at 10
a.m. Saturday at Port Angeles High
School. °
Mason County Journal - Thursday, Jan. 2, 2014 - Page B-1
