Saturday, Nov. 7, Creekside Community Center hosted a wrestling tournament for the Harrison Youth Wrestling Club on the Farm Bureau and First Community Bank Courts. Four matches were happening at a time, featuring boys and girls ages five to 15.
During the season, a wrestling tournament takes place every weekend somewhere in Arkansas. Twenty different schools came to Creekside Community Center for the second tournament of the season. Youth clubs from Missouri attended, too.
Local director Summer Miller said, “Now that we have wrestling in this area, we hope to pull from Oklahoma and other states, too.”
She was very appreciative of the sponsors, Top Drawer Furniture, Rogue Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Core Chiropractic, Hack, and Ozark Orthopedics. The sponsors helped with the expense of the massive mat, which made its debut at the Creekside event.
Creekside Sports Coordinator, Austin Smith, said, “We appreciate Green Forest and Berryville Schools for bringing their mats too.” The full-size mats take up half of a basketball court.
Miller said this tournament competed against two other events in Arkansas, so she was thrilled to have 173 wrestlers. “Almost 200 people chose us over the others. So I’m pretty happy about that.”
Students can join the program at any time. They work out at the Rogue Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Gym in the Winkler Complex on Cottonwood Road. Parents can email hywrestling@gmail.com or check out the Facebook page. Miller said they can also call (208) 616-3091.
“Girls wrestling is the fastest-growing sport in Arkansas,” Miller said. “Scholarships are available once they reach the higher age groups. We actually pull a lot of girls from cheerleading and gymnastics and boys from basketball and football. They still do both, and it has improved their skills in all the sports they participate in.”
Smith said, “We are very glad to partner with the Harrison Youth Wrestling Club.”
Parks Director Chuck Eddington said, “These wrestling tournaments and swim meets are new events that Parks is now able to host because we have Creekside Community and Aquatics Center. It is a blessing to partner with these organizations in our community and bring them to our town!"
Mayor Jerry Jackson said, “Several years ago, we identified that we should have a wrestling team and host tournaments. Thanks to Parks Director Chuck Eddington and several local people, we're there now. We have a great partnership that benefits our students and community.”
