Cody McLain was just one of two Chimacum athletes to make it to the Mat Classic state wrestling tournament. Chimacum technically doesn’t have a wrestling program and athletes from that school train and practice with the nearby Port Townsend wrestling squad.
Despite these challenges, McLain excelled at the Mat Classic. Wrestling at the 220-pound class and wearing a Port Townsend singlet, McLain lost his first match of the day Friday, then won five straight matches, three of them by pins, to take third place at state.
McLain had to work especially hard for his third-place trophy, going to overtime to finally beat his opponent Jared Boswell of Deer Park 11-9.
McLain’s effort single-handedly gave Chimacum a 26th-place finish out of 47 1A schools represented at the Mat Classic.
The Athlete of the Week is brought to you by the sports department at the Peninsula Daily News along with the sponsorship of Swain’s General Store serving Clallam and Jefferson counties since 1957.
