FOR THE PAST two decades, Joey Johnson has been Port Townsend wrestling.
The Belfair native became something of an institution as the school’s longest-tenured head coach.
That will change this winter, however, when Johnson relinquishes his post for the first time in 20 years and hands it over to assistant Stephen Grimm.
“It was just time,” said Johnson, who also teaches math and sports medicine at the high school.
“I thought that when I’m not as effective as I thought I needed to be, I would step down. I’ve got good people who can take over, so I did.”
Added the 55-year-old grandparent, “And the bones don’t heal as quickly as they used to.”
Johnson first came to Port Townsend after spending 13 years as an assistant at South Kitsap, Federal Way and Walla Walla.
Within a few years, he helped transform Port Townsend into a state-caliber program that had wrestlers place in the top eight 20 different times at the Mat Classic.
His son, Keith Johnson, was runner up in Class 2A at 140 pounds in 2004, and the Redskins had seven third-place finishes.
The only thing missing was a state champion, something that still gnaws just a bit at Joey.
“I just could never get them over that hump,” said Joey, once a wrestler at Central Washington and University of Puget Sound.
“There were probably six or eight that should have been but couldn’t quite get there. It’s not about being the best in the state, it’s being the best on that day, and we never were. I’m still proud of them all. That’s just how it goes.”
Johnson’s teams often competed against bigger schools in the Olympic and Nisqually leagues but still held their own. And there was almost always at least one or two Redskins ranked near the top of the weight class each winter.
Port Townsend had at least one wrestler reach state 17 out of the 20 years Johnson was head coach.
That included a 13-year run from 1998 to 2010 when the Redskins had 19 state placers.
“We were always competitive, so I felt good about that and I felt good that we always had kids who could compete with the best,” Johnson said.
Grimm was one of Johnson’s former wrestlers, having placed fourth at 145 pounds in 2A his senior year in 2000.
He later walked on to wrestle at Highline Community College and eventually reached nationals.
Grimm has been a volunteer coach and an assistant coach with Port Townsend since 2002 in the wrestling and football programs, and serves the community as a firefighter.
Johnson said he’ll probably help Grimm out from time to time and may even serve as an assistant.
“I will always stick my nose in there,” Johnson said. “It kind of gets in your system and you just don’t ever leave it.”
New Spartan coach
The Forks girls basketball program will get yet another new leader when Cris Willmarth takes over this winter.
After coaching stints at Rainier, Naches Valley and Eisenhower of Yakima, the 41-year-old decided to go back to his small town roots.
“I actually grew up in Rainier, back when it was a small town and it felt like a small town. There was a lot of town pride in the school system,” Willmarth said.
“When I came up here and interviewed and went around town, I got kind of the same feeling that I got from Rainier back in the day. I really like it.
“I think the parents and the school want to build a program.”
Willmarth guided Rainier and Naches Valley to two state appearances each before going through a 1-18 season at Eisenhower — a program stunted by coaching instability for decades.
The Forks program has had its share of turnover as well in recent years, with Willmarth the sixth different coach to lead the Forks girls since 2004.
He said he plans to emphasize fundamentals and defense, while also creating a system and terminology that is taught from the grade school level up.
“I actually got to see Forks play a few times, and after seeing that and talking to the kids and stuff, I think defensively we can get better really, really quick,” Willmarth said.
“We also want to provide stability. It’s hard on kids when they have a different coach every year or two. I plan on being here for a while.”
Quick hits
■ The Olympic League cross country championships return to Cedars at Dungeness Golf Course in Sequim this Thursday.
This year’s event may not have a glut of state championship contenders like years past, but there’s still quite a bit of talent.
At the top of that list is Kingston’s Marina Roberts, the defending league champion and 2A runner-up.
North Kitsap and Kingston are ranked Nos. 4 and 10, respectively, in the 2A coaches’ poll and figure to battle it out for the league’s team title.
While the boys meet doesn’t have the star power, Port Angeles figures to be the area’s best chance at a league championship.
The Roughrider boys finished second among the league’s nine schools at the Salt Creek Invitational in September and won three of four league three-ways this fall.
■ The volleyball state rankings continue to puzzle.
North Kitsap, a 3-0 loser to Port Angeles in September, was ranked No. 8 in 2A by state coaches this week while the undefeated Riders (11-0 overall) are nowhere to be found.
Port Angeles will get a chance to state its case a second time when it travels to North Kitsap (10-1) next Tuesday for the two teams’ regular season finale.
There’s a decent chance that might also be for the league title.
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Matt Schubert is the outdoors and sports columnist for the Peninsula Daily News. His column regularly appears on Thursdays and Fridays. He can be reached at matt.schubert@peninsuladailynews.com.
