The decision to return wrestling to Big Bend was multi-layered and included local interest in the sport as well as the college's legacy of helping student-athletes achieve success inside and outside of the classroom.
"For the last five years, Big Bend athletes have had either the best or second-best GPAs in the state of Washington for schools our size," said Athletic Director Mark Poth. "That level of success in the classroom is proof that our coaches recruit not only good athletes, but good people with great character.
"We feel as an athletic department that we can continue to grow that success with the expansion of our athletic offerings and with the extreme interest in both men's and women's wrestling in our service area it feels like a win-win situation."
Big Bend will be the only collegiate wrestling program in Eastern Washington.
The hunt for a head coach for both programs will commence immediately with job postings expected at the beginning of next week (June 4). The hiring of assistants will follow, and recruiting will begin early this summer to fill the 2018-19 roster. The college hopes to recruit roughly 30 athletes this summer and eventually carry 25-30 wrestlers on each roster.
"We are excited to return men's wrestling and introduce women's wrestling at the collegiate level," said Big Bend President Terry Leas. "These sports give talented athletes in our service district opportunities to continue their education and wrestling careers beyond high school and we are delighted about this newest addition."
Both the men and women will compete collegiately in the National Collegiate Wrestling Association (NCWA) with the women also competing in the Women's Collegiate Wrestling Association (WCWA).
Big Bend Community College is a two-year public college located in Moses Lake, Washington. Founded in 1962, Big Bend CC has an enrollment of approximately 4,000 students.
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