This was the biggest one of the season, and also the farthest - 4 hours away. We booked a hotel for Friday night in Couer d' Alene, only about a 30-40 drive from the Spokane Convention Center so getting there early in the morning wouldn't be an issue. We also booked a hotel for Saturday night after the tournament as we knew it was going to be a long day and driving home afterwards was not something we wanted to do!
Friday, once we arrived at our hotel, the kids wasted no time hopping in the pool. After a bit of swim time, we went out to Red Robin for dinner, then ended the night snuggled in bed watching tv until everyone fell asleep. It's so fun to stay in a hotel! The kids just love it!
Saturday morning we were up and moving bright and early. Anthony got in his singlet and sweats and we all walked down to our continental breakfast before hitting the road and booking it to the convention center.
Walking into the tournament was a bit scary. Sooooo many people! And even though we weren't late, we weren't early either; so it was right to figuring out where to sign in, do his skin and nail check, and then to find coach. Only two other boys were attending this tournament, so our Grappler group was small. We found coach and the rest of the team just fine though, and we had only a short while to wait before the opening ceremony a little after 8.
We knew the day was going to be a long one, despite being superbly organized, just due to the size of the tournament. We had a long while to wait before Anthony's age group was even called back for the first time for paring. I think it was 12:00 when he came out of the pairing room and wrestled his first match. During our wait, we got some snacks and got ourselves all settled in for some people watching, lol. It was fun watching all these hundreds of kids wrestle and cheering for the other two boys in our Grapplers group. We even got to meet up with some friends who use to live in Goldendale, but now live in Idaho, and were there because their son Landon was wrestling in the tournament as well! It was really great to catch up with them and let the boys chat for a bit.
Anthony's 1st match - a loss.
This was a great pairing and Anthony did very well during this match! Both boys were equal in skill, and Anthony was winning the match up until literally the last 3 seconds of the match when his opponent got in a reversal and thus passed Anthony in points right before the ref called the match, darn! Still, he was so pleased with how he performed during this first match, it was hard to be disappointed over the loss!
After his first match, we knew we had ample time, so we all loaded up and went to check into our new hotel which was 20 minutes from the convention center. The kids ate a snack, filled their waters, stretched their legs and took a breather before having to head back to the convention center, knowing they'd be calling his age group for their second paring. It was nice to leave and get a break from the crowd and noise!
Anthony's 2nd match - a win.
Anthony's second match was at 3:15. He won this match by a landslide, which was so super awesome for him! It was really exciting to see him do so well! He performed wonderfully.
Anthony's 3rd match - a loss.
This was a tough one! Anthony did so well getting up and out, but in the end he got pinned and that was that!
With this second loss, and thus no placement part of the plan, we were able to book it out of there and head to our hotel. Everyone was ready to leave the crowd and noise behind and go spend some time splashing around in the pool and relax in the hot tub. We ordered pizza, pigged out, watched The Croods, and had some pool time fun!
Great, great work, Anthony!! This was your first large tournament and you did so well! We are continuously proud of you and the work you put forth. You might not have received a medal this season, but we are just starting out on the tournament road and your persistence and hard work prove that good things will come in the future.
We hope you are as proud of yourself as we are of you! Keep it up!! Next season will be here before you know it!
With love,
Mama Hauck
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