When Brendan Hughes first left the Mat Classic nearly two years ago as a state champion, he established himself as a force to be reckoned with for his final two seasons at Mt. Spokane.
But a misstep on the soccer field seven months later put a stop to those dreams.
Hughes, then a junior for the Wildcats, took a hit during a regular-season game and misstepped his foot, resulting in a torn ACL in his right knee — ending both his gridiron and wrestling seasons before they even began.
“I was out for nine months and I came back just in time for the senior football season,” Hughes said. “But it was so hard to sit there and watch last season because I wanted to be a three-time state champion.
Fortunately for Hughes and the Wildcats, one of the top 285-pounders in the state is fully recovered and looking to return to his pre-injury form. His first test comes this weekend as he looks to defend his 2023 title at the Tri-State Invitational Friday and Saturday at North Idaho College.
“It’s a big tournament, especially as a big boy because we get to see the best of the best from around the region,” Hughes said. “It’s a great test to see where I’m at physically, but also to see where I stand now against the other top guys that I’ll have to see on the road and at state.”
Even after missing all of last season, Hughes still knows he won’t enter the tournament as an unknown or an underdog. But he says he’s always looked for flaws that other wrestlers can see in him and tries to take advantage of that.
“Before, I was always younger than whoever I was facing, so I used that as motivation to catch them off guard,” Hughes said. “Now after this injury, my opponents can look at me as rusty or still injured, so I can try to take advantage of that a little bit.
For Hughes, claiming another Tri-State title would not only prove to the rest of the state that he’s back, but also to prove to himself that suffering through months of rehab was worth the wait.
“Every day coming into practice I’d know I had to ease into it, but then I’d want to go harder and harder,” Hughes said. “And once I got going, I knew there was no stopping me. I just went at it as hard as I could.”
Wrestling begins at the North Idaho College campus in Coeur d’Alene on Friday at 10 a.m. and concludes with finals and placement matches on Saturday at 3 p.m. All-tournament tickets for spectators are $25 and $20 for seniors, while single-day tickets are $15 and finals-only tickets are $10.
WIAA reverses stance on girls’ wrestling: Shortly before the start of the season, the WIAA informed coaches that girls would no longer be allowed to wrestle with boys during the regular season.
Just two weeks later and the tide has turned again.
“However, a number of schools and leagues have defied the split and requested that girls be allowed to wrestle against boys during the regular season,” a Dec. 12 WIAA media release said. “Staff supports this request. Beginning in the 2026-27 school year, all schools must schedule girls to wrestle only against girls.”
Girls have been separated from boys for more than a decade as far as the postseason goes, but several schools have used girls on boys’ lineups in recent years.
This year is also the first season that the Greater Spokane League has a dual schedule for girls teams, with the majority of games coming before the boys varsity doubles.
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