THE DALLES wrestler Mitchell Waters (top) tries to take control of his Japanese counterpart in a match Monday at Vannet Court in Hood River. Waters had the chance to grapple with 18U wrestlers from a national team representing the Far East.
JOE LINEBARGER, of The Dalles, locks up Shingo Nishiyama in a match Monday in Hood River. Linebarger, teammate Mitchell Waters and wrestlers from Hood River participated in a cultural exchange Monday.
THE DALLES wrestler Mitchell Waters (top) tries to take control of his Japanese counterpart in a match Monday at Vannet Court in Hood River. Waters had the chance to grapple with 18U wrestlers from a national team representing the Far East.
Although the distance between homelands is more than 5,000 miles, wrestlers representing the Greater Columbia Gorge hit the mats in the gym of a crowded Vannet Court in Hood River Monday for 12 matches against the 18U Japanese National Team as part of an International cultural exchange.
Just some of the names who took part in this event were The Dalles wrestlers Mitchell Waters and Joe Linebarger, and Milwaukie’s Clay Bispham.
From Hood River Valley, Jorge Ortega, Trystan Fisher and Steven Swafford grappled in some tough matches.
With a packed house of students, administrators and community members cheering loudly for the wrestlers, the Japanese team won all 12 matches against their American counterparts.
Last year, Hood River Valley junior Max Lane, Class of 2014 graduate Andrew DeHart and coach Chad Sperry were able to travel to Japan on the Oregon Cultural Exchange wrestling team.
Because of the trip, Hood River Valley High was given the opportunity to host a visiting team from Japan.
This opportunity comes up only about every 20 years and is a unique and special opportunity for wrestling programs, their schools, communities and the state of Oregon.
The group of 16 visiting Japanese wrestlers were in Hood River for a few days as part of a cultural exchange trip that brought them to Montana, Washington and Oregon, where they toured the areas, stayed with host families and participated in friendly wrestling matches.
Japanese wrestlers stayed with host families in the gorge; the crowd at the gym stood for both the Japanese and United States national anthems before the action.
Some Japanese wrestlers bowed to the crowd when being introduced and gifts were exchanged.
Opponents shook hands sincerely after each round.
In some of the matches, the American wrestlers had to make adjustments to a style change. Instead of folkstyle, which is used mainly in the United States, the Japanese wrestlers went freestyle, a technique executed in international competitions.
In such a rare opportunity to test skills versus international athletes, the competition was fierce, the atmosphere fun.
Language barriers aside, the mat, the wrestling and the thrill of the crowd created a common bond spanning cultural similarities across 5,000 miles.
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