Jolley good show

When Tyler Jolley’s high school wrestling career is over and an era ends, it will give East Valley coach Craig Hanson pause.

For the first time in 15 years and at two different high schools, there will be no Jolley sibling competing on one of his teams.

“Obviously, it’s going to seem strange,” Hanson said. “Next year will be the first time in a long time I haven’t penciled in that name.”

Tyler Jolley is the last of nine children of Terry and Patty Jolley. Most have left lasting imprints on respective athletic programs at both Lakeside (Nine Mile Falls) and EV high schools.

Hanson was an assistant coach at Lakeside when the oldest, Terry Jr., won the 1994 State 1A 190-pound wrestling championship.

Sister Lora was his teacher’s aide and is now the coach of the Eagles’ first-place girls basketball team. She and her sister, Brianne, were integral parts as players in the program’s emergence as a 2A state power.

Hanson became EV’s coach in 1995 and it wasn’t many years later that the rest of the Jolley wrestling clan joined him.

Tyler, the youngest of six boys, would like nothing better than to end the era the way his older brother began it, with a championship.

But it’s football that the 6-foot-4, 270-pound All-State defensive lineman and coveted Eastern Washington University signee holds dearest.

“This year’s recruiting class really started when Tyler Jolley committed to us,” said EWU coach Paul Wulff. “We think he has an outstanding future for us.”

Terry Jolley Sr., who wrestled at West Valley, was instrumental in the start of a youth program that would feed into the new high school and eventual mat powerhouse.

It was logical for his six sons to follow suit. Tyler said he began wrestling at age 4.

When the parents divorced after 22 years, Terry moved back to Spokane Valley and began life as a single parent.

“It wasn’t easy,” said Terry of the breakup. “Eventually, the best thing was having all the boys under one roof.”

So it came to pass that the Jolley name, which had been instrumental in putting Lakeside athletics on the map, would put five boys through the EV wrestling program where Hanson was now the coach. All had their successes, three qualifying for state. None approached the state title of Terry Jr., now teaching and coaching in Kellogg, although Tyler has the tools.

“I think it made me a lot tougher having older and stronger brothers to push me,” Tyler said. “I used to get beat up a lot and think it helped me to become the athlete I am today.”

He finished fifth last year at 215 pounds after losing 3-2 in the semifinals to eventual champion Brad Padgett.

“Tyler was the second-best in state,” said Hanson.

This year he’s won 30 straight, using his combination of agility and the size to dominate. He said he likes the weight class better because of its combination of strength, power and technique.

“It’s been an advantage going to 275,” said Hanson. “He still wrestles like he’s lighter, yet physically can dominate most people.”

Those are qualities that made him attractive to EWU football, Tyler’s favorite sport.

“This is my passion,” he said.

He and brothers Joe and Jordan played varsity football on the same EV team when Tyler was a sophomore, complaining at the time, he said, of not getting enough playing time.

“But I was behind Andy Roof (now at Washington State),” he admitted.

He played tight end, defensive line and fullback his junior year when EV reached the State 3A quarterfinals. He’s been timed at 4.82 for 40 yards.

This year EV lost to Ferndale in the first round of the state playoffs and Jolley was impressed with UW-bound Ferndale quarterback Jake Locker who, he said, hit as hard as he does.

“I love flying around, hitting people, making plays and being part of a team,” he said.

Jolley chose Eastern because of its proximity, in part because his dad didn’t get to watch Terry Jr., wrestle.

“I already made up my mind that I didn’t want to go far so my family could watch,” he said. “My dad was two weeks away from watching Terry wrestle and Terry blew his knee.”

With state wrestling approaching for the last time and only one more track season remaining, change is in the wind for dad.

The parent, who for a brief period had six children under his roof in a two-bedroom apartment, said he will become an empty nester for the first time in 30 years.

“It’s going to be weird,” Terry said, adding that the time spent rearing a large family went by faster than he thought. “I think I’ll be ready for it. Fortunately, I’m going to watch some football and I’ve got some grandkids about ready to get into kids (sports).”

One era ends, another begins.