Thursday an all-you-can-handle wrestling night smorgasboard

It’s called a jamboree, but really, what goes on Thursday night at University High is more like a wrestling smorgasbord.

Considering the rich history the sport has in the Spokane Valley, that’s saying something. The list of state champions that have come out of the wrestling rooms at these four schools is both long and distinguished.

The annual kick-off to the high school wrestling season pits the Valley’s four Greater Spokane League schools against each other in a double set of dual meets.

“When we started this thing, it was the Frontier League against the GSL,” East Valley coach Craig Hanson said. “It was us and West Valley against CV and U-Hi. These days it’s the Class 3A schools against the Class 4A schools, which amounts to the same thing.”

In other words, Hanson’s Knights will wrestle both University and Central Valley, as will coach Geoff Hensley’s West Valley Eagles.

Unlike the regular season, each match of the jamboree will consist of three one-minute rounds, with no overtime allowed.

“You’re allowed to wrestle for a total of six minutes in a jamboree,” Hanson explained. “That means, if a wrestler does both matches, he will have hit his limit, so ties stand.”

For all four schools, the All-Valley Jamboree is the first opportunity for each school to see its wrestlers in action under match conditions.

“It’s the first time they get to wrestle against someone different,” Hanson laughed. “That’s always a good thing.”

The popular event, which begins with freshmen and junior varsity matches at 4 p.m., and the varsity to follow. The schedule says the varsity will start at 6 p.m., but that always seems to depend on numbers. The bigger the squads, the more matches there will be.

In fact, some schools will divide their varsity, sending a different lineup out for each dual match.