Edgren’s Ethan Wong and Perry’s Jayden Valverde get a chance to see wrestlers from outside DODEA-Japan at Saturday’s 11th Rumble on the Rock. (David Shepherd/Special to Stripes)
KADENA AIR BASE, Okinawa – Nearly 120 wrestlers will take to two mats Saturay at Kadena High School in the 11th Rumble on the Rock.
Three DODEA schools from Japan, two from Okinawa and three from Korea are expected, plus two Japanese clubs. Forty girls and nearly 80 boys are set to wrestle.
“Not bad at all,” said Kadena coach and Rumble director Joey Wood. “It didn’t seem like there would be that many, but it slowly came together this week.”
Rumble is one of two inter-district regular-season tournaments scheduled for 2025-26, the other being the Korea Classic on Jan. 17 at Camp Humphreys.
The annual “Beast of the Far East” tournament which had been scheduled for Jan. 10 has been canceled because its date fell too close to semester exams scheduled for Jan. 12-15, officials said.
Rumble’s prime purpose, Wood said, is to give wrestlers preparation for the Far East tournament, girls slated for Jan. 28-30 at Kadena and boys Feb. 2-4 at Humphreys.
“That’s the idea,” Wood said. “We have to have matches. We can’t get better by just practicing.”
Kadena’s Jasmin Davis and Kubasaki’s Sena Vought will get a chance to see opponents from outside Okinawa at Saturday’s 11th Rumble on the Rock. (Dave Ornauer/Stars and Stripes)
It’s more imperative for schools with less on-mat time, Wood said.
Kadena and Kubasaki, which have two of the largest programs in DODEA-Pacific, have had just two dual meets.
By comparison, Robert D. Edgren, Matthew C. Perry and E.J. King of Japan have had three tournaments, but in individual freestyle format. Osan, Daegu and Humphreys have had three weekends of competition, but in dual-meet format.
“They need the mat time experience with the competition,” said Cougars coach Michael Paul, who’s bringing eight wrestlers, including sisters Giovanna and Gavriella Duran, who transferred to Osan from Yokota.
Daegu is bringing just two boys, veteran Jaiden Williams and freshman Takumi Sibley, each of whom stand to benefit greatly from Rumble, coach Zach Colflesh said.
“I think Jaiden is going to go far; he has a good chance of medaling” on Okinawa, Colflesh said.
As for Shibley, Colflesh could be speaking for most of the wrestlers: “He’ll get more exposure to other schools and more time on the mat.”
Okinawa schools’ limited time on the mat is even more pronounced with Kadena 155-pounder Jasmine Kinney, who has not had one bout yet this season. “I need more experience and mat awareness,” she said.
“It will be interesting to see the work ethic of the other teams, especially the ones from Korea,” said senior Raegan Cayce of Kubasaki. She wrestled the last two years at Vicenza and her freshman year at Kinnick.
“Trying to work on my skills, moves, knowing what to do and execute,” said Kadena senior Chris Edmonson, a second-generation wrestler whose dad Chris competed for Pusan American and Kubasaki in the 2000s.
One disappointment for Wood is that three DODEA-Japan schools – Yokota, Zama and Kinnick – won’t be in attendance; they’re wrestling in an invitational Saturday at Kinnick, which also features St. Mary’s and Seisen of Tokyo.
“We might not see the (DODEA teams in the Kanto Plain) until Far East,” Wood said. “We’re also limited on the number of DODEA athletes who can travel.”
In the next-to-last weekend before the two-week holiday break, Kadena’s basketball teams visit Kubasaki on Friday in their first of four regular-season battles.
Osan’s basketball teams travel to Taejon Christian and Humphreys to Chadwick on Saturday. Daegu hosts Dwight School of Seoul on Saturday.
King’s and Perry’s basketball teams compete this weekend in the Western Japan Athletic Association tournaments in Kobe and Osaka. Yokota, Zama and Kinnick each have local competitions.
AloJapan.com