Nobody said life was easy.
In fact, for Peninsula Seahawks wrestler Bailey Parker, it’s a daily rotation of grit and grind. It’s the cold, soggy mornings feeding the animals on her family’s Wauna farm. It’s the hot, sweaty afternoons in the Peninsula High School wrestling room. It’s the musty, dusty evenings spent in the dirt of the rodeo arena.
But it’s the life Parker chose, and she isn’t a reigning state wrestling champion or one of the country’s premier calf-ropers because she made it easy on herself.
For Parker, toughness isn’t just a mindset, it’s all she knows.
A cowgirl since she was 4 years old and a wrestler since she was 5, Parker was coming off an impressive third-place finish in the Junior Rope for the Crown competition at the National Finals Rodeo in Las Vegas last December. Two months later her arm was raised as the 145-pound state champion at the 2024 Washington Interscholastic Activities Association State Wrestling Mat Classic. Parker and her teammates were also crowned 3A/4A team state champs — the school’s first girls wrestling title.
Her road to replicating that success this year hasn’t been easy. This past May she tore a pair of ligaments in her right elbow (her lassoing arm) during club wrestling practice that sidelined her from both sports. Though she was down one-half of her arms, she never left things half-finished. She still shoveled the horse paddocks daily. She still worked out three days a week, going to physical therapy in between. She was able to practice roping with her left arm, just in case.
The hard work is paying off. Doctors cleared her in October to again participate in the Junior Rope for the Crown this month in Las Vegas but urged her to refrain from wrestling until January. She’s able to flick her wrist to cast a lasso, but not yet able to put much impact on it for wrestling.
Despite not taking part in live matches, she’s still grinding at practice daily, showing up to train, mentor, and be with her teammates to ensure girls wrestling continues to grow.
“You don’t have to wrestle to get better,” said Parker, who plans to be back in action before the post-season. “I still enjoy learning from watching, and I get to help the younger girls too. Seeing this program grow is important to me.”
Seahawks girls and boys wrestling coach Gary Griffin praised Parker as a “coach’s dream,” noting her work ethic and dedication to the team, even while sidelined. “Her parents raised her right,” said Griffin, now in his 13th year leading the Seahawks program. “She’s one of the hardest workers I know. She’s driven and understands responsibility.”
Parker’s dad, Casey, said every day is a lesson in the grind for his daughter, and she is well-tuned at balancing her hectic school, sports and farm schedule.
“It’s hard to list everything she does each day because she doesn’t really have to be told what to do,” he said. “If it isn’t done, she just does it.”
Even without Parker, a term like “power-house” is appropriate to describe this year’s squad.
Alongside Parker and fellow individual state champion Mira Sonnen (135 lbs.), the Seahawks boast a lineup of returning talent, including Paige Powers, Olivia Griffin, Georgina Johnson and Lindsey Shipp, all of whom competed at the state tournament last year. Coach Griffin also anticipates a breakout season for sophomore Lyla Klingler, who ran this fall on the cross-country team.
When referring to the 2024-25 Seahawks girls team, Griffin speaks with a humble intensity about building a dynasty and staying on top for as long as they can. Peninsula girls wrestling has grown from a single wrestler four years ago to nearly 30 signed up this season — a testament to trailblazers like Parker and Sonnen.
“We’re seeing an explosion in girls wrestling,” Griffin said. “It helps build confidence in these young adults and teaches them that they’re capable of so much more than they realize. They work hard and the results will be the fruits of their labor.”
While the girls aim to defend their title, the Seahawks boys are setting their sights on revitalizing their own legacy. Junior Nehemiah Grandorff is a cornerstone for the squad. Grandorff, the team’s only returning state qualifier, is embracing a leadership role, aiming to inspire his teammates while also eyeing potential league, regional, and state titles for himself.
“This could be the team to win a league championship,” said Grandorff, who also plays football and runs track for the Seahawks. “We just have to piece it together.”
Griffin sees Grandorff as someone who can rally both experienced athletes and the large cohort of freshmen joining the team.
“He’s a natural leader and the younger guys will just gravitate to him,” Griffin said.
Griffin points to Joaquin Antoine and Bryce Tillman as key wrestlers who’ll keep the boys team in the hunt for a league title. Tillman narrowly missed a state berth last year and Griffin said that taste of near-success has only fueled his fire.
The boys face tough competition in the Puget Sound League from Silas and Lincoln, but Griffin believes his team will be in the mix for a league title. “We have some tough kids, and while individually we might be overlooked, together we’re a strong team,” Griffin said. On the girls’ side, he thinks Mount Tahoma and Central Kitsap could give his team some heartburn.
The first match for the Seahawks is Dec. 10 at North Thurston. The first home meet is scheduled Dec. 18 at 6 p.m. against Timberline. It’s not an easy schedule, but then again, not much for Parker and her teammates ever is. And that’s exactly the way they like it.
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