He's led Sprague to 10 district championships
By Bill Poehler
December 31, 2007
Sprague High School's Kary Hadden has coached the Olympians' wrestling team fo 19 years.
Sprague High School wrestling coach Kary Hadden has been involved in the sport for most of his life, first as a competitor, then as a coach.
In his 19 years at Sprague, Hadden has won 10 district championships and the Olympians have become one of the top teams in the state.
During the past four years, two Sprague wrestlers each have been in the state finals, including junior R.J. Peña, a two-time state champion who already has verbally committed to wrestle at Oregon State.
Q. How has the redistricting and realignment changed wrestling from the district and statewide perspectives?
A. Quite a bit. Personally I'd like to see us use the format that California uses. They have just the one true state champion. I know it would be difficult to do that, but I think that's something that would be neat to see.
We'd have our regional tournaments and sectional tournament, and if you win those particular tournaments, that would kind of a neat deal, too. You'd be able to say I'm a sectional champion or placed in the region, that would be something to be proud of also.
I like the one true state champion. Now that we have six, it kind of seems watered down a little bit.
I think our league is probably one of the tougher leagues now in 6A, In the past, the Intermountain was one of the tougher leagues and so since we've gone to the different leagues, I miss having the Craters and the Hermistons and the Eagle Points and Crook Countys and the Pendletons (now in Class 5A). They're tough, tough wrestling schools. You just like that tough competition.
I think it will be interesting to see where we go with this. I think it's probably here to stay. I'd like to see some feedback from a lot of the coaches and see what they think about it and sit down with the OSAA and see if this is the best thing for wrestling, I'm not sure if it is.
Q. What can be done about the University of Oregon dropping its wrestling program after this season.
A. We're all behind and supporting Oregon right now. I know Oregon State was one of the first ones as a coaching staff to do whatever they could to help Oregon. We hate to see that.
It's a strike, so to speak, against wrestling as a whole. We have to make sure we keep supporting each other. I think the whole intent with Title IX is that we want to give these opportunities for the guys and give girls those equal opportunities, but not at the cost of getting rid of these other programs.
Q. With the state meet leaving Salem and going back up to the Memorial Coliseum in Portland, in your mind, is that a good thing or a bad thing?
A. It's going to obviously hurt our economy. According to the paper, I think they said over $1 million in revenue (will be lost).
One thing about The Pavilion itself was it was hard for people to just meet people there from the same school and try to save sections. It was really hard to keep a group together, whereas at the Coliseum in Portland, even though it's an hour or so up the road, I personally like it because the seating is great, and I like having my kids all in the same place during the weekend.
Having it here in Salem, it's nice, obviously, that we can sleep in the same bed and that kind of thing, but I want that contact with them because we have those late nights and early mornings. In that sense, it will be nice to have it up in Portland.
What's happened here in Salem is that we're not only paying for the Pavilion, but we're paying for the Salem Armory. I know we lost money. It's hard to see that when we go in there and it's standing room only. How are we losing money with all these people there?
Q. Have you ever had a wrestler anywhere close to where R.J. Peña is now in his career?
A. Not this early, no. He is one of a kind. Boy, I tell you, we have the tough schedule like we do because of guys like him, and we'll continue to do that. We're trying to keep him busy and active with these different tournaments. Some of the other kids are kind of shaking their heads, "Coach, this is awfully tough." It's good for them, too.
He's had a lot of success here, and we're busy trying to get good coaches in about his weight. We had Nolan Harris in here last year, now we got Stryder Davis in here. We're able to get some guys around his weight that are able to work with him that are at his level.
Q. How many kids is this now that you've coached that have gone to Oregon State?
A. We started off with Nate Harris, Nolan's older brother, went there, then we've had Derrick Bartlemay, Scotty Nelson, Stryder ended up coaching there. He went to Northern Idaho and then he went to Montana, then Keegan (Davis) and now R.J.
Q. And, you being an Oregon State alumni, I'm sure there's zero influence.
A. None at all. What's neat is that they're going to stay around locally so we can watch them wrestle and work out. That's going to be fun. It's nice to see that.
Q. What is it about wrestling that keeps you going in the sport?
A. Wrestling is one of these things that there are so many things they're learning as far as reliability, accountability, discipline, the day-in-day-out grind.
This sport is something that you can't be just involved in, you have to be committed to. You have to be wanting to get up early in the morning and run and work out and come back in the afternoon and after it's all over, come back and do it the next day.
bpoehler@StatesmanJournal.com or (503) 399-6701