Isaac Reavis shows the wrestling medals he's won over the years, including third- and fifth-place finishes at state and a regional championship.
W.F. West senior Isaac Reavis signed to wrestle for Highline College after placing third in the 195-pound division at Mat Classic XXXII in March.
Isaac Reavis was scrolling through Instagram when he received a text message from an unknown number. It was Highline College wrestling coach Chad Beatty, who said he was interested in having Reavis wrestle for the Thunderbirds this fall.
The W.F. West senior could barely believe it. Beatty, a two-time state champion, had wrestled under legendary University of Iowa head coach Dan Gable, an Olympic and world gold medalist.
“He was like, ‘I’d love to have you come wrestle for us,’” Reavis said.
It didn’t take much convincing. For Washington state high school wrestlers, in-state options for competing at the next level are few and far between. Highline College in Des Moines, Washington, 20 minutes south of Seattle, is one of only two junior colleges in Washington state that has a wrestling program — the other being Grays Harbor College in Aberdeen. Staying in-state and close to home is important to Reavis, so the decision was made easily.
It wasn’t too long ago that Reavis wasn’t even sure that he wanted to wrestle in college. It wasn’t until after his daring 4-3 victory over Ephrata’s Kevin Pelayo in the 195-pound third-place match at Mat Classic XXXII on February 22 that Reavis had a change of heart. Once he realized this might be the end, he knew he wasn’t ready to give it up.
“Those last few moments of my last time being on the mat, I knew I didn’t want it to be my last time,” Reavis said. “It wasn’t a split decision after that. I had no question that I wanted to wrestle in college after that.”
Wrestling is much bigger on the east coast and he could have easily gone to a team over there, but he wanted to stay close to home for his first two years of college. He reached out to a few Division-III, Division-II and junior colleges but nothing came of it until he received that text from coach Beatty.
The offer was a culmination of years of grueling work and practice, honing his skills and physique over time. But his wrestling career was nearly over before it started. Reavis first took to the mat as a fifth-grader in a Lewis County youth program.
“I was a big goofball,” Reavis said. “I didn’t really like wrestling.”
He eventually goofed off one too many times and the coach kicked him off the team and told him he wasn’t focused enough and had to get his attitude right to be a part of a team. So Reavis gave up the sport until eighth grade, when he began to love it.
In a turn of events that almost never happens in high school, Reavis ended up wrestling all four years at the same weight class: 195. High schooler wrestlers move up the weight bracket as they get older and their bodies mature. Reavis stayed the same — but only in weight.
During the summer between freshman and sophomore year, a few of his wrestling teammates wanted to go to an intensive camp at Kent-Meridian High School up in Kent, Washington.
“I was like ‘Hey, why not?’” Reavis said. “I was just this little chunky boy who wanted to go to one of the hardest camps you can go to as an athlete. Wasn’t sure what to expect, but it turned out for the best.”
It was there that Reavis turned from rotund boy to a determined young man. Reavis and his teammates went through four-to-six grueling workout sessions for a week straight, starting at 6 a.m. He developed a work ethic and learned what it took to take it to the next level. It was at that moment that Reavis began to see his wrestling career take off.
“It was showing how much sacrifice you can put in and how much you can get out of it,” Reavis said. “You put a lot in, you get a lot out. I realized, ‘I can do this.’ It made you want to work hard. It made you hungry.”
Reavis went on to place fifth at state as a junior during the 2018-19 season, followed by a regional championship in 2020 and a third-place finish at state in March — the top finisher for the Bearcat boys this season. Reavis also wrestles Greco-Roman and Freestyle in the spring, but those club sport seasons were cut short due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Now he’s taking his work ethic and skills to Highline College, the lone Washington state team that wrestles in the National Junior College Athletic Association. Grays Harbor competes in the National Collegiate Wrestling Association.
Coach Beatty is wrapping up his first year as head coach at Highline, a program with a decorated wrestling past. The Thunderbirds have produced 26 All-Americans and six national champion finalists in the past 16 years, including a record of moving their wrestlers on to four-year programs. It’s something that has Reavis excited for this upcoming fall.
“I’m really blessed with the opportunity to wrestle,” Reavis said. “A lot of people don’t get opportunities to go wrestle in-state. So I’m pretty excited to wrestle for my home state.”
