Former Mule wrestler takes on coaching duties

Frankie Mendez, Class of 2004, is back at Wahkiakum as head coach of the Wrestling team for both the high school and the middle school, and there is a bit of a buzz about it. Parents who have long supported the program are excited about the four time state competitor, who twice took fifth place.

Wrestling is a family affair for Mendez. He followed his older brothers into the sport, first by attending their practices as a youth, eventually becoming the team manager.

"They got me started," he said. "It's been part of our family for a long time."

Former teacher and coach Andy Wolf took an interest in him as well. Wolf and Keith Burns, who has long been an assistant coach for the program, would take the young Mendez to freestyle competitions. Burns eventually slipped from wrestling family to just family.

"He's like a second father figure to me," Mendez said.

Freestyle is similar to the wrestling the students learn at school, according to Mendez, but a lot more fast paced.

"There are a lot of take downs and throws," Mendez said. "It's a more advanced kind of wrestling and it helped me a lot.

The year after he graduated high school, his older brother Nabor died, and Mendez took up amateur Mixed Martial Arts fighting.

"At the time I wasn't sure what to do with my life," Mendez said. "It was another way to make my brother proud."

Mendez lived in Longview at the time and traveled to Vancouver for work. He would drive home, pick up a buddy, and carpool back to Vancouver to work out and train for three more hours. Sometimes they would drive to Yelm to work with better coaches. He was learning to box, as well as picking up some jujitsu and kickboxing.

The amateur fights were well organized, and, according to Mendez, the sport had grown as fighters started in bars and worked their way up to fairgrounds and casinos. He fought for four years and had a "mixed record," 8-6.

"A lot of my losses," Mendez said, "I got caught in submissions. A lot of those fights, I should have won."

Now, with a wife and kids, he doesn't have time. But there is more to it than that.

"I kind of lost the fire to fight," Mendez admitted.

"Nabor placed second in state when he was in high school," Mendez said. "He was the one who really inspired me to go into wrestling. When I was in high school, he helped out with the team. He traveled with us and always sat in the corner at my wrestling meets. That's kind of why I started this. I know this would have been one of his dreams, taking over the wrestling program. I'm sure he's looking down and he's happy that it's our family that is keeping it going."

Mendez has been coaching for years, frequently volunteering with the program at WHS, first helping his peers, and eventually coming back to help when he could.

Turnout is low this year, but Mendez is hopeful and excited to rebuild the program.

There are seven middle school wrestlers and six have turned out from the high school. Four are girls.

Mendez works for Sam Longtain and has resettled in the area with his wife, Nikita, and their two kids, Ava and Axton.