Grays Harbor College suspends men’s golf and men’s wrestling as part of a cost-cutting measure

An uncertain time for Grays Harbor College athletics was compounded Monday when the school’s administration decided to suspend the men’s wrestling and men’s golf programs, effective immediately.

“In order to maintain and expand the strengths of our sports program and to meet external demands, we have decided to suspend men’s golf and men’s wrestling for one year,” GHC Vice President Kristy Anderson wrote in an email to The daily world. “We will continue to work through the challenges in the GHC athletics program and reassess the situation over the course of the coming year. At this time, we believe we will strengthen the future of the athletics program at GHC by narrowing our offerings and providing solid programs where students are supported in both their athletic and academic endeavors.”

With the loss of the two programs, Grays Harbor College now has only four sports programs – baseball, softball, men’s basketball and women’s wrestling – after a turbulent half-decade that has seen numerous programs discontinued since 2019.

The loss of the men’s golf and men’s wrestling programs – both of which have been relatively successful in their competitive organizations – is another blow to a school that has been unable to sustain multiple sports programs in recent history.

“I am very sad that we are giving up men’s golf at GHC, but I am even sadder for our players and new recruits as I think golf has been a successful program,” said Ann Swanson, Chokers head golf coach. “I am working to help these players find a new school. The GHC administration needs to do what is best for the college and provide equal opportunities for all athletes, which will hopefully strengthen the future of GHC Athletics. … I have put my heart and soul into this program for the past 10 years and am proud of what we have accomplished. I always tell my players to ‘enjoy the journey.’ And I have enjoyed my journey at GHC. I wish it could continue as I have not accomplished all of my goals for the program.”

If the last few years are any indicator, the future of GHC athletics looks bleak. As of 2019, the school has been unable or unwilling to field women’s basketball, women’s volleyball and women’s soccer teams, and a plan to start a cross country program never came to fruition, despite the school hiring coaches for the job.

The situation at GHC caused such great concern that the school requested an audit by the Northwest Athletic Conference, which was scheduled to be completed in 2023.

“We are committed to providing our student-athletes with a comprehensive collegiate athletic experience that includes academic achievement, competitive athletics and opportunities to pursue interests and passions,” said Dr. Cal Erwin-Svoboda, former vice president for student services at GHC, in a statement on the school’s website on June 7, 2023. “The changes announced today are part of a long-term effort to strengthen choker sports, which have been impacted by the pandemic and have experienced staff turnover in recent years.”

These views were also shared by Anderson on Tuesday.

“One year ago, GHC began a project to implement changes to our athletic program following an audit requested by the Northwest Athletics Conference,” she wrote. “The changes resulting from the audit are in the works and are intended to improve the student experience, enable GHC to comply with NWAC standards and make our athletic program more equitable for all students.”

In line with the NWAC’s recommendations, the school acknowledged in the June 2023 statement that the athletic department’s administrative focus would be to “shift toward roster management, professional development (including mentoring and training of coaches), evaluation of programs and facilities, and a hands-on approach to recruiting student-athletes.”

But according to a former head coach, those responsible have not implemented these recommendations.

“A year ago, the NWAC came and said if you don’t turn things around, we’re going to kick you out of the NWAC,” said Kevin Pine, former Grays Harbor women’s wrestling coach and Grays Harbor district commissioner. “So they gave Cal (Erwin-Svoboda) a list of things the school needed to improve. Until this year, they hadn’t done any of that and the coaches were blamed for a lack of recruiting.”

Pine said the suspension of the once successful men’s wrestling program was the result of mismanagement on the part of the school’s administration, and he fears the women’s team could be next on the hit list.

“(Former GHC men’s wrestling coach) Joshua (Pine) resigned at the end of the season last year and it took over two months for them to post the job opening and then they claimed no one applied for the position,” said Kevin Pine, who added that he knew of applicants who were rejected by the school because the NWAC recommended applicants with an associate degree. “I finally got my assistant coach to apply for the position and they didn’t hire him until after school started back up. So that was one of the reasons we had such a small team. We were very limited in recruiting people for the men’s team. They were looking for a reason to quit men’s wrestling last year. I think I got in their way.”

DAILY WORLD FILE PHOTO: Grays Harbor College wrestler Josh Luna won his weight class at a tournament March 2 in Hoquiam. The college decided Monday to suspend the men’s wrestling and golf programs.

Pine resigned from his position as head coach of the women’s wrestling program in March, and as of this writing, there is no job posting on the school’s job openings website for the vacant head coach position in the women’s wrestling program.

Pine is convinced that the school administration will use the same tactics again this year that they used to slow down the men’s team last summer.

“They’ll open up the position (for head coach in women’s wrestling) maybe at the end of the summer, and if they don’t have anyone (left on the team) – maybe just a few girls (wrestlers) left – they’ll give up women’s wrestling because they couldn’t find anyone,” he said.

And unfortunately, recent history shows that there is nothing more permanent for GHC’s sports programs than a one-year hiatus.

Case in point: A once-thriving volleyball program was put on hiatus for a year in 2019 after an unsuccessful search for a head coach. It has yet to resume, despite being mentioned in the school’s 2023 statement mentioned above.

The same goes for GHC’s women’s soccer and basketball teams, both of which folded in the last few seasons and have no information on the continuation of the programs or any current head coaching vacancies.

Now men’s wrestling and golf can be added to that list.

For a school with fewer than 1,000 full-time students enrolled in state-funded programs, the loss of two competitive sports programs could hamper any efforts to attract prospective students and student-athletes to the college.

“How are you going to get your full-time jobs if you give up sports?” Pine asked, adding that he believes a lack of administrative support for the athletic programs — such as upgrading athletic facilities — only exacerbates the college’s enrollment problems. “If you’re not from the area, why would you go to Grays Harbor (College) for physical education?”

For Swanson, a Twin Harbor and state golf legend, the sudden move means, at least temporarily, the end of a small but successful program that she worked so hard to improve during her decade as head coach.

“We have accomplished a lot while representing GHC. I am especially proud of all the amazing young men who have represented us and gone on to great heights in golf and in life,” she said. “I have always told them that regardless of the outcome of a tournament, the true value of our team is measured by the friendships made, the successes achieved, the lifelong memories made and the lives enriched by being a part of this great game. I especially want to thank all the people who have supported our program throughout. I am a choker for life.”

Pine, who has frequently been critical of the way the school administration handled the athletic programs during his six years as head coach, said the athletic department’s problems start at the top.

“It’s about leadership,” he said. “Not just in athletics, but across the board.”

Jody Pope, interim athletic director at Grays Harbor College, could not be reached for comment.