IRRIGON — Stephanie Romero was one of the first female wrestlers at Irrigon High School.

Now, she will be a building block at Treasure Valley Community College, where the Chukars are bringing back wrestling for the first time since the 1970s, and adding women’s wrestling for the first time.

“It’s a neat change I’m ready for,” Romero said. “I found it a nice coincidence. I’m leaving something I helped start, and I’m going somewhere to help them get started. I hope I can help open the door for other girls.”

TVCC coach Luis Cisneros said he saw Romero compete at Turf Wars in Farmington, Utah, last year, and again in February at the state tournament.

“I’m a hounding fool,” Cisneros said. “I lived in the Portland Metro area, and I’m on the Oregon Women’s National Wrestling Team coaching staff. I have built relationships with coaches and I feel comfortable asking about their girls.”

Romero has a solid resume heading to TVCC. She placed second at state as a sophomore at 235 pounds and was third as a junior and senior at 235 pounds.

“My sophomore year was more rewarding,” said Romero. “It was the whole state, not just classifications.”

The coronavirus pandemic wiped out her freshman season.

Romero said she visited TVCC a month ago, and was impressed with what she saw. Up until then, she wasn’t sure about continuing her wrestling career.

“That’s when I decided I was going to do it,” Romero said of the visit. “I like that it isn’t much of a difference, but it’s not Irrigon. It looks like a nice city. It will open a lot of opportunities for me, I’m excited to continue my education at Treasure Valley.”

Irrigon coach Ken Thompson said he knew Romero was on the fence, but is happy that she will continue to wrestle.

“She has been good for me in a lot of ways,” Thompson said. “She’s been steady Eddy, but she was pretty emotional this year since it was the last time for everything. I didn’t think she was going to wrestle in college. I introduced coach Cisneros to her mom, and that was good.”

Thompson has worked with Romero since she was in middle school.

“He has been coaching me since sixth grade,” Romero said. “It’s been a long ride with coach Thompson. He is a stick in the mud in the mat room, but it was best for my success.”

Also helping Romero this season was former Irrigon wrestler Alex Walls, who went on to wrestle at Southern Oregon University.

“I’m glad Alex came in,” Romero said. “He was the final push I needed, especially going to college. I’m glad he decided to put his time in Irrigon wrestling and me.”

Thompson said it was good for Romero to hear a voice other than his.

“The thing about Alex coming back was she was privy to a lot of his experience in college,” Thompson said. “She has had to weigh a lot of these decisions. Treasure Valley is far enough away she can’t run home on the weekends. I think things will work out for her.”

Two weeks ago, Romero placed first in freestyle and Greco at the state tournament in Newberg. She has qualified to compete July 12-20 at the prestigious USA Wrestling Junior and 16U National Championships at the FargoDome in Fargo, North Dakota.

At TVCC, Romero said she will major in nursing.

“I’m planning on getting an associate’s degree in science and then go to Southern Oregon to finish,” she said. “I enjoyed the tour at Southern Oregon. The whole school was really nice, and everything was really close to the school.”

Building from the ground up

Treasure Valley had a men’s wrestling team until the 1970s, but Cisneros said it isn’t clear what year the program was cut.

“There are trophies in the trophy case,” Cisneros said. “There is history here. The nice thing is, we get to start building something and set the way for others.”

To get wrestlers in the door, Cisneros said the school has tuition waivers for prospective student athletes.

“This is a program,” he said. “We are legitimate.”

Cisneros, who wrestled at nearby Nyssa High School, graduating in 2003, went on to wrestle at Clackamas Community College and at Southern Oregon before his shoulders gave out.

“Wrestling has been in my life since 1997,” he said. “I qualified for state three times, and as a team we won four state titles when I was in high school. After college, I was a grad assistant at Portland State before they cut the program.”

Cisneros, 40, said he would like to have 15-20 men and 10-15 women signed before the summer. He’s been able to get some good wrestlers out of Oregon and Idaho.

Joining Romero on the women’s team will be two-time 4A/3A/2A/1A state champion Ava Collins of Vale at 140 pounds, and Abi Toombs (120 pounds) of Echo.

“I’m at almost 12 female wrestlers,” Cisneros said. “The big thing is you have to sell a dream. There is nothing there yet, you are selling a vision to the athletes. That’s one of the cooler aspects of what we are doing here.”

On the men’s side, the Chukars have signed 2024 215-pound state champion Norman Reynolds of Crook County, Ty Webster of nearby Fruitland, Idaho, and Trevor Rhoades of Melba, Idaho.

“I’m super excited for him (Reynolds), the Melba kid and the kid from Fruitland,” Cisneros said. “I’m not done. I set a pretty lofty goal.”

In 2018, the Caldwell, Idaho, TVCC campus started a wrestling program, but now that the program is based in Ontario, those wrestlers are part of the TVCC program, adding experience to a rookie wrestling room.

The Chukars will compete in the National Collegiate Wrestling Association, with hopes of soon joining the National Junior College Athletic Association.

“My goal is to be part of the NJCAA,” Cisneros said. “People see us as a club, but that doesn’t change my goals or intent for this program. I want to show people around the country that there is good wrestling here, and kids don’t have to go far from home to wrestle. I want to build good human beings and wrestlers.”