Tia goes to ORCA Duels and faces Washington and Oregon’s best.

Tia Barfield found her High School wrestling career wasn’t over when Coach Mark Hodges told her he had secured her a spot in the ORCA Duels in Redding, California. According to Coach Hodges Tia did awesome and there where tons of college scouts present. Coach Hodges worked hard to secure a spot in the event that features the top wrestlers on the west coast.  He told the organizer that she is a senior and should get priority over a sophomore or junior, luckily the organizer understood and gave Tia a chance to compete.

Tia’s first match was against a girl from Oregon. Tia manged to pin this girl quickly, and it proved to be the fastest pin of the tournament.  In her second match she went against a girl from Washington that recently finished 2nd in a national event. The score stayed around the same until Tia nearly pinned the girl at the beginning of the third period. In the end Tia made it on top 7-4. According to Coach Hodges, Tia beat one of the best wrestlers in the nation. At the end of the day she won both her matches, because of this Tia was awarded the “West Coast – All American”  award which only a few wrestlers got. The award was presented by 2-time World Champion Wrestler, Mark Schultz.

Coach Hodges has helped Tia a lot with this trip to Oregon, He drove over 1,200 miles but he said it was well “worth it”. She got to be seen by many college scouts and did good at the Duels.  After the Duels, Tia got the outstanding opportunity to visit the Southern Oregon University, take a tour, and stay in a dorm over night.