SENATE RESOLUTION

                             2000-8756

By Senator Honeyford

     WHEREAS, Wrestling is one of the oldest sports in the world; and

     WHEREAS, High school wrestling promotes citizenship and sportsmanship, instills a sense of pride in community, teaches life-long lessons of teamwork and self-discipline, and facilitates the physical and emotional development of our nation's youth; and

     WHEREAS, Students who participate in interscholastic activities such as wrestling tend to have higher grade-point averages, better attendance records, lower dropout rates, and fewer discipline problems than other students generally; and

     WHEREAS, The 1999-2000 Washington State Interscholastic Activities Association Mat Classic XII Wrestling Championship was the largest wrestling tournament in the United States and featured 896 of the best high school wrestlers in the state of Washington competing in 1680 individual matches; and

     WHEREAS, The Zillah High School Leopards wrestling team overwhelmingly won first place in the Class 1 A/B team title for the state of Washington for the second year in a row, beating fifty-two other schools; and

     WHEREAS, The Zillah High School Leopards wrestling team set a new Washington State Interscholastic Activities Association state tournament team scoring record with 226.5 points; and

     WHEREAS, The Zillah High School Leopards wrestling team achieved a new state record for number of winning contestants by having twelve team members earn state medals in the 1999-2000 Washington State Interscholastic Activities Association Mat Classic XII Wrestling Championship; and

     WHEREAS, This record-setting team was led by an extraordinarily dedicated and skilled head coach, Mr. Darrel White, who was assisted by outstanding assistant coaches, Daniel Robillard and Manual Torrez; and

     WHEREAS, The State Champion Zillah High School Wrestling Team members included Ben Sevigny, Venancio Aparicio, Ray Rodriquez, Armando Valadez, Ismael Sanchez, Juan Carlos Baca, Julian Lopez, Nico Rodriguez, Kevin Robillard, Ryan Stonemetz, Tim Phillips, Gene Slack, Steve Elliott, Terry Zapien, Timote Uasike, and Leonel Lustre; and

     WHEREAS, The mothers, fathers, and families of the wrestlers, and the coaches, managers, grappler gals, and student body, also made a significant contribution by dedicating their time and energy to support the 1999-2000 state champion Zillah wrestling team;

     NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, That the Senate recognize and honor these young champions and their coaches for their extraordinary athletic achievements; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That the Secretary of the Senate immediately transmit copies of this resolution to the school principal, members and coaches of the Zillah State Champion Wrestling Team, and to the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association.

I, Tony M. Cook, Secretary of the Senate,

do hereby certify that this is a true and

correct copy of Senate Resolution 2000-8756,

adopted by the Senate March 7, 2000.

TONY M. COOK

Secretary of the Senate