If you’ve been going through sports withdrawal since the Olympics ended, don’t despair: Vashon wrestlers have had a busy summer — from hosting an Olympian camp on the island to Duals invites, Nationals and even a wedding, the team’s plate has been full.

Fresh off of his honeymoon, Coach Anders Blomgren filled The Beachcomber in on all the news.

Prior to the end of school in June, the team hosted an Olympian and All-American camp one weekend that saw over 50 participants from various high schools in the area, though mostly from Vashon. Featured guest coaches included Justin Abdou and Lyndsay Belisle from Canada: Abdou is the head coach at Simon Fraser University in Vancouver, B.C., and Belisle is a retired, amateur wrestler who competed at the Athens Olympics for Canada. Both work with the Canadian national team as coaches.

While noting that the idea for hosting the camp was primarily to help the team train for summer tournaments, as well as get ready for the coming season, Blomgren said, it was also to bring world-class instruction here to the island.

“We usually travel somewhere for something like this,” he said, “but this way, our younger wrestlers were able to participate, which they don’t get to do otherwise.”

Following the success of the camp, two Vashon wrestlers, Logan Nelson and Adrian St. Germain, were invited to participate as members of Washington State’s teams at National Duals competitions. Nelson competed with the junior (ages 17 to 18) team in Oklahoma, and St. Germain competed with the cadet (ages 15 to 16) team in Pennsylvania.

Being chosen for the state team is a big deal, according to Blomgren, and both wrestlers helped Washington achieve top four finishes in both age categories.

“I was really proud of our guys going to Duals on their own,” he said. “I’ve gone as part of the coaching staff about nine or 10 times over the past 15 years, but this summer I got married, so they did it all on their own. It can be tough, but they are really growing as individuals, wrestlers and leaders now.”

Three team members also competed at Nationals in Fargo, North Dakota, this summer. Luke Larson, in his first trip to the big mats, competed well in what Blomgren described as a “tough” 120-pound weight class and improved a great deal in the process. Hunter Burger won three matches in his 138-pound weight class, and St. Germain, in the 145-pound weight class, won four matches and made it to the round of 16 before sustaining a rib injury that took him out of competition just two matches before the All-American round.

Blomgren noted that the future is both young and exciting for the program, as several seniors graduated in June — four of whom will continue to wrestle at the college level: Chase Wickman at Boise State, Nelson at Simon Fraser University, Franklin Easton at Highline Junior College and Shane Williams at Minot State in North Dakota.

“We’re looking forward to seeing some of these guys come back during breaks to help out with the team,” he said. “And I’m really excited about the team’s future on all levels. We have a really good, young program.”

Stay tuned to The Beachcomber’s sports pages for more wrestling news when the season gets underway.