Serving Lincoln County for more than a century!
Serving Lincoln County for more than a century!
Reardan senior Vaea LaMoureaux (seated, middle) signs her letter of intent to wrestle for Umpqua College in Roseburg, Oregon Tuesday, April 18.
REARDAN - The first girls wrestler in school history to make the state Mat Classic is going to compete in college. Senior Vaea LaMoureaux signed with Umpqua College in Roseburg, Oregon Tuesday, April 18.
Umpqua College competes in the Northwest Athletic Conference and is coached by Anthony Weerheim.
LaMoureaux said a college athletics career wasn't top of mind until her junior year began to wind down.
"If you told me at the beginning of the year last year that colleges were going to look at me and offer scholarships, I would've laughed," she said. "But it occurred to me toward the end of the year, around subdistricts and regionals, that it could be a possibility."
She said she opted for the junior college route, despite getting a couple offers from four-year schools, in order to maximize her collegiate eligibility.
"If I go junior college and get that sort of experience, I can move on to a four-year school and be a redshirt freshman," LaMoureaux said. "That gives me six years of college wrestling...and possibly higher scholarships."
LaMoureaux visited the campus in October, receiving the opportunity to meet coaches, teammates, campus athletes and administration. She also practiced with the women's wrestling team.
"I had some really good experiences," she said.
LaMoureaux credited former Reardan head coach Rick Perleberg and state 106-pound champion Preston Neufeld in helping her achieve her goals.
"I owe a lot to our former head coach Rich Perleberg. He decided to stick around and take me to my meets so the other coaches could take care of the guys," she said. "And I was pushed very hard by Preston Neufeld, which was very helpful. The support system was the biggest thing."
LaMoureaux said she'll move to Roseburg in late August and begin training with the Riverhawks then.
Drew Lawson is the editor of the Davenport Times. He is a graduate of Eastern Washington University.
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