When Squalicum senior Bella Phillips began wrestling as an eighth grader at Whatcom Middle School in 2019, there was no girls wrestling team — practicing and competing against boys was the only option.
The now-All-American Phillips, who uses they/them pronouns, didn’t mind, outside of the fact it took a while to find an effective practice partner and adjust to the environment.
“I was definitely very nervous, because I was in a room full of middle school boys,” Phillips said. “There were definitely some comments made, me being the only girl in the room. But, you know, you just have to look past some of that.”
Now, Phillips chooses to practice against athletes on Squalicum’s boys wrestling team a few times a week to get additional training.
“Bella has always been one of the strongest wrestlers on the mat,” Squalicum girls wrestling coach Brian Porteous said. “Strength has always been kind of [their] superpower.”
The Gannon University women’s wrestling signee is 32-0 in the 190-pound weight class this season heading into the Mat Classic XXXV state wrestling tournament, which runs Feb. 16–17 at the Tacoma Dome. Since their sophomore year, Phillips owns an overall record of 103-12.
Phillips, who will now wrestle in the 1B/2B/1A/2A bracket at state since the split of the Bellingham United program, finished second in Class 3A at 190 pounds as a junior and third as a sophomore.
A state title and completed undefeated season are now the last unchecked items on Phillips’ list of high school wrestling achievements. Phillips also has a chance to become the first state champion in Squalicum girls wrestling history — in the program’s first season.
“I’ve loved representing my school this season,” Phillips said. “I would feel very honored to have that title.”
‘I didn’t know what I was signing up for’
Phillips got their middle school wrestling start when the team’s coach was wandering around the cafeteria attempting to recruit.
The coach only went to tables occupied by boys, so Phillips approached him and proclaimed their interest.
“I didn’t know what I was signing up for,” Phillips said. “I tried it, and I loved it. The coach was great — no fault to him for not coming up to me. I had a really great time, and I did go undefeated that year as a middle schooler, with all the boys, which I think is really funny.”
Phillips grew up in an active family, building up above-average strength from years of CrossFit exercises. Those attributes ported perfectly into wrestling.
When Phillips joined the girls high school team as a freshman — then Bellingham United — they were already ahead of the curve.
A rise to dominance
Phillips’ freshman season in 2020–21 lacked real competition, as it was the only year that COVID canceled state tournaments and most prep seasons. As a sophomore, Phillips went 36-8 on their way to a third-place state finish.
“The third-place finish at state really pushed me to work harder and work year-round at wrestling,” Phillips said.
Phillips added it was the turning point where they felt wrestling could become a long-term option.
Last season, as a junior, there was one major roadblock between Phillips and a state title: Marysville-Pilchuck’s Alivia White. Now wrestling at the University of Iowa, White was already a two-time state champion entering the 2022–23 season.
Phillips had already lost to White multiple times during the regular season, and met the same fate at state. Phillips finished second, ending the season 35-4.
“I feel like there’s always been a mental block competing against [White] because she’s had so many accomplishments and she’s such a decorated wrestler that I feel mentally I wasn’t letting myself know that I could beat her,” Phillips said.
Phillips had never beaten White, until a consolation quarterfinal match at the U.S. Marine Corps 16U and Junior National Freestyle tournament on July 16, 2023 — five months after the state title match defeat.
“We had trained to beat Alivia. That’s kind of what our thinking had been. If you’re going to train, you train to beat the best,” Porteous said. “Bella wrestled the best match I’ve ever seen [them] wrestle.”
With the win over White, Phillips finished sixth at the national tournament in Fargo, North Dakota, and the top-eight finish awarded them All-American status. Phillips said it was a “surreal moment.”
That experience over the summer led Phillips to their final high school season. Porteous said the biggest improvement he’s seen from his top wrestler is in technique and quickness, winning matches with perfectly-timed moves instead of just power.
“[Phillips has] never had a confidence problem, but [they] believe that [they are] the best one out there now, you know, where [they] didn’t always think that in the past,” Porteous said.
Looking forward
After graduating, Phillips will move to Erie, Pennsylvania to join Gannon’s women’s wrestling program.
In their first year, Phillips hopes to improve skills and gradually lose weight to enter the 170-pound weight class — a move that will benefit them long-term, as that’s the highest weight class for many high-level international women’s competitions.
Phillips plans to study international management, which combines their love of history and social studies.
“They just have a really great program [at Gannon],” Phillips said. “The weather is pretty similar to Bellingham, so that was a good little coincidence. It’s just finding a new Bellingham across the country.”
Connor J. Benintendi is CDN’s sports editor; reach him at connorbenintendi@cascadiadaily.com; 360-922-3090 ext. 104.
