The Cashmere Bulldogs Boys’ Wrestling team is flying high to start the 2026 campaign. The Bulldogs dominated their most recent tournament, traveling to the Royal Boys Christmas Tournament. 29 schools competed in the tournament, and the Bulldogs placed 1st, dominating their competition.
The Bulldogs were led by junior Jance Novak, who has been unstoppable to begin his junior season. Novak, the 165-pound defending 1A state champion in 2025, is off to a hot start in 2026. He opened his winter on November 23rd at the Spokane Open, where he went 5-2 and finished 3rd in the 174-pound weight class—matching up against some of the best wrestlers in the Pacific Northwest. From there, Novak competed in the Deer Park Invitational, where he made it all the way to the championship before falling to National Champion Duane Leslie from Mead High School. Then Jance dominated the Cashmere Invite and crowned himself the champion to put on a show in front of the home crowd. Then, Novak competed in the Tri-State 2025 tournament. He made it all the way to the championship, defeating the defending 2A state champion, Michael Fritz from Orting High School, in the semi-finals. Despite falling in the championship, this was arguably Novak’s most polished tournament of the season thus far. After Tri-State, he competed in the Royal Christmas Tournament and dismantled his opponents with three pins and a tech fall, capping off the championship run at the 175-pound weight class.
Novak’s season is just getting underway. The Bulldogs will now shift their focus to several double duels coming their way in the next two weeks. Their next tournament will be on January 24th at Klahowya High School.
Coach Richie Wheeler has a huge impact on the success of the wrestling program and Jance Novak. When Coach Wheeler was asked what Jance brings to the wrestling program, and what it’s like to coach an athlete like that, he shared, “Jance brings a level of competition to the room that we haven’t seen for a long time. Jance has consistently demonstrated a level of grit and perseverance since he started his time in the Cashmere Wrestling Club. His success has not been a surprise, nor has his leadership role. Jance’s time in the program has come when we needed a leader who could show the team how to work hard, sacrifice, and win. It’s hard to compete at Jance’s level and not have those 3 factors.”Coach Wheeler continued,
“Jance has had an amazing coach [Coach Jared Novak] from the time he was born. I have had the privilege to watch Team Novak beat some of the toughest guys in the state and the country. They have a system that works, which is followed by a level of respect that only a parent/athlete could understand. It’s not easy living with your coach 24/7.”
Jance and Coach Wheeler have had long lasting relationship. Coach Wheeler went on to talk about his time with Jance.
“As for my time with Jance, he has benefited from training in our room. I develop my practice plans that challenge him. He’s done a lot of wrestling, and he shares different takes on techniques that he’s seen. Jance is not afraid to try something new or wrestle a tough guy. He’s a competitor who loves to win and puts the extra work into climbing to the top.”
Coach Wheeler explained the significant impact Jance makes. Jance was asked what his key to success was last season, and how he could repeat his success and win another state title. He shared, “My key to success was consistency and perseverance. You can’t let a bump in the road decide your path; you have to push through that and know what you’re capable of doing.” Novak explained, “And with consistency, just doing the same thing before every match, I do the same thing, expecting the same outcome. To win. And I will repeat these steps throughout all of my high school and college years to get the same outcome every time.”
Although Jance is off to a hot start this winter, he also competed in the 2025 NHSCA High School Nationals in March. The top 8 wrestlers in each weight class are considered All-American high school wrestlers. Jance battled his way through the tournament, a respectable 6-2 in his eight matches, and also finished seventh place in the tournament, making him an All-American high school wrestler.
Novak also battled through a broken arm in the middle of his freshman year at the start of 2025 at the District 5 wrestling tournament. Jance got caught underneath his opponent during a match, and instantly, the crowd and he knew something was wrong. Ending his freshman season earlier than expected. He was able to have an inspiring comeback story when he won the 2025 Mat Classic about a year later.
Despite battling through a broken arm, Jance is arguably the most dominant wrestler in Washington state. Novak will not only look to win his second consecutive Mat Classic but will also look to continue his reign in the 1A classification. Tune in to the rest of the wrestling season because Jance Novak will not disappoint.
