Considered to be the father of high school wrestling in the state of Washington, Bill “Clutch” Tomaras left an indelible mark at Washington State College during his 10 years as a Cougar.

Beginning with his first team in 1948, which went unbeaten in dual meets, Tomaras compiled a 48-8 dual meet record, including 23-straight victories from 1952-54. His teams captured five Pacific Coast Intercollegiate titles during his tenure and had 21 PCI champions.

Coach Tomaras was active in putting on clinics for coaches and athletes to promote the sport of wrestling.

Tomaras also initiated the Washington State High School Wrestling Tournament in 1953, featuring eight teams and 60 wrestlers, and served as the tournament director until 1959.

When he arrived in Washington there were only six schools that had wrestling. He began to promote the sport and the growth began, by 1962 there were 107 schools with wrestling programs.

At the 50th State Mat Classic, with more than 900 prep wrestlers from over 200 schools participating, Tomaras was saluted for his efforts on behalf of state wrestling.

Tomaras wrestled at the University of Illinois, where he finished third in the NCAA championships as a 121-pound senior.

He served in the U.S. Army from 1942 to 1945 during World War II and fought on Omaha Beach as part of the D-Day invasion. He then earned both his bachelor’s degree in 1946 (political science) and master’s degree in 1948 at the University of Illinois.

Dr. Tomaras served on the NCAA Wrestling Rules Committee beginning in 1958.

Tomaras was inducted into the Helms Foundation Wrestling Hall of Fame in 1973, the Washington State Wrestling Coaches Hall of Fame in 1984 and the National Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2003.

Following his Cougar career, Tomaras completed a doctorate in education at the University of Oregon. He then coached at UC Berkeley for four years before returning to Western Washington University in 1961, where he coached and later served as its athletic director.