The snow storm that blanketed Mercer Island last week was the catalyst for canceling four athletic events, including the first-ever wrestling tournament hosted by the high school, which was expecting 1,000 people.

“We got word and we had to undo everything,” said John Frazier, one of the wrestling tournament’s organizers. “We have at least two dates in January in mind, but we have to coordinate with the seven other teams, the school district and some other variables.”

One of the big problems for organizers was the timing of the cancelation by Mercer Island School District Superintendant Gary Plano.

“He made some horrible decisions to give some teams the green light to travel,” said MIHS graduate and event organizer Marc Kaye. “We had two teams from Eastern Washington that had to turn around and go home.”

The biggest problem was the timing, as Plano made his decision at 3 p.m., Friday, with the tournament on Saturday morning and one of the traveling teams already in Cle Elum.

“We assessed the weather conditions at the school and the weather forecast and came to the conclusion that it was not prudent to bring those teams over,” said Plano. “We have a responsibility to get these kids home safely.”

Mercer Island coach Creighton Laughary said that other tournaments in Western Washington for Saturday were canceled prior to and after Plano’s decision.

“I think he made the right call,” said Laughary. “We don’t want those teams stranded over here during Christmas week.”

Kaye said that rescheduling the tournament might end up putting the event in a better situation than if it was held on Saturday.

“We were expecting about 1,000-1,200 people. That would have been cut in half,” said Kaye. “It could have been as much as $2,500 lost for our [scholarship] funds. But safety is our first concern, and we had a plan B to shut down [the tournament] at 2 p.m. to make sure everyone got home safe.”

The size of the tournament has led to some big problems for the organizers. But Kaye said that most of his vendors and sponsors are still willing to participate.

“I hope that we’re able to reschedule the tournament, but it is much better to be safe than have a tragedy,” said Plano.

Rescheduling has been a tough negotiation, with Jan. 3, 17 and 24 as possible dates.

“We have seven of eight teams saying yes for Jan. 3,” said Kaye. “We may have to use one or two backup teams to fill spots, but we really want to include some of these smaller schools.”

Kaye also said that there was a 50-50 chance they might move the event to another location.

“Snow and God’s fury will not stop us from getting this done,” said Kaye.

The tournament was created in remembrance of Jack Reynolds, a long-time referee and high school wrestling icon in Washington state.

The closing of the Mercer Island School District prompted all events scheduled for Thursday to be postponed as well – gymnastics, which was to host Bellevue, Redmond and Issaquah, boys swimming at Inglemoor along with two underclassmen. Basketball games will be rescheduled after the first of the New Year.