North Side Wrestlers Adding Muscle To State

Wrestlers from North Side high schools earned the lion’s share of the Greater Spokane League’s berths in the state tournament.

Fourteen of the 23 GSL wrestlers who will compete in Mat Classic VII this weekend in Tacoma are from North Side schools.

Five wrestlers are from Mead, which finished third at last weekend’s Region IV tournament behind Moses Lake and Davis of Yakima.

Two-time state runner-up Troy Hughes will be after the elusive title at 178 pounds, joined by fellow regional champion Justin O’Connor at 190 pounds and runner-up Jon Rugan at 108. Also qualifying from Mead are third-place Erin VandaGriff at 168 and fourth-place James Clark at 135.

Rogers has four qualifiers, including runners-up Mike Knight at 115 and Matt Miethe at 275. Joining them are third-place Terry Swan at 122 and fourth-place Kevin LaForest at 190.

Shadle Park qualifiers are Corey Laughary at 148 and Joe Clavel at 275. Gonzaga Prep advances 108-pound champion Cory Brannon and 129-pound runner-up Steve Steigleder.

North Central’s Josh Robertson qualified second at 141.

Gymnasts also in Dome

Eight gymnasts from North Side high schools will also be in Tacoma this weekend competing at the state meet.

Four are from Mead, three from North Central and one from Shadle Park.

Mead’s Kelly Herron will participate in three events at the state meet. Teammates Amanda Dibble, who will compete in floor exercise, Heather Salo, on vault, and Kelsie Slack, on beam, will also be at state.

NC qualifiers are Leah Dodge, on bars, and Angela Jensen and Lisa Becker on beam.

Shadle’s Mary Bass qualified on bars.

Taking sides at state

Riverside’s wrestling team has the quality and Lakeside the quantity to make a noise at state.

The two schools led a strong Northeast A-B district showing during last weekend’s Region IV tournament in Chelan, and coaches are seeking top-five team finishes at Mat Classic VII this weekend in Tacoma.

Riverside’s top-side strength includes three regional champions and a runner-up among five entrants to state. The Eagles send a districthigh eight competitors to state.

In all, Northeast district wrestlers have 31 of 52 state berths, maintaining a stranglehold in the region that coaches this year feared they might lose.

Regional winners for the Rams are defending state champion Henry Peterson at 115 pounds, Adrian Bojorques at 108 and Mike Lane at 129. Dan Kruger was second at 158.

They are joined by teammate Matt Morin at 168.

“I’m very satisfied with our effort,” said Coach Randy Miller, “although I wish we had gotten a couple more through there.

Lane won by pin over Deer Park’s Clint Umbach, a state runner-up. Kruger lost by two points to defending champion Dusty Lane of Cashmere.

“I don’t know what Mike ate, but I’m sure Umbach’s asking the same question,” said Miller. “He set a goal in his head to go all the way and did. Dan knows he can do better.”

Lakeside didn’t have a champion, but the good news is both Ben Orth and Bart Orth overcame injury-riddled seasons for their third state trips.

Traveling for the Eagles are 115-pound Chris Padayao and 122-pound Chad Drury, regional runners-up like 148-pounder Bart Orth, third-placers Jason Belyea at 101, Ben Orth at 129 and Nate Bohl at 135, and fourth-placers Anthony Layton at 108 and Hutch Goodman at 141.

“I’m happy with the kids we got through,” said Lakeside Coach Scott Jones. “It gives us a chance to score at the tournament. We’re not just going over for the experience.”

All four of Deer Park’s entrants to the tournament made state, three of them as top-two seeds. Included are defending state champion Alex Schulz at 178, Umbach, and 275-pounder Wes Williams. Don Forbes was fourth place at 122.

“I wasn’t surprised we got that many spots,” Jones said of the Northeast A showing. “We pride ourselves. Riverside has a strong program, Deer Park continues to produce good kids, and we’re right up there.”

Rams grab hoop titles

Riverside High School is making its last season as an A school memorable.

The Rams added a pair of Northeast A League basketball championships to go with football, boys and girls cross country and wrestling titles.

Last week Riverside’s boys won over Freeman on a buzzer-beating half-court basket by Keith Cook and captured the league title outright by beating runner-up Chewelah in their season finale.

Cook had 40 points during the two wins that ended Riverside’s season at 13-3 in league and 15-5 overall.

The Rams play either Lakeside or Freeman Saturday at 8:30 p.m. at Mead High School in the doubleelimination league tournament that qualifies two teams to state.

“I’m happy for the kids,” said Coach Brent Monroe. “The seniors worked hard for this.”

Riverside’s girls were part of a three-way tie for first place and won a coin-flip into the doubleelimination portion of the tournament.

Lakeside, which has won 13 straight games against league opponents, beat Colfax in a playoff for the other bye.

The two schools played Tuesday night for top seed, with Lakeside prevailing 56-30. They play at 7 p.m. Saturday, and Riverside opens tournament play at 2 p.m.

Deer Park, faced with an uphill battle all season, beat Kettle Falls for the final tournament berth and opens against Colfax at 3:15 p.m.

MEMO: This is a sidebar that appeared with the story: Coming up

Today Basketball: Mead and Shadle Park girls play for Greater Spokane League championship at the Coliseum, 7:45 p.m.

Friday Basketball: Northeast A League girls and boys tournaments at Mead High School.

Saturday Basketball: Northeast A League girls and boys tournaments at Mead High School.

Tuesday Basketball: Greater Spokane League girls and boys district tournaments at the Coliseum.