Dream Duals Will Test Knight Wrestlers
The evidence is overwhelming, based on East Valley’s 51-16 mauling of contender Clarkston, that the Knights have bigger worries than Frontier League wrestling.
They’ll test their dominance today at the Washington Dream Duals in Auburn.
Six teams ranked in the State 3A top 10 are in the field, including the No. 1 Knights, second-ranked Moses Lake, and third-ranked Lake Stevens. Also competing are No. 7 Ellensburg, No. 8 Bellingham and No. 10 W.F. West of Chehalis.
“The 3A division will be a dogfight,” said EV coach Craig Hanson. “There’s not one easy dual.”
No team is as balanced as EV, he continued, but the matches could be determined by who has the most pins.
“It’ll be fun, but it doesn’t count for anything except prestige,” said Hanson. “If we win it’s nice, if not there’s still two weeks to go.”
Thursday night EV trailed host Clarkston 16-13 before winning the final eight matches. Included were three pins and a technical fall - and one overtime decision.
Kevin Woolf was penalized for locking hands to force the OT at 122 pounds. He told Hanson not to worry and got the takedown to win.
“We got a solid performance out of everybody,” said Hanson. “Sophomore Brian Lopes had a nice match at 148.”
Lopes ended the night with a third-round pin.
Although in some ways the three-match Frontier League appears anticlimactic after EV’s easy win, every individual victory matters.
A wrestler’s record will determine seeding for sub-regionals the first weekend in February at Moses Lake. The better record means a higher seed. The higher the seed means a more favorable bracketing for regionals qualifying.
“Teams won’t beat us,” said Hanson. “But if they knock off a No. 1 wrestler it’s important.”
With 11 wins in 14 matches at Clarkston, East Valley is off to a good start.
CV also at Dream Duals
Third-ranked Central Valley joins No. 1 Tahoma and No. 2 Evergreen of Vancouver in their Dream Duals 4A classification.
Evergreen is the defending state champion. CV scored 126.5 points and Tahoma had 126 at the TriState Tournament in Coeur d’Alene in December.
Bears chase Titan gymnasts
The final Greater Spokane League gymnastics match is Thursday when surging Central Valley (18-3) hosts unbeaten University (21-0).
CV’s Emily Roberts competed all around for the first time and scored 34.85, winning three of four events.
The Bears beat Ferris for the second straight week to solidify their hold on second place.
Teammate Lindsay Linerud, CV’s leader the previous three years, placed among the top three in three events and was fourth all around with a 33.15 total.
WV runner to tell of experience
West Valley senior runner Missy Baca will tell Spokane Valley Lions Club members of her experiences during a 10-day trip to China.
The talk is Monday at 6 p.m. at the China Inn. Valley Lions helped sponsor her trip.
Junior wrestling signup
Registration for Spokane Junior Wrestling will be Wednesday from 6 to 8:30 p.m. at varying club sites.
Included are Central Valley, East Valley, University and West Valley high schools and Mountain View Middle School in the Valley.
Youngsters in grades K-6 and no older than 12 are eligible. The cost to register for is $40. Practices will be twice weekly beginning Feb. 9.
Wrestlers compete in four Saturday tournaments Feb. 28.
For information call John Moore at 891-8848.
, DataTimes