U-Hi’s success continues

It’s been a remarkable year for the University Titans wrestling team.

By winning Saturday’s Washington High School Dream Duals for the first time, they added one more honor to a litany of season successes.

So far this season the Titans are unbeaten in their division of the Greater Spokane League, and if they defeated Central Valley Wednesday night, they will wrestle Saturday for the overall league championship Saturday night at 7 p.m. at U-Hi.

In addition U-Hi won the Deer Park Invitational, tied for first at the Tri-State tournament in Coeur d’Alene, won its Pacific Northwest Classic and the Jug Beck Rocky Mountain Classic in Montana.

Individually, seven Titans have won tournament titles: Freshman Brian Owen, four times at 103 pounds; Chase Fish, twice at 112; Cory Fish, three times at 119; Jeremy Montang, three times at 140 and once at 145; Trevor Robb at 135 and 140; Jon Sahlberg and August Pope at 171.

Last weekend’s Dream Duals title also showed the level of U-Hi’s overall depth. The Titans outscored three foes, Auburn-Riverside, Moses Lake and Battle Ground by a combined 148-45. In the title match the Titans won seven of the first 11 matches, plus it added three forfeit victories.

“It’s hard to spot them 18 points,” said Battle Ground coach Dave Carlile, “but take nothing away from them. University did a great job. They have good wrestlers and good kids.”

Said coach Don Owen, “I think it’s good we got a chance to wrestle them. It helps us become better prepared for the state tournament.”

District, regional and state wrestling tournaments for local teams are the first three weekends in February.

GSL still up for grabs

Greater Spokane League basketball is into the final third of the season and one thing is certain: The boys league’s uncertainty. After 12 games, seven league counters, there is no discernible trend.

League leader Gonzaga Prep is a game ahead of four 4A schools. University (10-4, 5-2), which beat North Central Tuesday night, faces one of them, Mt. Spokane, on Friday night.

Three other teams, including Central Valley (9-5, 3-4), which lost 62-52 to Shadle Park on Tuesday, are within a couple games of the second-place quartet.

The girls league is a little more cut and dried. University (14-0, 7-0) faces playoff-worthy Mt. Spokane, Mead and Ferris in successive games and victories would all but assure a top-two league finish and automatic berth to regionals.

Next Tuesday Central Valley (11-3, 6-1), which lost scoring leader Heidi Heintz to an ankle injury Tuesday, hosts Gonzaga Prep to start a three-game stretch, including against Lewis and Clark and Mt. Spokane, to determine how high it finishes in the GSL standings.

West Valley’s boys (11-3, 4-3) still have the upper hand – but just barely after losing Tuesday at Mead – over Cheney among 3A teams.

Starting Friday at West Valley, East Valley girls (6-8, 2-5) begin a stretch of four straight games against fellow 3A foes to determine the district playoff pecking order.

Freeman teams flex muscles

Freeman’s boys and girls teams continue to flex their collective Northeast A League muscles as the regular basketball season hurries to its conclusion.

Both have compiled 14-2 records and are unbeaten at the midpoint of their six-game NEA schedules with two weeks remaining.

Freeman is at Kettle Falls for pivotal games on Friday. Kettle’s boys and girls both have winning records and Bulldogs probably pose the last challenge to the boys in their bid for a league title.

Both Scotties clubs are deep. Though Malcolm Soelberg is the only double figure scorer at 15.8 per game, nine different boys have scored in double figures and seven of them are averaging seven points or more per game.

Among them is freshman DeAngelo Casto who is scoring at just under 12 points per game in his last four.

In girls games this year, Freeman has played a total of 15 different players, nine of them regularly. Jessie DePell continues to lead the team with a 15.5 average.

During two wins last week, Melissa Baker and Kaila Floyd both averaged in double figures. They were among five to score in double digits against Newport in their NEA win.

District playoffs begin in mid-February.

Six games left in Bi-County

Six games remain for Bi-County League teams Valley Christian and Liberty and at least three of them, the Lancers boys and girls and Panthers boys are closing in on district playoff berths.

Liberty’s boys and girls are both third in league with 9-3 records. Valley Christian’s boys remained a game behind the Lancers in fourth after losing last weekend to fifth-place Almira/Coulee-Hartline, despite scoring leader Vitaliy Kozubenko‘s 23 points.

The Lancers boys have been living dangerously. Four of their nine wins have been by two points and another by four. And last week, they lost by a point to Odessa.

Andy Hodgson leads boys, scoring with a 16.5 average and Shawn Hennessey leads the girls at 14.5.