Hermiston repeats

The wealth was spread around during this weekend’s Inland Empire Classic wrestling tournament at Central Valley, thanks to the number of returning state veterans and newcomers from the 17 teams entered.

Nine schools, including four from the Greater Spokane League, had at least one individual champion.

But while all that talent provided stern early-season competition, it was visiting Hermiston (Ore.), with three champions out of five finalists, that defended its team championship at the tournament on Saturday.

The Bulldogs scored 189 points to runner-up Moses Lake’s 172, with University third at 167.5 and East Valley finishing fourth at 145.5.

Victory came in a tournament that Hermiston coach Curt Berger said was stronger than a year ago.

“There is better competition this year than last year, I think,” Berger said of the event that concluded with 3 p.m. placing matches on Saturday. “It was quite a bit tougher than last week for us. There were more state qualifiers. The quarterfinals last night seemed like some of the semifinals last year.”

But it wasn’t just the veterans who made it so. Freshmen also had their say in the early weights, including East Valley’s Nic Sweeney.

Sweeney, who barely wrestled 30 seconds winning two GSL matches by pin last week during an auspicious start, defeated Coeur d’Alene state third-place finisher Andrew Palmer 10-5 to get the finals off to a rousing start.

Palmer cut his head and bloodied his nose in the oft-delayed match. He fell behind when Sweeney scored six second-period points for a 7-2 lead.

“It wasn’t that he was a state placer,” Sweeney said following the effort. “I was more worried about his being 18 years old. I just turned 15 last week and knew I was the underdog.”

EV coach Craig Hanson was most impressed by the way Sweeney, who said he has been around wrestling since age 4, won a couple battles for takedowns.

“Every time he outscrapped the kid,” Hanson said.

Another freshman, Hermiston’s Joey Delgado, pinned Knights state placer Keith Babington at 112 on an adjoining mat, and the Bulldogs also won titles at 119 and 135 pounds. East Valley state placer Dakota Lawson beat the Hermiston coach’s namesake, Curtis Berger, for the 189 title.

University – which had nine top-six placers and a couple other placers who wrestled unattached – Mead and Ferris had the other GSL champions.

Jake Mason swept through the 160 pound weight class to be U-Hi’s only winner among three finalists. He beat Mead’s Nick Bond 14-7, a match in which the final score was disputed. Titans Ryan Zumwalt and Kevin Harder took second.

Harder was pinned by Brandon Richardson, one of two tourney champs for Lakeland.

Richardson had gone unplaced at state in Idaho last year because of assorted ailments. But he’s undefeated so far this year.

“I think that it’s mentally that I know I’m prepared,” he said. “In Fargo (N.D.) I was one round away from being All-American and was a bit upset about that. I went to nationals in Iowa in October and took that tournament, so I felt pretty good.”

Kyle McCrite at 125 was the other Hawks titlist, edging Hermiston’s Ben Jorgensen 4-3.

Other local winners included Mead’s Jacob Trotter, who beat Post Falls’ Cole Amende 13-5 at 215. Ferris’ Andre Rivera had three pins in four matches at 171, including during the final over Central Valley’s Cody Stratton. Another Saxon, Brandon Riehle, lost to Hermiston’s Brandon Adolf in the 135-pound title match.

Coeur d’Alene’s Sam Howard captured the 130 pound title, over Moses Lake’s Ricco Moreno, with a couple of pins along the way.

Cheney’s Brandon Moseley took second at 285, losing by pin to Ellensburg’s Blake Nichols. The two could meet again in regionals at season’s end.

Moses Lake had four finalists and two champions. Thomas Pfeiffer beat East Valley’s Jake Rodriguez 9-1 at 145 pounds and Sam Villegas topped U-Hi’s Zumwalt 7-2 at 152. David Peralize lost to Hermiston’s Jaylee Britt at 119.