Winter sports wonderland

I find satisfaction in writing looking-back, season-ending columns.

Not because they contain award-winning writing. Egad. No it’s because of the content.

If you have even just a faint idea of what’s going on in prep sports in the Inland Northwest you know there are some special things that take place from season to season. This winter past is no exception.

Here’s a sampling of the phenomenal feats pulled off by area athletes and teams:

• I have to start with the best wrestling team, not only here but arguably in the Pacific Northwest – Post Falls.

Pete Reardon and his athletically gifted crew ran roughshod all season over all comers. It began with winning their first Tri-State championship. It followed with winning the Rollie Lane tourney in the Boise area where wrestling is as crazed as this region.

It culminated with their first state championship, and the Trojans did it in amazing fashion. They qualified 19 to state with five champions – Drake Foster, TJ Wolf, Alius De La Rosa, Seth McLeod and Justin Farnsworth. Post Falls finished with 256 points, 66 ahead of the runner-up.

The Trojans, from their coaches through their lineup, were a class act.

• Another first-class crew were the Freeman Scotties, who sent 15 to state.

And the Scotties needed all 15 en route to capturing their first state title. Markus Goldbach was the lone state champ.

It was a marvelous story. None of the Scotties are year-round wrestlers. So to capture a state title at the 1A level with just three-month guys was nothing short of spectacular.

Coach Chad Ripke was supported by a talented staff.

• It was no small feat what Jenna Schlosser of Mead pulled off.

Schlosser captured the State 4A all-around title in gymnastics, winning on her last attempt with a 9.425 on the beam. Her total of 38.1 was a career best. It was a mark the former Level 9 club gymnast had never achieved.

Then the next day during individual event finals, she added two more gold medals to her cache by winning the vault and beam.

• If 1B girls basketball teams ever want to beat Colton, I’d suggest visiting the small town near Pullman and finding out what coach Clark Vining is doing.

OK, 71 straight victories is impressive – the all-time best winning streak in the state. But seven straight state titles. Holy cow.

And, Colton isn’t done. In this day and age where private church-based schools are popping up all over the landscape like out-of-control dandelions – along with the ability to invite (recruit, wink wink) athletes – Vining deserves a big atta boy for what he has built.

• I was going to talk about the accomplishments of the Gonzaga Prep girls team. But the Bullpups’ season per se isn’t over now that they’ve accepted an invitation to play in the Dick’s Sporting Goods/ESPN national high school tournament.

Still, back-to-back state championships and a 50-game winning streak are fabulous. Another example of why the Greater Spokane League has owned – I repeat, owned – the 4A ranks this millennium.

Was G-Prep as good as last year? In some ways yes, in some ways no. The biggest difference between this year’s team and last year’s was perimeter shooting. Teams at state figured out the best way to defend G-Prep was to play a tight 2-3 zone and force them to shoot from the perimeter.

What this batch of Bullpups accomplished, especially with the weighty winning streak on their shoulders, is some- thing many teams wouldn’t have pulled off. Seniors Otiona Gildon, Laura Stockton, Oona Harrington and Lauren Weir and junior, Tayler Drynan, were fun to watch.