La Grande, Sandpoint Prosper
Tri-State wrestling
Teams from La Grande (Ore.) and Sandpoint pushed five wrestlers each into the semifinal round of the 24th Tri-State Tournament.
La Grande, which won the 1993 team title, sat on a 15.5-point lead after Thursday’s quarterfinal round at North Idaho College’s Christianson Gymnasium. Missoula Sentinel was second with 80 points, followed by Sandpoint, the two-time Idaho A-1 champion, with 76. Capital of Boise stood third with 66.5.
“I think it’s one of the toughest tournaments actually in the nation,” La Grande coach Verl Miller said. “I only know of a couple others that are tougher.
“When we won it three years ago, we may have had a little bit more depth,” Miller added. “We’ll see what happens tomorrow. Anybody can be ahead in the semis.”
The 45-team tournament concludes today. The semifinals start at 12:15 p.m., with the championship round set for 6.
Sandpoint seniors Brett Lawrence at 125 pounds and Trevor Walkington at 135 stayed on track to become three-time Tri-State winners.
“My guys just need to wrestle tough; that’s all the help we need,” Bulldogs coach Dan Taylor said.
Show and tell
Jay McGuffin is a hot commodity in Cashmere, Wash., especially in the kindergarten class.
McGuffin’s younger brother, Tyson, who turned 6 last week, wants the 135-pounder to go to class with him for “show and tell.”
“I love working with little kids,” the 17-year-old said. “They know who I am. They don’t know my name; they know ‘The Wrassler’ is coming.”
Tri-State is one of few tournament titles McGuffin has yet to win - it’s his first appearance. And what better introduction than in the toughest weight class of a tournament which draws entries from Montana, Oregon, Idaho and Washington?
McGuffin has won all 81 of his high school matches, including two state A-B titles. He’s given up one takedown and one near fall in his career. His team won state in 1994 and was fourth in 1995.
In spite of those impressive credentials, the aggressive McGuffin is the No. 3 seed. Seed criteria puts last year’s top two Tri-State placers at 130 - Trevor Walkington of Sandpoint and Billy Greene of Lewiston are Nos. 1 and 2, respectively.
“It’s awesome to come here, and to wrestle in the best weight class, it’s even better,” McGuffin said. “(This is) top-notch wrestling. I didn’t even know there could be a tournament like this, except the high school nationals.”
Family affair
The second generation of Owen wrestlers has arrived. The six brothers, who coach in Washington and Montana, have 12 sons and 12 daughters.
Brothers Bobby and Bill coached Polson to its first Montana Class A championship in 1994.
Bill’s son, Curtis (152), was a sophomore on that Pirates team. This year, his freshman brother, Matt (135), and freshman cousin, Patrick (112), debuted.
The boys’ styles are opposite, explained Bill’s wife, Pam.
“Matt’s more aggressive and Curtis is more of a thinker before he acts,” she said. “Patrick is very aggressive and gets down to business.”
Tis the season
Moses Lake sophomore Amel Dalluge shed his long, brown locks of hair at the start of the wrestling season. His sister dyed the buzz-cut blonde. Maroon stripes would have been a nice touch, the 103-pounder thought.
But lime green? “I think it was Christmas,” Dalluge said between matches. “The next color I’m thinking of doing it is bright orange. A lot of people, if I win a match, say, ‘Hey, good job, greenhead boy.’ A lot of people recognize me.”
MEMO: Cut in the Spokane edition