Shadle Park Wrestler Sets Sights On State Championship
Shawn Howard learned a hard lesson as a sophomore, when the Shadle Park High School wrestler wasn’t able to compete in the district tournament because he didn’t make weight.
Howard had finished fifth in district at 108 pounds as a freshman, but opted to drop to 101 pounds in his quest for a state berth as a sophomore.
It’s a mistake he vowed never to repeat.
“They thought I’d place high at state if I was at 101 pounds,” he said. “Being younger I was trying to be the best I could be. I made a young mistake.”
Howard’s weight has leveled off at 122 pounds. As a junior last year, he finished fourth in district at 122 and was an alternate to state. He traveled to Tacoma in hopes that he’d get to compete and was impressed by what he saw.
“This year I want to be state champion,” Howard said. “Just going into the Tacoma Dome and seeing what an amazing place it was, I knew I wanted to be on the podium.”
This year, making weight has been the least of his worries. He competes in a weight class that in this region has two returning state champions and a fourth placer.
He has beaten two of them, state winner Cory Brannon of Gonzaga Prep and fourth-place finisher Josh Knowles of University while finishing 8-0 in the Greater Spokane League.
That makes him the top-seeded 122 pounder during Friday and Saturday’s district competition at Mead.
Overall, Howard is 23-3, his losses coming to champions from three states, including Wenatchee’s Nelson Crisanto.
“It will be no cakewalk,” said his coach, Bill Saye. “Shawn knows he’s in a battle and I think he’s up for the charge.”
Since taking up the sport as a seventh grader, Howard always showed promise, as evidenced by the fact he made Shadle’s varsity as a freshman.
“I was always among the top wrestlers in my weight class,” he said.
He won three of five matches during district competition, a harbinger of things to come.
He beat state placer Daryl Groom of Rogers as a sophomore although the year ended in disappointment.
Last season Howard went 5-3 in league and finished third in the Mead Tournament of Champions. He placed fourth at the semifinals of the district tournament.
After a first-round regional loss he came through the tournament and just missed advancing to state in a last-second loss to eventual state placer Fletcher Barkdull of Ferris. The close call was motivational.
“I wrestled freestyle after last season and won a couple tournaments,” he said. “Last summer I went to the North Idaho camp with the team.”
Although Shadle struggled this year, finishing 0-8 in league, the off-season work paid off for Howard. He won the Hillyard M-II Mallet Tournament, was third at the Tournament of Champions, losing to Crisanto, and fifth in the Tri-State Tournament where his losses were to state champions from Idaho and Montana.
His aggressiveness and focus, said Saye, enable him to attack an opponent’s weakness like a bulldog.
The difficulty of his weight class hasn’t caused him to waver from his state championship goal.
“I’m going to do whatever it takes in my heart to win,” said Howard. “I figure if I wrestle my best match, anyone’s beatable.”
, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Photo