Indians’ David Sandberg Wrestles Into District Title North Side Teams To Send 4 Champ Wrestlers To Regionals

North Central coaches gave three hips and a hooray for David Sandberg after he claimed the 190-pound championship at last weekend’s District 8 AAA wrestling tournament.

The Indian sophomore had escaped to tie his match with Mead’s Steve Fish in the third round and with less than a minute to go picked up a leg and used a heel trip for the decisive takedown.

Sandberg is NC’s first district titlist in two years and one of four champions from North Side schools who will be competing this weekend in Region IV competition at Walla Walla.

The top four wrestlers per weight class qualify for state.

Jon Rugan, one of eight Mead athletes who qualified for regionals, avenged an earlier loss to win a wild 11-8 decision over friend and foe Shane Cunanan from CV in the 115-pound finale.

The two finished second and third in state last year and wrestled together in summer camp.

In their title match, Rugan took a 7-0 lead and weathered Cunanan’s comeback with two reverses of position, good for four points, in the final round.

Also winning titles were Panther 148-pounder James Clark, who is unbeaten for the year, and Shadle Park 122-pounder Shawn Howard.

Mead had a strong tournament, finishing second in district after tying for third during the dual-match season in the Greater Spokane League. All told, seven Panther wrestlers reached the finals, and two more also advanced to regionals.

Others included Lyle Beerbohm at 141, Joel Edminster at 148, Spencer Smith at 215 and Joe Collier at 275.

Shadle Park’s Scott Close, 101, Rogers’ Darren Steeneck, 129, and James Dawe and NC’s Mike Caballero also finished second.

Third-place qualifiers for regionals include Rogers’ 129-pound Nick Fuller and 168-pound Shaun McMackin, North Central’s 158-pound Brian Thatcher and 215-pound Brian Burrow, plus Mead’s 178-pound Eric Strom. Thatcher and Fuller were No. 2 entrants for their teams.

Qualifying fourth for regionals are NC’s Brian Largent at 141, Rogers’ Ivan Harris at 158 and Mead’s Beau Chandler at 168.

Largent got there in stunning fashion, scoring four points as time ran out for a 7-5 win in his consolation semifinal.

Riverside state veterans advance

Riverside’s state veterans will be at center stage when the Rams host this weekend’s Region IV-AA wrestling tournament.

The top four finishers in each of 14 weights will qualify for state. Although up in classification, district 168-pound champion Matt Morin and runners up Dan Kruger at 158 and Adrian Bojorquez at 115 are after a repeat trip to Tacoma.

Joining them is sophomore teammate Paul Purcell, second at 141 pounds. He wrestled for University High a year ago.

Lakeside storms to title

Lakeside’s wrestling team may be young and Coach Scott Jones may not know how they’ll fare from here on out, but so far, so good.

After thoroughly dominating the Northeast A League dual-meet season, the Eagles did the same in district. They nearly doubled the team score on runner-up Deer Park, 274 to 145.5.

Included were district champions in the first four weight classes and seven titlists overall.

Lakeside brings 14 wrestlers into this weekend’s Region IV A-B tournament at Mead High School. Winning championships were Trevor Blackwell, Jason Belyea, Chris Padayao and Anthony Layton between 101 and 122 pounds.

Aaron Laughery won at 141, Nate Bohl at 148 and Cory Hamilton at 178.

Placing third were Jared Lindholm at 101, Tim Weisser at 115, Matt Westenfelder at 129, Wes Bouchia at 148 and Eric Dean at 168.

Adam Christen at 122 and Jason Christen at 135 were fourth.

The bad news for NEA foes is that half of them are freshmen or sophomores.

Deer Park had a champion and four second-placers while advancing seven to regionals.

Dana Nelson won at 275 by technical fall. Finishing second were Tom Barclay at 190, Jeb Race at 148, state runner-up Clint Umbach at 141 and Don Forbes at 122.

Ryan Pilgrim, 101, and Nathan Turner, 108, placed fourth.

Regular hoop season near end

Post-season play beckons survivors of basketball’s regular season, which is nearing completion.

Greater Spokane League places are still up for grabs among the boys.

Only two games separate the second- through sixth-place teams with three games remaining.

Shadle Park which won its fifth straight game, over North Central in the Groovy Shoes game on Friday, has moved into fifth place with three tough games remaining.

NC lost to Ferris Tuesday and must win its final three games to have a playoff shot.

Girls qualifiers are assured. Mead still leads by a game, and Shadle Park remains in fourth place.

Riverside’s boys and girls entered the week in second place in the Frontier League but with an arduous week that pits them against three other contenders in four nights this week.

Included were Wednesday night’s games against girls leader Cheney and the suddenly hot boys team. Also on tap are games in Pullman and at leader West Valley over the weekend.

The Northeast A regular season is finished this weekend.

Lakeside High’s stingy defense has the girls team on the brink of a second championship. Last weekend the Eagles beat their nearest challengers, Colfax and Newport, by allowing just 54 total points.

Eagle boys are chasing second place and a berth in the doubleelimination portion of the tournament beginning with a game Wednesday night at Freeman.

Deer Park’s girls are assured a playoff spot, and the boys are close.

, DataTimes