Lawrence Owns Tri-State Sandpoint Star Earns Record 4th Title
Anybody who knows anything about high school wrestling knows Jared Lawrence of Sandpoint is in a class by himself.
If there was any question before Saturday, though, Lawrence showed why he’s extraordinary.
Lawrence became the first four-time Tri-State champion in the 26-year history of the event and became just the second two-time outstanding wrestler.
The undefeated Bulldog, who picked up his 100th victory Friday, was too much for East Valley’s Justin Walker, a state runner-up last season.
Lawrence (104-0) put on a clinic, ending the 130-pound title match by technical fall with 1:10 remaining. He used six takedowns to mount an 18-3 lead.
A crowd estimated at 1,200 in North Idaho College’s Christianson Gym gave Lawrence three standing ovations. The final applause came when he accepted the OW award.
“That’s pretty nice,” Lawrence said of the ovations. “I knew I had to get the first takedown. That was the key. A fourth Tri-State title was one of my biggest goals going into the year. It really means a lot because it may not happen for a while.”
It took 26 years, so Lawrence’s place in history appears secure for some time.
Although Lawrence was the headline, there were plenty of other entertaining finals.
The battle for the team championship, however, turned out to be anticlimactic.
Lakeside of Nine Mile Falls, Wash., led after the first day, but pre-tourney favorite La Grande (Ore.) put on a charge during consolation matches.
La Grande captured its third team title in five years, posting 166 points in a walk. Runner-up Lakeside finished 33 points back.
In a battle for third, Central Valley (126.5), behind champions John Reese (119) and Shane Cunanan (125), vaulted past Tahoma of Tacoma by a half-point. Thirteen points separated second through seventh.
La Grande had two champions, one other finalist and three placers - the most of any team. CV and Lakeside each had five placers.
CV coach Dale Etheridge was more than pleased that his short-handed Bears took third. He had particular praise for Cunanan, who needed to score a major victory to secure the third-place team trophy.
Cunanan scored the most take-downs in the finals (eight) to defeat Theo White of Lake Stevens 17-7.
“We waited to the second period to tell Shane what we needed,” Etheridge said, “because we didn’t want to risk his victory to get the extra team point. That was outstanding.”
In a Spokane-area final at 119, Reese held off Jason Belyea of Lakeside 6-3.
Two other finals went to overtime and another was decided in sudden death.
In a rematch at 189, Josh Dorfler of Oregon City, Ore., prevailed again as he fended off a late flurry by David Sandberg of North Central for a 5-3 overtime decision.
In a crowd-pleasing match at 145, Rhyan Malone of La Grande used a takedown 40 seconds into overtime to outlast Matt Owen of Polson (Mont.) 10-8.
Mike Bundy of Lake Stevens earned a second Tri-State title in a hard-fought 7-5 decision over Gonzaga Prep sophomore Travis Pascoe at 160.
The heavyweight final was a fitting end. Josh Queen became the first Tri-State champ from Priest River, rallying in the final 25 seconds to knock off Travis Wiser of Moses Lake 9-5.
“It was desperation,” Queen said of a last-second move that earned him five points. “This was my goal.”
In the other finals, Casey Kotter of La Grande shut out Shawn Johnson of Polson 6-0 at 103; J.P. Marinacci of Tahoma 9-5 at 112; Fred Bartlett of Meridian stopped Brady Richmond of Capital 2-1 in sudden death at 135; Zohn Kuraspediani of Tahoma tripped Pat Owen of Polson 4-3 at 140; Chris Hayes of Missoula-Big Sky downed Joe Thatcher of White River, Wash., 5-3 at 152; and Brent Duda of Quincy, Wash., scored an impressive 7-1 win over John Morgan of Kelso, Wash., at 171.
, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Photo
MEMO: Cut in Spokane edition