North Side Wrestlers Place In State Finals

Rogers High School’s Ryan Anstrom was wrestling for himself.

A match he lost, said a Pirate coach, may have had more far-reaching implications.

Anstrom, a freshman 158 pounder, finished third in his first State AAA tournament at Mat Classic IX. His loss came in the quarterfinals when Jeremiah Mills of Enumclaw, Wash., won by disqualification.

Mills claimed injury and an inability to continue following an unnecessary roughness penalty on Anstrom.

“The coach told him to lay down,” said Pirate assistant Dave Pomante.

Mills ultimately lost in the semifinals to an Evergreen-Vancouver wrestler whose championship helped during a team title victory over Moses Lake.

Pomante contended that Anstrom could have won that semifinal and altered the team outcome.

Unperturbed, Anstrom worked his way back to the consolation finals - against Mills. He won convincingly, 11-1.

“Maybe it was better it happened this way for a freshman,” said Pomante. “He won more than 30 matches and lost to four wrestlers. He came back to beat each of them.”

Anstrom and teammate Daryn Steeneck, who was sixth at 141 were among eight North Side placers, not counting those from state team champion Lakeside.

North Central 190-pounder David Sandberg lost his opener, then won five straight matches, two by pin, and finished third; four places ahead of the wrestler who beat him.

Deer Park 168 pounder Heath Berger finished fifth.

Mead’s Joe Collier made outgoing coach Cash Stone’s final state tournament memorable, reaching the finals of the night’s final match.

Collier beat fellow senior 275-pounder Arthur Avalon in the semifinals. They finished second and fourth respectively at state and sophomore 101-pounder Mark Denholm placed third, winning 5 of 6 matches.

As a result, they finished seventh as a team, one of six Region IV schools to place among the state’s top nine.

The much-honored Stone will need his own room to house the hardware he’s received at varying stops during his final season. He was presented with a huge trophy and plaque for his long-time contributions to the sport at the state meet.

Eagles continue to soar

The Lakeside Eagles girls were in danger of getting their wings clipped, but joined the boys in the finals of the District 7 basketball tournament.

Both play Friday and with wins will again qualify for state.

Each finished third in the State A tournament last year. It was Lakeside’s first boys appearance and the third straight for the girls.

After building a 12-point halftime lead, the Eagle girls held on for a 48-44 victory over Colfax.

With only one team qualifier, the win was important. Lakeside has two chances if need be, against Newport, to return to Tacoma.

Two teams advance from the boys tournament and the Eagles play Chewelah at 9 p.m. for one of them.

Second berth will be decided Saturday.

Mead girls begin quest

First playoff step for Mead’s girls basketball game will be taken tonight in the Spokane Arena.

The league co-champions, seeded second in District 8 competition, have qualified for the Lamb-Weston Regional next week.

The Panthers play Gonzaga Prep in a 3:45 p.m. game that determines who stays home for the entire tournament.

Spokane’s top two seeds will play at Gonzaga University beginning Tuesday. The third and fourth finishers travel Tuesday against the Big Nine’s top two seeds.

Rogers’s season came to an end Tuesday night in a loser-out contest with Ferris. The Pirates finished 8-13 for the year.

In boys games, league runnerup Shadle Park plays University at 5:30 p.m. The Titans ousted Gonzaga Prep in overtime on Tuesday night.

Mead, a winner over Central Valley, plays Ferris at 9 p.m.

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Photo