Bears And Titans In Each Other’s Way
Central Valley wrestler John Reese took some advice from his friend and then followed his lead.
After Shane Cunanan opened Wednesday night’s match against Mead with a pin worth six points, Reese completed the match with a technical fall worth five.
Both helped the Greater Spokane League favorite Bears win 34-31 in the first of a series of three matches that will determine this year’s team champion.
Next Thursday, CV (3-0) is at home against Gonzaga Prep (4-0). The following Thursday, the Bears host rival and nemesis University (2-1).
The Titans on Thursday duplicated CV’s success with a 32-25 win over Mead to remain firmly in the title hunt.
Cunanan and Mead’s Jon Rugan became good friends and wrestled each other at 108 and 115 pounds the past two years. Rugan finished second in state twice. Cunanan placed third and fifth.
Now Cunanan has moved up to 122 pounds and Reese, third at 108 last year, is CV’s 115-pounder.
The two work together in the Bear wrestling room and it was Cunanan who showed Reese what to expect for his first encounter with Rugan.
Reese poured on the points, leading 6-1 with two first round near falls. He added takedowns and turn points in each of the final two periods for a stunning 23-8 win.
“All matches are the same,” said Reese, matter-of-factly. “I just concentrate on wrestling.”
He’s got one tough test remaining in U-Hi’s Jared Osborn, who twice last week won major decisions over Rugan.
CV won despite losing Tyree Clowe for the year with a shoulder injury. He underwent surgery Thursday to repair muscles torn away from the bone. Clowe, just a sophomore, was a state placer at 190 pounds last year.
They also wrestled without Loren Kitner, who is ill.
But the team took a 29-18 lead with major efforts from Brandon Brown, who reversed last year’s loss to Mead’s Josh Sicilia, Courtney Brown and sophomore Blair Alderman.
Joe Thiefault, CV’s 178-pound pin doctor, and 215-pounder Brandon Bouge vied for the quickest fall. Bouge got it, taking just 46 seconds to Thiefault’s 58.
“They knew we were in the team running, so every one counted,” said coach Dale Ethridge. “We pretty much wrestled ‘up.’ Even in our losses we lost the right way.”
Knights in right direction
East Valley lived up to its pre-season role as Frontier League favorite with an easy 57-13 win over Clarkston.
The Bantams were coming off a victory over Colville two days earlier. Colville is the only team that has marred an otherwise perfect seven-year run by the Knights.
“Colville’s just had our number,” said coach Craig Nelson prior to the season. The Indians have won three years in a row over EV. “I think it’s a blip in the scales.”
He could be right. Thursday’s win over Clarkston was convincing.
EV led 16-0 after three matches and allowed only three Clarkston wins in the final 11 contests.
Six of EV’s 11 wins were by pin and four of the other five wins were by major decision (8-14 point win) or by technical fall (15-point win).
, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Photo