Titanic Victory For University Over 2,500 See U-Hi Edge Cv
University High wrestler Ed Pospisil came off injured reserve and, on the strength of his gimpy leg, carried the visiting Titans to victory, 31-27, over previously unbeaten Central Valley.
On a Thursday night when bones and little brown jugs were at stake in the Greater Spokane League, the Titans (6-1) won the Battle of the Bone over the Bears (5-1) before a packed house of more than 2,500 fans.
It was believed by match officials to be the largest audience to witness a GSL wrestling match.
Surprising Rogers (5-2) edged Mead (3-4) 37-36 to win the Little Brown Jug for the first time in four years.
Elsewhere, Ferris (3-4) beat Lewis and Clark (2-5) 42-21 and North Central (1-6) defeated Shadle Park (0-7) 43-20.
Like the three previous matchups between these GSL schools, the contest between U-Hi and CV had its share of surprises and the outcome was not determined until the night’s final match.
Two contests went to overtime, another was decided by a point.
Pospisil’s 8-0 victory at 215 pounds came early in the contest.
But there was little doubt that with U-Hi trailing 15-9 after giving away a contest three matches earlier, he was instrumental in the final outcome.
“The guy hadn’t been on the mat in I don’t know how long,” said Titans coach Don Owen. “He was the man of the hour. It was the big match of the night.”
Pospisil had torn an anterior cruciate ligament and partially tore the lateral collateral ligament in his knee on Jan. 3 and hadn’t wrestled since.
“I knew I had to come back just this once,” he said. “I knew we needed it.”
He dominated Brandon Bouge for the four-point major decision that got the Titans back to even and set the stage for the final six matches of the night.
Trailing 24-13, University won five times between 108 and 141 pounds, including another major decision and a technical fall.
In the night’s final matches, Ben Peterson gave U-Hi its first lead since the opening match and Eddie Stretch secured the victory.
Peterson raced to an 8-0 first-period lead to beat Brandon Brown 9-2. Stretch won 9-4 over Jared Ishiguro to earn a ride on the shoulders of his teammates.
“When I heard the crowd I knew I wasn’t going to lose,” said Stretch. “I was dreaming about it and hoped the match would be close.”
They don’t get much closer or the crowds get any louder. And the Titans, approaching a share of their third straight GSL championship, remained perfect against CV in the 1990s.
At Mead, Rogers jumped off to a 16-0 lead with three wins and clinched victory when once-beaten 135-pounder Nick Fuller won a major decision over Tony Curtis in the night’s next-to-last match in this continuation of the league’s first traditional trophy dual.
The Panthers came back for five successive victories and a 25-16 advantage.
Three pins in four matches by the Pirates preceded Fuller’s 17-9 triumph.
Elsewhere, the Saxons doubled the score on LC by building a 34-3 lead after eight matches. Late in the pairings, Saxon Jeremy Eaton got a takedown with 15 seconds remaining to win at 129 and Dan Wittenberg rallied for a 5-point move and 10-8 victory at 135.
In a match between winless teams, North Central won for the first time. Brian Thatcher moved up two weights for a major decision that started the Indians on a rally from a 14-0 deficit.
David Sandberg won by pin in just 20 seconds and NC added three more wins for a 25-14 lead that wasn’t threatened.
See results on Stat Sheet/C4
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