Knights Can’T Catch A Break

3A

When John Sommer-DeVargas met Jaime Garza for the 11th time in their two-year wrestling rivalry, little did either think it would be under these circumstances.

Last year Moses Lake’s Garza beat EV’s Sommer-DeVargas for the state 101-pound championship. This year they were wrestling for third and fourth.

Garza had led 9-1 in his opening match when he was pinned and forced into the consolation rounds. The Knight junior appeared to have a clear path to the title in his semifinal.

But Sommer-DeVargas, leading an obviously outmanned foe, was disqualified for an illegal slam that rendered his foe unable to continue.

It was only the latest in a series of bizarre occurrences that plagued the Knights throughout the 3A classification at Mat Classic XI.

“I can’t even digest any of it yet, just because of all the weird stuff that happened,” said coach Craig Hanson, “All year long we wrestled above our heads and things went our way. Here we got no breaks. The thing with John is, it really affected the other guys today.”

DeVargas was ahead 5-0 and working a high-crotch move. He picked his opponent up and was putting him down on his back. Instead he went down on his head and injured his neck.

By rule, the EV 108 pounder is responsible for the safety of his opponent when returning him to the mat.

The loss was devastating to Sommer-DeVargas, but he came back to defeat Garza for third, 5-1, with a reversal and near-fall as time ran out. The two had broken even in six matches a year ago. The win was Sommer-DeVargas’ fourth in five meetings this year.

“I should have won this thing,” he said of the championship. “I brought him down safely and went with him. I didn’t agree with the decision.”

But, he said, the third-place finish will make him hungrier for a title next year.

“In my heart I know I am a state champion,” said Sommer-DeVargas.

There were no state champions for Frontier League State 3A entrants, but there were two near misses.

Knight 178-pounder Josh Birt gave up an escape as time ran out to lose 7-6 in his final match. Cheney’s Seth Morris gave up a takedown in the final 15 seconds of the 215 pound finale to lose 3-1.

Blackhawk teammate Jake Jarvis lost his 148-pound semifinal, but came back to place third. He beat fourth-placer Juston Demke of West Valley, who had won three matches in a row after a second-round loss.

Clarkston’s Travis Brown, 168, finished fourth and Eagles Ty Roberts was fifth at 158. Cheney’s David Courchaine, 135, and Clarkston’s Nate Combs were seventh.