Gonzaga Prep Defeats Scrappy Rogers
GSL wrestling
Youth was nearly served when Rogers sophomore Antonio Mantese threw a scare into Gonzaga senior state wrestling placer Kyle Gleason.
The young Pirates ultimately had no answer to the seasoned Bullpups, who won 40-11 to remain undefeated in the Greater Spokane League.
Still, the Pirates showed a glimpse of the future. They lost five matches by three or fewer points with seven sophomores in their lineup.
“They’re young and scrappy guys,” said Bullpups coach Phil McLean.“The match was closer than the score indicated tonight.”
One close match came between Mantese and Gleason. Except for a five-point mistake in the second round, Mantese held the upper hand, losing 7-5.
“I tried hard and he just got me,” said Mantese. “Maybe we’ll do it again.”
Gleason said he may have taken Mantese lightly, but won’t again.
“He’s a tough kid and only a sophomore,” said Gleason. “He’s going to get better.”
Their match came early among six Bullpup wins for a 24-0 lead.
Neither McLean, nor Rogers first-year coach Shawn Carney thought their teams wrestled particularly well. The difference, said Carney, was Gonzaga’s ability to win the tossups.
“If we were going to beat them we had to win some close ones and we didn’t tonight,” he said.
Gonzaga (5-0) continues to lead the GSL, followed by University, Mead and Central Valley. Rogers (3-2) dropped into fifth place.
In other matches U-Hi won at North Central 40-27, CV won 47-12 at Ferris, Mead won 51-20 at Mt. Spokane and home-standing Lewis and Clark beat Shadle Park 39-30.
The Titans (4-1) trailed 27-25 before winning the final three matches, including a pin by Ben Osborn and technical fall by David Courchaine to beat NC (2-3).
Mead (4-1), had little trouble with district rival Mt. Spokane (0-5). The Panthers scored the night’s final 22 points to get away. Included were technical falls by Mark Denholm and Ryan Van Doren.
Central Valley (4-1) won all but two matches against Ferris (1-4). Included was Anthony Shivers’ five-point move with 14 seconds remaining for a 13-11 win at 135 pounds. John Daschbach had a late escape and takedown to win 10-8 at 115. Lewis and Clark (2-3) won for the second night in a row by rallying from a 24-0 deficit against Shadle (0-5). Jacob Chapel got it started, battling back from a 10-2 deficit for his third-period pin.
Frontier League: Defending champion East Valley opened the league season with a 35-22 victory at home against Clarkston. The Knights led 19-0 after five matches then got a first-minute pin by John Sommer.