Top Wrestlers Compete In Recent Dream Duals
Mead wrestler Kevin Klaus said Saturday’s Washington Dream Duals wrestling meet hosted by the Panthers was the No. 1 tournament he’s been part of in his career.
It was the first time the Dream Duals have been held in Spokane. Mead coach Scott Bliss started the prestigious 24-team event five years ago when he was coaching at Auburn. Now that he’s at Mead, the tournament will be held in Spokane every other year.
Klaus, a senior who wrestles at 141, said he wishes he could have competed in the Dream Duals earlier in his career.
“It would’ve given me something to look forward to every year, but I’m glad it came here my senior year and I didn’t miss out on it,” said Klaus, who won by a technical fall in the Panthers’ 48-22 loss to Battle Ground for third and fourth place. “I’m glad to be part of it the first year it came to Mead.”
Klaus said having competed against the top wrestlers in the state will give the Panthers confidence.
“It’s awesome,” he said. “We had been looking forward to it all year. Having everybody come together and get some good matches in has been a great experience.”
Bliss said the tournament went off with fewer glitches here than in the previous four years at Auburn.
“With the support of people in the front office and the athletic director, it turned out fantastic,” Bliss said, noting there were 500 athletes and coaches. “Mead can handle these events without a problem.”
And how’d he feel about his team’s finish?
“For our kids it was an unbelievable experience,” he said. “We don’t match up well with U-Hi, but we did well against Sumner and Battle Ground. It’s a shot in the arm to our program. It really helped us.”
Lakeside takes second at Duals
Adam Christen was not satisfied with Lakeside’s second-place finish in the 2A division at the Dream Duals.
He got a pin at 141 pounds but the Eagles lost to Mt. Baker 38-34.
“Second’s not good enough,” the senior said. “It just makes us work a little harder for state so we can beat them when it counts.”
Lakeside coach Scott Jones said it was beneficial for his team not only to compete against such strong opponents but also to watch good wrestling all day.
“It was a big growth day late in the season,” he said. “It should be a motivator for the kids.”
The Eagles were without 215-pounder Jason Cummings, who dislocated his knee during warmups.
Groovy Shoes on Friday
The annual spirit competition between North Central and Shadle Park is Friday during the boys and girls basketball games at the Spokane Arena.
The girls game begins at 3:45 p.m. with the boys following at 5:30 p.m.
“It’s a big game because we’re in a position where we’re trying to get into the playoffs,” said Shadle boys coach Darcy Weisner. “That means it’s a game we need to have. North Central is in same position.
“If a team gets hot in the second half they can slip into one of those playoff spots.”
NC girls coach John Reid says records don’t matter for this one.
“It’s one of the premier events in the whole season, not only for North Central and Shadle but for the whole community, especially the North Side,” he said. “It’s an unbelievable event.”
Reid said he hopes elementary and middle school students can witness the sportsmanship and energy the schools will display.
What streak?
Lakeside girls basketball coach Lisa Schultz said she didn’t even know her Eagles had such a big winning streak until she read it for the first time in the paper.
She hasn’t focused on it or mentioned it in practice.
So when Newport snapped a 34-game string of Lakesdie victories with an 82-68 win Friday, Schultz said it wasn’t a huge deal for her team.
“That streak is more important to everybody else,” the coach said. “It’s a pretty big accomplishment to win that many games in a row, especially with our preseason against 4A schools. It is a neat accomplishment but it’s not what we strive for everyday.”
Three Eagles players are out for the season with injuries so Schultz has four freshmen and four sophomores on a roster that includes just one senior.
“We’re young but we’re going to bounce back quickly,” she said, stressing that Saturday’s win over Chewelah showed there was “no residue” from the loss. “Sometimes a loss like that can set you off on a downward spiral. That was not the case with our girls.”
Schultz said she told her team that losses are expected once in a while.
“Hardly any teams are going to go through two seasons undefeated,” she said. “We put it all in perspective. We would rather lose early and win late than vice versa. We feel fine. The kids are not really upset. They didn’t really mention the streak. They are more upset that they played poorly.”
Junior Julia Vojtech was the only player who played well for the entire game, Schultz said. Vojtech scored a career-high 28 points and shot 65 percent from the field. Her previous career high was 16.
Schultz was pleased with freshman Jen Barcus in the second half. She scored 17 of her 19 points after intermission and had 12 rebounds.
“We knew going into it that if we didn’t play well it would be difficult to beat them at Newport,” Schultz said. “That’s the best I’ve seen Newport play in nine years of my coaching.”
Time to step up
Rogers boys basketball coach Rick Mergenthaler says his team “has got to work harder, we’ve got to get better, we’ve got to execute. If we don’t do those three things, we’re in trouble.
“We can’t look ahead and say there’s a half a season left. Now’s the time to step up.”