G-Prep Pulls Away From Mead, Ex-Coach

Wrestling

Gonzaga Prep’s junior class is considered by former Bullpups and current Mead Panthers wrestling coach Phil McLean to be the best in school history.

His former pupils, including three sophomores, did nothing to dispel the notion, winning three pivotal matches during an emotional 37-27 Greater Spokane League wrestling win over Mead and their onetime mentor Wednesday night.

“It was really difficult yesterday and today mentally knowing I was going against the only guy who coached me,” said Bullpups 160-pounder Karl Koehler, who had one of the decisive victories. “Once it was match time, it never entered my mind. But I think I’ll sleep better tonight.”

Both the Bullpups of rookie coach Dusty Roberts and McLean’s Panthers were unbeaten entering the contest. Prep built a 17-9 lead, fell behind 21-17, then won four of the final five contests for a 3-0 record. Mead is now 2-1.

In other matches, University remained unbeaten with a 46-26 win over Lewis and Clark, East Valley defeated Ferris 46-15, Central Valley defeated Shadle Park 48-21, and North Central won its first match, beating Mt. Spokane 49-12.

Gonzaga Prep started its late run on James Pearson’s technical fall, followed by Koehler’s late dominance during a 6-2 decision over Jared Wolfe. Then, lanky Pat Bradley pinned Luke McCollum in a match of unbeaten league 171-pounders.

“On paper, I had us winning 152 through 171 pounds, all great matches we had to win,” said Roberts. “From 103 through 130, I had us winning all but one and that’s exactly how it went.”

Kyle Malone’s pin at 215 pounds completed the comeback.

“Our guys were ready to compete and take it to them, but I think they outscrambled us in certain situations,” said McLean. “We wrestled timid and it opened it up for them.”

East Valley (2-1) cruised against Ferris (1-2), winning 11 of 14 matches. Knight Justin Moody improved to 10-0 with a 7-5 victory over Dan Gonzales in a match of top 215-pounders. In another thriller, Ferris’s Blake Yonago edged Kelhan Corn 11-9.

University (2-0) held out several regulars, but still defeated LC (0-3). At 152 pounds, Tiger David Sloan trailed 2-1 after two rounds before pinning sophomore Matt Slatter.

Central Valley evened its record against the Highlanders (1-2) while garnering new coach Kelly Kiki’s first win. Shadle’s James Gerber upset Andy Brownson at 160 pounds, getting a penalty point and escape in the final 10 seconds. The loss came after CV had won eight of nine matches for a 42-9 lead.

North Central (1-2) won 10 matches against Mt. Spokane (1-2). Included was Charlie White’s 11-10 win over previously unbeaten Joe Marek. The Wildcats returned the favor when Justin Bradley upended David Weddle three matches later.