Moses Lake Dominates Region; East Valley 2Nd

Prep wrestling

In a typical Region IV 4A wrestling tournament, Greater Spokane League and Big Nine athletes carved each other up to share the wealth.

Big Nine schools won 8 of 14 championships and the Greater Spokane League qualified 29 of 56 to Mat Classic XII next weekend in the Tacoma Dome.

But no school grabbed as much loot as Moses Lake.

The Chiefs qualified 10 wrestlers, seven of them finalists. Their sheer volume from the state’s toughest wrestling venue makes them odds-on favorites for their 16th state championship.

Moses Lake won 13 team championships in the state’s highest classification before winning the last two as a Class 3A school.

The Chiefs and another former 3A power, East Valley, finished first and second in Region IV following their move up. Moses Lake scored 197.5 points to EV’s 114.

GSL schools University, Ferris and Rogers placed third through fifth.

The Knights and Titans have six state qualifiers apiece, Rogers has five, the Saxons and Gonzaga Prep four each.

EV’s lone champion was 112-pound senior John Sommer who beat Pasco’s multiple state qualifier Charlie Wright 7-4 in the title match. But Knights Dave Musser, 145, Isaiah Hankel, 152, and Josh Birt, 189, all reached the finals.

Birt lost to two-time state champion Travis Pascoe of Gonzaga Prep for the fourth time and for the fourth time it was a war. Pascoe this time eked out a 4-2 triumph.

Musser was beaten 5-3 by Pasco’s Brian Esparza and Hankel lost to Moses Lake state runner-up John Zamora in his title match.

Two-time state champion Tommy Owen of University was pushed by Moses Lake’s Ariel Garza in the 125-pound final, winning just 3-2. Ferris had two champions in Daryl Gardner, 140, and Aaron Sedler, 215. Neither was tested en route.

Rogers’ Zak Depue finally got his desired meeting with U-Hi’s Ben Osborn, winning 6-4 in their 160-pound final.

U-Hi’s other finalist, Andrew Smith, continued to be a late-season surprise. He pinned late in his semifinal to move opposite Gardner at 140.

Also in the finals were Pirate David Denbroder at 135 and Ryan VanDoren at 171.

3A tri-district

The 3A tri-district experiment proved the worth of regional wrestling as eastern and western Washington athletes took turns dominating respective weights.

The eastern sub-regional including Frontier League wrestlers, claimed 3 of 4 state berths in six weights.

The western Pierce County and Olympic Leagues did so in four weights and the two divided four other classes.

Clarkston won the tournament with 117 points in evenly distributed scoring during the event.

Matt Phillips of Clarkston, 140; Dave Courchaine, 145; and Blake Falor, 275 of Cheney were area champions.

The Bantams advanced six wrestlers to Tacoma, including finalist Dustin Blankenship. Cheney has four state qualifiers and Colville two.

1A/B regional

There were four all-District 7 finals among seven champions during completion of the 1A/B regional in Moses Lake.

James Miller, outscored Springdale’s Jeff Satnowski 12-8 at 119 pounds.

Almira/Coulee-Hartline’s Craig Winona defended with a taut 7-5 decision over Ritzville’s Justin Ziebell at 171 pounds.

Kettle Falls’s Rob Ridlington decisioned Reardan’s Tysen Titchenal 7-2 at 215 and Davenport’s Clark Pauls blanked Ritzville’s Scott Rasmussen 3-0 at 275.

Also winning titles were Josh Newton of Freeman, by pin at 103, and a pair of Ritzville wrestlers.

Dustin Breazeale won at 135 and Drew Markum at 152. Nick Portrey was Ritzville’s fifth finalist, the Broncos placing third overall with 146.5 points behind Liberty Bell’s 182 and Lake Roosevelt’s 163. Other finalists were ACH’s Jason Thomas and Colfax’s Damen King.