East Valley beats Central Valley
The bout draw that started at 160 pounds couldn’t have been better for East Valley or worse for Central Valley in their Greater Spokane League wrestling match Thursday night.
The Knights (3-0) used their upper-weights advantage to take any suspense out of the match between American Division unbeatens early in their 45-15 victory over the Bears (2-1).
The outcome was mirrored a few miles down the road where host University (3-0) whipped Gonzaga Prep (2-1) 54-16 in a match between the National Division’s remaining unbeaten teams.
East Valley won the first five matches, through 275 pounds, to build a 27-0 lead. Four of the wins were by pin.
“By starting with those weights we were able to get a run on points and it builds momentum to your advantage,” said Knights coach Craig Hanson. “And picking up pins in weights where they were close matches made a big difference.”
One in particular was at 275 where Knights senior Chris Helm was losing to remarkably nimble and strong CV freshman Tyler Cochran. But the two locked up in a throw and Helm got the better of it with less than a minute remaining in their match.
“It was one of those matches where we landed in the right position,” said Hanson. “He could have landed on us.”
Other pinners during the fast start were Fred Arnold, and brothers Jordan and Tyler Jolley, seniors all.
EV had an experience edge with seven seniors and five juniors in its lineup, while the Bears started seven sophomores or freshman like Cochran.
But one Knights sophomore, Dan Michalski, wrestling at 189, wasn’t bothered that he was facing a CV senior. Hanson said he’s someone who never gets flustered, even in a tight match.
Michalski defeated Tim Hansen 8-2 with two takedowns and a near fall in the middle of EV’s five-win run.
“We have some of the top coaches in state and I feel comfortable wrestling up (in weight) and in their decisions,” Michalski said. “I knew (Hansen) was going to throw in some of those underhooks. All I had to do was play it safe most of the time and make sure I wrestled smart.”
With an already comfortable lead, EV won five of the final nine matches for the easy win. The four Bears victories were by a freshman, Tanner Teeples, and three juniors.
“Starting at 160 wasn’t the best position to start,” said CV coach John Owen, acknowledging EV’s advantage in the draw. “I knew we would lose but was hoping it would be close. I’m disappointed not one of our seniors won.”
Teeples, however, showed heart, rallying from a 8-4 deficit with four third-period takedowns in a 12-11 victory over Shelby Lawson. It was CV’s first triumph of the night.
“When I saw he was up by four points I knew something had to happen,” said Teeples. “What I’m best at is taking down and that’s what I did.”
The GSL is on break until Jan. 5, but wrestlers will be up early for today’s 10 a.m. start of the Tri-State Tournament at North Idaho College in Coeur d’Alene. EV is among them.
“Obviously this does more for us coming off two wins this week and we’ll be a little more pumped going into Tri-State,” said Hanson. “These were two key ones in the early part of the season that we had to have.”
U-Hi 54, G-Prep 16: The visiting Bullpups won only three matches against the Titans, who didn’t use many of their front-line performers but still had seven pins or technical falls. Chris Katus had one of Gonzaga’s three, getting takedowns in the first two rounds for a 4-1 decision over Elliot Nay at 130 pounds. At 135, U-Hi’s Matt Machala came back from a 5-2 deficit with a near fall in the final seconds to beat Gabriel Ahl 12-10….Mead 60, Cheney 9: The Panthers (2-0) steamrolled the host Blackhawks (0-3) in an American Division test to become East Valley’s last challenger. Paul Senescal, who had lost to Travis McKinzie last weekend in the Inland Empire Classic tourney, reversed the outcome with an 8-2 decision. Mead won 12 matches, six by pin….Mt. Spokane 65, Shadle Park 6: The host Wildcats (2-1) also won 13 matches, all by major decision, technical fall, pin or forfeit. Joel Howard and Paul Burdulis were Shadle’s (0-2) only victors. Mt. Spokane and Mead wrestle right after the holidays….Clarkston 66, Rogers 10: In yet another one-sided contest, the host Bantams (2-1) received five forfeit victories and won six others by pin. Wade Wessels (140), Mike Holloman (145) and Brad Steinmetz (215) were Rogers’ (0-2) winners….North Central 45, West Valley 26: In the closest match of the night, the Eagles (0-3) managed to keep things interesting after the visiting Indians (1-1) jumped to an early 24-6 lead with four successive first-period pins, Derek Brown (189), Jon Tyler (215) and Anthony Voelker (275) among them. Zach Thomas (103) and Justin Fiman (119) had pins and Seth Koker took a 13-9 decision over Thomas Montague for the Eagles.