U-Hi rolls competition at Tri-State

Don’t tell University High wrestling coach Don Owen that his Titans’ championship Saturday at the 34th Wrestler’s World Tri-State tournament was anticlimactic.

Actually, accepting the title trophy was long overdue – especially considering that University technically shared the title with Lake Stevens last year. Lake Stevens just took the biggest trophy home.

The Titans never gave Lake Stevens – nor any team for that matter – a chance to come from behind like a year ago, as U-Hi posted 152.5 points, winning by 20.5 as the prestigious two-day tourney concluded at North Idaho College’s Christianson Gym.

“Sometimes you come over here and you have high hopes and they get dashed,” Owen said. “This year, I didn’t know for sure what to expect because I wasn’t sure what the competition had. But I was really pleased. At one stretch during the consolation round today, we won eight straight and nine of 10 matches. Anytime you can win that many matches on Saturday afternoon at 3 o’clock, you feel like your kids are putting forth a great effort. The tournament was tougher this year than last year.”

Libby (Mont.) took second with 132 points, and Lake Stevens and Hermiston (Ore.) tied for third (118.5).

U-Hi cruised to the championship without the benefit of an individual champion. The Titans had six placers, led by sophomore Brian Owen, who took second at 119 pounds, and four third-place finishes.

Owen, a Tri-State champ a year ago, ran into a tough obstacle in senior Anthony Hayes of Battle Ground. Hayes stopped Owen 3-1 as the injury-plagued Titan couldn’t muster any offense.

After a scoreless first period, Hayes got a quick escape and followed with a takedown with one minute left in the middle period. Owen fought out of Hayes’ grasp for an escape in the third with 90 seconds to go, but Owen couldn’t find an opening thereafter.

“First of all, Hayes is a top-level performer,” Don Owen said. “Brian came into the tournament without really working out. He hasn’t had a quality workout yet because of his back. He’s just got to get healthy. But you can’t take anything away from Hayes. He wrestled a good match.”

The best title match pitted defending Tri-State champs Adam Hall of Bonners Ferry and Andrew Johnson of Tahoma at 152.

Although he didn’t have anything to show for it after the first period, Hall, a senior, was relentless from the opening whistle. Taking the down position to open the second period, Hall escaped and then added two takedowns before stopping previously unbeaten Johnson, a sophomore, 7-3.

Hall wiped away tears of joy afterward.

“This fulfills my high school dreams,” said Hall, who has won 90 consecutive matches since losing in the state finals his freshman season. “I don’t really look at my competition at state. I focus on the early season. That’s why I work so hard during the preseason. This is what’s important.”

A three-time Tri-State champ, Hall appropriately was later named the tourney’s outstanding wrestler. He dedicated the award to his late Grandpa Hall.

Bonners Ferry coach Conrad Garner also had to fight back tears.

“This was emotional,” Garner said, trying to gain composure. “I want him to win probably more than he does. I want him to perfect everything he does, and he’s doing it.”

Another defending Tri-State champ was knocked off at 125 when sophomore Michael Mangrum of Auburn-Riverside slipped past junior Joey Fio of Sandpoint 5-4.

“He wanted it more. He was a better wrestler,” said Fio, who refused to offer an excuse. “Sometimes that’s how it rolls.”

Both were cat-like quick as each frequently scrambled out of potential defensive positions. After a scoreless first period, Mangrum struck first with an escape/takedown combination. Fio quickly scored a reversal, but Mangrum countered with a reversal. Fio managed an escape to close the second period.

Fio chose down to start the third, and he pulled within the final margin with an escape with 1:23 remaining.

It was a perpetual scramble until the end as Mangrum held off Fio, who suffered his first loss since transferring to Sandpoint a year ago.

Lakeland senior Brandon Palaniuk, a fourth seed, scored a takedown as the match ended at 135 as he prevailed 3-2 over Lucas Chesher of Central Valley. The takedown wasn’t awarded until the referees conferred following the match’s conclusion.

Palaniuk’s title came after he upset defending champ and top-seeded Levi Jones of Lakeside 9-8 in double overtime in the semifinals. Palaniuk was awarded the winning point when Jones false started a third time.

“(It was) enough to kill a coach, that’s for sure,” Lakeland coach Rob Edelblute said of Palaniuk’s late takedown.

“Brandon is in probably the best shape he’s been in ever. I knew he could take it if it came to the end. Just like in the semis against Levi Jones, it came down to conditioning.”

In the other title matches, freshman Jake Love of Missoula-Sentinel pinned Nick Cambron of CV in 1:30 at 103; Tyler Gateman of Vashon Island pinned Danny Mathews of Freeman in 5:39 at 112; Kelly Kubec of Lake Stevens defended a Tri-State title by topping Brent Parks of Hermiston 8-6 at 130; Kai Van Leuven of Lake Stevens tripped Anthony Varnell of Lewis and Clark 3-1 at 140; Trevor Hall of Battle Ground needed just 43 seconds to pin Noah Hatton of Mt. Spokane at 145; Brandon Sitch of Kelso edged Shane Onufer of Auburn 3-1 at 160; Kurt Swartz of Auburn topped Jake Spencer of Libby 6-3 at 171; Clayton Foster of Kamiah pinned Spenser Sharp of Hoquiam in 2:42 at 189; Travis Hjort of Libby handled Justin Williams of Pendleton 12-7 at 215; and Tyler Jolley of East Valley pinned Mark Skogrand of Lewiston in 3:23 at heavyweight.

“Brendon Parker of Cheney won the 125-pound weight class as Cheney finished tied for 10th at the Sundome Mat Classic at the Yakima Sundome.

Cheney finished with 119 team points, nine behind West Valley, which finished eighth with 128 points. West Valley was led by a second-place finish from Jesse Swenson in the 145-pound weight class.

Wenatchee won with 208 points.