East Valley puts on big show
Saturday’s 145-pound final between two East Valley wrestlers, Drew Beaudoin and Bryce Fisher, offered evidence of the effect new Greater Spokane League entrants had on the District 5/8 3A subregional tournament this year.
EV and North Central, down from the 4A classification, finished first and second in the tournament, hosted by the Knights, and between them qualified 22 wrestlers into next weekend’s state-qualifying regional tournament.
Beaudoin and Fisher’s match wasn’t the only weight class in which EV sent on two wrestlers, merely the most visible.
Beaudoin, the 4-1 winner with a pair of takedowns, and a returning state placer, wasn’t EV’s No. 1 entry in the weight class, needing a qualifying meet win to be the Knights’ second competitor.
“I got a really bad start to the season,” Beaudoin said. “It’s my last three weeks and my senior year, so I said, ‘This is it, it’s now or never.’ “
“Sometimes you only have to wrestle three weeks hard,” said EV coach Craig Hanson. “Obviously, he’s talented, too.”
The two Knights are among five wrestlers, competing between 130 and 145, who work out together all season long and who all were among the nine finalists and 15 regional qualifiers that piled up 352 points to NC’s 186 1/2 .
“We wrestle a ton with each other,” said Fisher, who didn’t begrudge his teammate the 145-pound victory. “It’s what keeps our middle weights so tough.”
EV’s Jared Imes and Matt Hanson finished second at 130 and 135, respectively, and Brice Parker gave his fans a thrill, blowing a 12-3, third-period lead to win 14-12 at 140, bridging off his back and watching the time run out.
“I was kind of tired, but knew I was up by four points at the end, so it didn’t matter if I gave up a three-point near fall,” Parker said.
EV also got a championship at 160 by Fred Arnold in a dominating weekend showing that included two pins and two technical falls, the second a 19-2 win over NC’s Aaron Patenaude in the final.
Other Knights finalists were Shelby Lawson at 103, Joey Plumb at 112 and Jordan Jolley at 171.
EV qualified wrestlers in 11 weight classes and two each in four.
“Everybody did a pretty good job today,” Craig Hanson said. “Our goal was to have 10 finalists and we were right there. Our goal was to have 20 to regionals and knew that was high, but it was not out of the question.”
Both Imes and Jolley were caught in the first round by GSL foes and pinned. Jolley was pancaked by Clarkston’s Dusty Rebel, one of three Bantams finalists, two champions and six regional qualifiers.
Jason Fairley improved to 27-4 for Clarkston with his 2-1 win over Matt Hanson. Bandy Earl lost 5-1 to NC’s Mike Clute at 152.
Imes was twisted to his back in a quick move by Cheney’s Blake Risk, who improved his record to 31-2.
“Basically it’s just a front headlock,” said Risk, who moved here from Missouri and placed at state last year. “It’s a move that took a lot of practice and time. I took three years to perfect that.”
Risk is one of six Cheney regional qualifiers. West Valley advances three.
NC had three finalists and two champions among seven regional qualifiers.
Clute, who has been wrestling for just three years, has had some big wins during his 25-4 season and had little trouble in subregionals.
“It’s my senior year, my last district tournament and it’s about time I actually showed up,” Clute said. “I’ve been working hard all year, actually for the last three years.”
Teammate Derek Brown pinned his way through the 189-pound field, twice ending matches in less than a minute.
“Overall it’s probably the best these kids wrestled the whole season,” said NC coach Mike Ranieri. “They wrestled with their hearts and came together as a team.”