Valley schools show wrestling might

The Spokane Valley is a wrestling mecca.

Last weekend at Mat Classic XVII in Tacoma, local high schools produced a team championship, a second-place team, six individual state title winners and a wealth of placers.

Besides University’s 4A team title and two individual championships, East Valley’s Joey Plumb won the 3A 112-pound title, and Central Valley junior Lucas Chesher delighted a large T-shirted cheering section with the 4A 125-pound crown.

Freeman junior Danny Mathews captured the 1A/B 112-pound win, and Liberty’s Brice Williams won at 119 as their region captured 11 of the classification’s 14 state championships.

EV’s wrestling team was in the right place. It simply came at the wrong time.

The Class 3A Knights duplicated 4A champion University’s nine state placers and even scored three more points, securing 138, but running afoul of Sedro Woolley, which won its fourth straight state title with 173.

“We knew we were underdogs,” said coach Craig Hanson, “but going in with the lead after the first day and with all these chances,” the Knights held hopes of ending the Cubs’ streak.

It ended in a series of close losses during the semifinal round.

“Still,” said Hanson, “it’s been a great run. We felt we made a lot of progress from the start to the end.”

Plumb finished with a 34-6 season record with his 5-2 victory. Chris Helm was second at 275, and Fred Arnold took third at 160.

“I just realized it was possible now,” said Plumb when asked when he believed he could be a state champion. “At the finals I was staring at the mat and pictured myself getting my arm lifted up, and it just burned inside of me.”

Other EV placers were seniors Jared Imes (130) and Matt Hanson (140), both fourth, and Brice Parker (140) in seventh.

Junior Tyler Jolley (215) was fifth, and sophomores Bryce Fisher (145) and Shelby Lawson (103) finished fifth and sixth, respectively.

Central Valley, which brought a young five-wrestler contingent to state, placed three and got a big lift from Chesher, who became the eighth Bear to win a state title, the first since 1999.

He had placed eighth a year earlier.

“I think it was just a matter of just wrestling hard and not relaxing during matches,” said Chesher. “I knew I could go with anyone in state from what I’d done in the season.”

Sometimes, said his coach, John Owen, coaches take too much credit for a wrestler’s success. They can teach technique, but it’s the cognizant process of the mind that determines a champion.

“He had heart-breaking losses more than anything else during the year,” Owen said. “It was like he had to lay his head on a pillow and figure things out.”

Chesher figured it out right.

Fellow juniors Garrett McCoy, sixth at 119 pounds after losing in the semifinals to U-Hi’s Cory Fish, and Camren Ebat, seventh at 152, will form the nucleus next year of CV’s budding program.

Freeman’s Mathews was in his third state tourney, he was third at 103 last year, and stormed to the title with 17- and 15-point technical fall wins, a 10-0 semifinal victory and pin for the title.

Liberty’s Williams had three pins in four matches and an 8-3 win in the semifinals for Liberty. The Lancers’ Adam Thies finished third at 135, and Andrew Smith was sixth. The Lancers had six of their eight wrestlers advance to state and were the second-highest finisher among B schools.

Duo place in gymnastics

University gymnast Kayla McGahey and Central Valley’s Maya Morgan were top-six placers all-around during the State Gymnastics Meet last weekend in Tacoma.

McGahey placed fourth with a 36.575 total, less than a point behind champion Kelsey Walsh of Prairie. She was third on her specialty, the uneven bars, tied with Morgan for sixth on balance beam, tied for ninth during floor exercise and tied for 14th on vault

Morgan scored 35.95 to finish sixth. She was eighth on vault, tied for 12th on uneven bars, but was just 29th during floor exercise.

They also placed during the individual events finals – McGahey taking fourth at 9.225 on the uneven bars, and Morgan seventh on vault with an 8.675 score.

Other state qualifiers from the two Valley schools were U-Hi’s Janelle Hoffmeister, Mirinda Collins, Tatiana Garcia, Katie Hawkins and Katy House, and Central Valley’s Maria Alderman, Courtney Sexton and Melissa Hussey.

Hoop playoffs forge ahead

University’s girls beat Lewis and Clark in front of a standing-room only crowd last Thursday for the Greater Spokane League regular-season basketball championship

More is at stake now that postseason is underway for the Titans, who could face a possible rematch on Friday.

U-Hi’s girls and boys are the GSL’s first and second seeds, respectively, and assured regional berths from the District 8 4A tournament that continues tonight and Friday.

The girls are home at 7:45 tonight against Mt. Spokane for a berth in the district finals. Titan boys play Gonzaga Prep again, 5:45 p.m. at CV.

It will be a rare year that Central Valley won’t have a regional representative. The Bears boys’ (13-8) season ended with a 45-41 loss at Shadle Park Tuesday night. CV had made 12 regional appearances in 17 tourneys. The girls (14-7) lost 58-39 at Mt. Spokane despite 20 points by Heidi Heintz, their string of regional appearances ending at 15 straight.

West Valley’s boys (19-3) moved within a win of the State 3A tournament with its 64-51 victory over Ellensburg, four players, Arton and Rashad Toussaint, Greg Bradley and E.J. Richardson scoring in double figures.

Following a 67-23 loss to WV-Yakima, the East Valley girls need three successive wins to qualify for their first state trip, beginning against 17-6 Prosser at home today at 6 p.m.

Freeman’s boys and girls qualified for state with District 1A titles last week. Valley Christian was playing for survival in the District 7 B tourney.