Knights, Titans rally to repeat
Three area schools with wrestling-rich traditions were staring at huge deficits and impending defeat late in their final matches of the Washington Dream Duals at East Valley HS on Saturday.
Although defending 2A state champion Lakeside came up short, it was never-say-die for both University and East Valley, who rallied improbably to earn repeat championships.
And it was two of the smallest athletes on each who provided their teams with a lift. U-Hi’s Pat Belknap, a senior 103-pounder in his first year of competitive wrestling, earned the pivotal decision, 4-0, that provided the Titans with a chance to win 30-28 over Lake Stevens.
EV junior state placer Shelby Lawson, who missed much of this season because of a shoulder injury and up a weight to 119, fought through it all for the match-clinching 6-1 decision and 30-26 win over Bellingham.
The Knights were behind by 17 points with six matches remaining and some of their better wrestlers had lost.
“I knew the matchups up top were going to be difficult for us,” EV coach Craig Hanson said. “The thing that impressed me most is even though a couple of our guns lost to really good kids we still didn’t panic.”
The Titans had an even more arduous task before them, down 17 points with four matches remaining. Somehow they won.
“The kids did a good job of rallying when they had to and Pat Belknap is the hero of the night,” coach Don Owen said.
But the Dream Duals also were not without nightmare for the Titans.
Senior Chase Fish, third in state last year and a candidate to reach the finals this season, suffered a possible broken leg.
“It’s the nature of the beast in wrestling,” Owen said. “There’s a lot of exhilaration and a lot of heartbreak. You don’t know what’s going to come. For a kid like that who put so much into the sport of wrestling, it’s a shame.”
After falling behind 28-11, Dono Tottem pinned at 275, followed by Belknap’s victory. Although a novice, he has had a solid year for the Titans.
“They didn’t have a 103-pounder and I got peer-pressured into it,” Belknap said. “I didn’t think I’d enjoy it, but I’m enjoying it every day.”
He said he knew going in that if he didn’t win the Titans couldn’t.
“I knew it would be a close match and I was just trying to stay solid,” Belknap said. “I didn’t want to do anything fancy that would cost us the match.”
A forfeit victory and Brian Owen’s 23-11 decision at 119 capped the comeback.
East Valley lost three successive matches from 152 through 171, including at 160 to former Nine Mile Falls resident Reid Chivers, a freshman. But three successive pins, by Dan Michalski, Jimmy Martin and Tyler Jolley, brought the Knights back.
Following a loss, EV won the final two, including Lawson’s clincher. He was hit by a wave of nausea and had to run off the mat in the final 45 seconds while trying to protect his shoulder and his lead.
“It was probably nervousness mostly,” he said. “And I haven’t really ate today. I knew what I had to do for the team. We had to come back and be champions again here.”
This year’s Dream Duals were, in the eyes of one longtime observer and lead official Rich Tschirgi, the best and noisiest finals ever. Every final was in doubt until the end.
Even Warden, which has dominated its 1A/B classification, trailed 23-12 before winning five straight matches for a 36-26 victory over league rival Royal and its sixth straight Dream Duals title.
Lakeside, in its seventh final, gambled a bit and found itself behind Othello 19-9.
“We’re moving our lineup around and going to slide kids up a bit today to see if we can get some good matches,” coach Scott Jones. “That makes it fun, you know.”
Othello didn’t bite, avoiding a matchup between his son Levi and Huskies state placer Phillip Ontiveros. Jones, most valuable lightweight wrestler last week at a tournament in Orem, Utah, won by pin as did defending state champion Jon Millard at 171, giving Lakeside a brief 21-19 lead.
Othello won three straight to lead 34-21 and clinched victory in the next-to-last individual match.