Tri-State wins special for Hanson, Owen

Just when you didn’t think another “first” could be accomplished at the Tri-State wrestling tournament, which turned 36 years old this year, along comes another Saturday evening.

Flathead High of Kalispell, Mont., became the first Montana team to capture a team championship, and the Braves did so in convincing fashion. Flathead, behind one individual champ and seven other placers, piled up 208 points to easily outdistance runner-up and traditional Tri-State power Lake Stevens (155).

Lakeside of Nine Mile took third, a half point behind Lake Stevens, and Deer Park earned the final trophy for fourth (115). University (104.5) finished fifth and was the highest-placing Greater Spokane League team and Lewiston, the highest-finishing Idaho school, (102.5) took sixth.

Flathead, the Class AA (biggest schools) state champ the last two years, pulled off a bit of redemption. The Braves were tabbed as the pre-tournament favorite last year, but finished a disappointing sixth.

“Last year we kind of had the deer-in-the-headlight look,” Flathead coach Jeff Thompson said. “This year we came to wrestle. It says a lot not just for Flathead but it also says a lot for our state.”

It was also a special night for a pair of coaching dads. East Valley coach Craig Hanson watched the middle of three sons, Clete, capture the family’s first Tri-State title, while for Central Valley coach John Owen, his son, Brian, brought the end to a tradition for the Owen family.

In a final that drew the loudest applause from the estimated crowd of 1,100 at North Idaho College’s Christianson Gym, Clete Hanson pulled off a come-from-behind 9-8 win over Reid Chivers of Lakeside at 189.

Chivers scored a takedown for an 8-6 lead with 50 seconds left, but 16 seconds later, Chivers was called for locking his hands and Hanson was awarded a penalty point. Twice Hanson tried to escape Chivers’ grasp and twice Chivers dropped Hanson back to the mat.

The wrestlers rolled out of bounds with 10 seconds to go, forcing a restart. Somehow Hanson scrambled and appeared poised to escape and even the score. But then he saw an opportunity to grab Chivers’ leg, and in so doing Hanson pulled off a two-point reversal and held Chivers’ legs as time expired.

“I was on bottom and I knew I had to find something,” Hanson said. “When I opened up I realized I could get the single leg.”

EV’s student body president had no problem explaining what the victory meant.

“I’ve always wanted to get one of these guys,” Hanson said, clutching the title trophy.

Coach after coach came up and congratulated Craig Hanson.

“I can’t tell you how many years I’ve been at this tournament and dreaming of my son being out there and doing that,” Hanson said, smiling.

For the second tournament in a row, Brian Owen was named the outstanding wrestler. Earning that honor at Tri-State, though, carries much more significance. Owen pinned Philip Smith of Mead in 3:27 at 125.

Owen, whose father coached at NIC and whose large extended wrestling family uses the tourney each December as a mini family reunion, was born and raised at Tri-State.

The U-Hi senior pinned all six of his opponents in 8 minutes, 55 seconds.

“This is 10 times better,” Owen said. “It’s the funnest time that I have all year, being able to compete for my family.”

His father also said his son’s win closes the chapter on the second-generation Owen boys at Tri-State. Don Owen, the U-Hi coach, was a first-generation winner back in the first Tri-State.

“For him to be able to get his name on the outstanding (wrestler) trophy is a tremendous thing for our family,” John Owen said.

Lakeland junior Kyle McCrite, a state runner-up last year and seeded eighth at Tri-State, broke through with a win at 119, stopping second-seeded Anthony Rivera of U-Hi 7-3. That followed a quarterfinal victory on Friday over the top seed.

“This will give me confidence throughout the year,” McCrite said.

Other winners were: Ben Jorgensen of Hermiston pinned Lewiston freshman Casey George (103); Zach Swifel of Lake Stevens edged Shawn Lau of Flathead 5-3 (112); Kyle Johnson of Lakeside topped T.C. Decker of Flathead 10-7 (135); Derek Garcia of Sedro Wolley blanked Logan Torgison of Polson, Mont., 8-0 (140); Michael Mangrum of Auburn-Riverside became a three-time Tri-State champ by pinning Sam Villegas of Royal City (145); Eric Jones of Auburn-Riverside defeated Brad Sweet of Graham-Kapowsin 5-3 (152); Taylor Meeks of Orting downed Jesse Nielsen of Coeur d’Alene 5-3 (160); Jake Swartz of Auburn knocked off Tri-State champ Ryan Desroches of Riverside 6-3 (171); Erik Magnussen of Eastmont defeated Dustin Baldwin of Lakeside 8-3 (215); and Nike Gale of Eastmont had no trouble topping Grant Turner of CdA 10-3 at heavyweight.