U-Hi brings home another trophy
Individual state titles proved hard to come by for Spokane Valley wrestlers at Mat Classic XIX last weekend in Tacoma.
But it wasn’t for lack of effort.
East Valley had two finalists among four wrestlers who reached the State 3A semifinals. University, with one second-place finisher among six placers, brought home a team trophy for the third straight year.
All told, of 18 athletes from the five schools brought home medals from the tournament.
State 4A
After winning the state championship in 2005, University brought home its second fourth-place team trophy in as many years.
This one might have been the most surprising since there were so few tournament-seasoned Greater Spokane League returnees this year.
As it turned out Eastern Washington resumed its reputation as a wrestling stronghold. Three of the top 4A-finishing schools came from this region. Nearly two-thirds (64 percent) of 56 state qualifiers placed among the top eight.
All four eastern regional qualifiers in the 140- and 215-pound weight classes medaled at state. Included was U-Hi’s Elliott Nay, third at 140 after a tough 3-2 loss in the semifinals.
And both Valley 215 pounders, Central Valley’s Tyler Cochran (sixth) and Titan Billy McGlasson (seventh) were medalists.
Brian Owen of University reached the state finals for the third straight year. He lost to Lewis and Clark’s Trevor Powell in a 2-1 thriller at 125 after winning his first matches by pin, technical fall and major decision.
CV junior Tanner Teeples, upset in his 112-pound opener, bounced back to win five straight matches and finished third.
State 3A
A trio of East Valley seniors and one junior in the rugged 3A state tournament, all were semifinalists and among the team’s six state placers.
The Knights finished seventh overall, Sedro-Woolley won its sixth straight state title.
The tournament also included repeat second-place finisher Kelso and teams that finished among the top 12 last year in 4A, including runner-up Auburn, who all finished ahead of EV.
Caleb Alvarado at 145 and Dan Michalski at 189 both reached the finals in their respective weights where they finished second.
Junior Clete Hanson was a semifinalist at 171, a weight class that held three state finalists. He lost to one of them, ending up third.
Also making the semifinals was 215-pound Jimmy Martin, who lost a heartbreaker 4-3, came back for a win and eventually placed fourth.
It was a marvelous season for a team that was uncertain how good it would be at the beginning of the year.
State 2A
West Valley had its first state placers since the 2003 fourth-place team state finish.
Senior Tyler Brischle placed fifth at 145 pounds and junior Justin Fiman was eighth at 130.
Both Brischle’s losses, including in the first round were to the eventual third-place state finisher. He won four of his next five to claim the medal.
Following a first round loss, Fiman won twice to assure his medal before dropping an overtime match.
State 2B/1B
Liberty’s Adam Thies was considered a sure thing in the first State 2B/1B wrestling tournament.
The two-time state third-placing wrestler didn’t disappoint. In his first two matches, Thies wrestled a total of 2 minutes, 6 seconds pinning twice in the first round. He beat Wilbur-Creston’s Ben Lembcke 4-2 for the title.
“I wrestled him five times this year,” said Thies. “This was the hardest match. I expected him to come out harder, but I didn’t expect him to come out that tough.”
Like all state champions, standing atop the podium was a dream fulfilled.
“I’ve been expecting to be a state champion since I was a freshman,” said Thies.
Freshman teammate Nick Stanifer was fourth at 103.