Prep Watch: Boys teams keep playoff hopes alive
Jan. 8: Things have gotten crowded in the middle of a Greater Spokane League where all eight 4A boys teams maintain playoff hopes. Six will advance to the district tournament, which is just over a month away.
Only a game separates the lower four teams vying for berths. Rogers tightened things up with its second victory this year over Gonzaga Prep. First win came 57-52 over a Bullpups team short-handed because of football. All saw minutes in Rogers’ 78-72 shootout victory on Friday.
The Pirates were coming off a couple dispiriting losses. In the first win over Gonzaga this year Scotty Livengood scored 32 points. He had 22 in game two, but Rogers also had double figures performances from Josh Taylor (18) and Andrew Durant (12). It will take that kind of continued multiple contribution if the team is to finish among the league’s top six.
Before Tuesday’s games, Rogers and Central Valley were tied at 4-7. University and Lewis and Clark, both 3-8, are right behind. All four must still play each other and those outcomes will figure mightily in which teams survive.
Win over Prep gives Rogers a boost, but it has games upcoming in succession against the GSL’s top three teams. They are followed by five make-or-break games.
University plays Lewis and Clark and Central Valley this week. Wins would give the Titans a boost. Like Rogers, they still have Mead, Ferris, Shadle and Mt. Spokane on the schedule.
CV and LC have nearly identical remaining foes. The Bears are done with second-place Shadle, the Tigers with fourth-place Mt. Spokane.
Ferris is in the driver’s seat at 11-0. Shadle Park (9-2) and Mead (8-3) are in good shape in the race for the No. 2 berth and an automatic regional spot. Gonzaga Prep (5-5) has a two-game cushion on the remaining four schools and plays all of them but Rogers.
First place on line
Jan. 8: Lewis and Clark was at University Tuesday night in the girls first-place GSL showdown. If the Tigers (11-0) won they have a two-game lead and inside track to their first outright GSL title. Hard to believe at a school that has finished fifth, third and first at state over the past four seasons and is seeking its fifth straight state appearance. The Tigers shared the championship in 2004.
A U-Hi win would position them for a third straight title, either outright or shared.
Mead is a game behind the Titans and two games up on the rest of the field with Shadle Park, Gonzaga Prep and Ferris well-positioned for the other district playoff spots.
Valley wrestlers set pace
Jan. 5: After what East Valley and Central Valley did this past week, it appears that the power of Greater Spokane League wrestling continues to lie in Spokane Valley.
The Bears (6-0), Knights (5-0) and University (6-0) have a two-match lead over the rest of the league and it could be even larger if the Titans beat Mead on Wednesday.
EV lost only four matches out of 28 in routing both Mt. Spokane (55-16) and Mead (53-4), the other two presumed challengers. CV beat the Wildcats 52-14 and earlier in the year topped Mead 51-18.
U-Hi, incidentally, took an injury hit when Anthony Rivera dislocated his elbow in practice.
“It took six or seven hours to put it back in,” said Titans coach Don Owen. “He’ll be hard to replace in the lineup.”
Rivera was second in state for EV before moving this year to U-Hi. He and two-time finalist Brian Owen give the Titans a good two-wrestler state punch. Owen said he’ll be back, hopefully, for district competition.