LRS grapplers perform well at State Tournament in Tacoma
Last updated 2/21/2019 at 9:41am
A long and winding season came to an end for the Lind-Ritzville/Sprague wrestling team, as four grapplers put up a tough fight at the Mat Classic in Tacoma last weekend.
None of the LRS wrestlers were able to place at the State Tournament, although three of the four competitors for the Broncos won at least one match at the two-day event held at the Tacoma Dome on Feb. 15 and 16.
In the 106-pound weight class, freshman Johnny Ryan had been awarded a first-round bye to start off the tournament. In the second round, Ryan faced off against Pateros wrestler Ramiro Ambriz, narrowly beating him 8-7 to advance to the next round in the winner's bracket.
Ryan was next pitted against Tonasket grappler Waylon Thomas, also a freshman. Ryan was pinned by Thomas in the second period, and with the loss moved to the consolation bracket, while Thomas would end up winning the State title. Ryan then took on Liberty Bell freshman Cody White and was pinned in the second period, ending his season.
Eighth grader Brandon Davis, who has been playing at the high school level all year long despite still attending middle school, wrestled at 113 pounds in his first Mat Classic appearance. Davis was awarded a first-round bye, and then was pinned in the first period by sophomore Darrin Sedenius from Darrington in his second-round match.
Davis moved to the consolation section of the bracket with the loss, and again was given a bye. He took on Lake Roosevelt sophomore Robert Thomas in his next match, and was pinned in the first period to end his season.
At 195 pounds, sophomore Doug Morris was perhaps the team's most experienced wrestler this season. Morris suffered a shoulder injury near the end of the regular season, but was able to recover in time to participate in the postseason and ultimately advance to the State Tournament.
In his first-round match, Morris took on Toledo sophomore Hunter Smith and pinned him in the second period. Morris then faced off against Tonasket senior Isaac Gomez, and was pinned in the first period. Gomez would go on to win the State title.
Now in the consolation bracket, Morris took on Muckleshoot Tribal School sophomore Armando Luna-Salgado, winning by a tough 4-2 decision. Morris then faced off against senior Nathan Bradford from Riverside Christian, winning the match 8-0 to advance further into the tournament.
Morris was now one win away from being guaranteed to place at the Mat Classic. Chewelah's Cole Davis, a sophomore, was the only one standing in Morris' place. The match endured until the third period, when Davis was finally able to pin Morris, ending Morris' season. Davis would go on to finish in fourth place.
Sophomore Thomas Schermerhorn was LRS' fourth and final wrestler at the Mat Classic, wrestling at 220 pounds. Schermerhorn faced off against senior Arthur Olinger from Kalama in his first-round match and was pinned in the second period.
Moving to the consolation bracket, Schermerhorn took on Mary Walker junior Ethan Petit in his next match. Schermerhorn pinned Petit early in the second period, and advanced to the next round. In his next match, Schermerhorn pinned Columbia Burbank freshman Elijah Evans less than a minute into the match for his second consecutive win via pin.
In his third consecutive win-or-go-home match, Schermerhorn took on league foe Cole Rosman, a senior from Wilbur-Creston. Rosman got the better of Schermerhorn, pinning him late in the first period to end the LRS grappler's season.
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