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A week with three events over a span of five days saw several Lind-Ritzville/Sprague wrestlers make progress on the mat, while the late grind of the season has been a challenge physically for a couple of Broncos.

South League Match

The team traveled to Colbert on Jan. 14 for a South League match being hosted by Northwest Christian.

Sophomore Johnny Ryan won his first match via pin in the first period in the 113-pound weight class, and went on to win his second match 9-0. Hilzer said that as of now, Ryan would be the No. 1 seed in the league if the South League Tournament started today.

At 120 pounds, eighth grader Tyson Ramsay won his first match via pin and lost his second match 4-2 in overtime. The match was tied 2-2 after regulation, and Ramsay’s opponent was awarded a takedown in overtime, which is decided by whoever scores a point first.

Junior Sam Michels won his first match in a high-scoring affair at 138 pounds, winning 12-9 after trailing earlier in the match. Michels lost 15-2 in his second match of the day, an improvement after losing to the same wrestler via pin in the first period earlier in the season.

Junior Doug Morris lost both of his matches at 195 pounds, losing via pin in his first match and 12-1 to a Reardan opponent ranked inside the top-three in 2B in the state. Hilzer said Morris is probably either the No. 3 or No. 4 seed in the league as of this moment.

Other participants for LRS at the league match include freshman Brandon Davis at 106 pounds, junior Jay Harder at 220 pounds and Thomas Rosen at 285 pounds.

Mix & Match

The team was back at it two days later on Jan. 16 in Burbank for a mix & match with teams throughout Central Washington.

Davis dropped his first match of the day via pin, but came back and defeated his White Swan opponent via pin in the second period of his second match.

Ryan added two more pins to his collection on the season, winning his two matches in the second and first period, respectively.

Ramsay had a tough draw to open the day, falling to the No. 2 wrestler in 2B via pin in his opening match. He would bounce back, however, winning via pin in the first round in his second match.

Morris swept his three opponents on the day, the first two via pin. He won his first match in the third period and his second match in the first period. Morris racked up the point total in the match, beating his opponent 25-6.

Rosen had a split decision on the day, winning his first match via pin in the second period and losing his second match via pin in the first period.

Other LRS participants include Michels and freshman Carson Shaver at 220 pounds.

Crusader Classic

The Broncos were back in Colbert on Jan. 18 for the Crusader Classic tournament, hosted by Northwest Christian.

Davis lost his first match of the tournament to a state performer via pin, but bounced back in his second match to win via pin in the first period. In the third/fourth place match, Davis put together a dominating performance for all three periods to win 18-2 and take third place.

Ryan won his first match in a tight contest, 4-3. He then went up against the No. 2 wrestler in 2B in his second match, losing 4-0 in what Hilzer said was a pretty good match. Ryan lost in the third/fourth place match via pin in the second round to finish in fourth place. Those two losses were the first losses of the season for Ryan.

“It was good to have Johnny wrestle some tough matches,” said Hilzer.

Ramsay won his first two matches of the tournament via first period pins, including a victory of an opponent who had pinned him earlier in the season. In the championship match, Ramsay lost by pin to finish in second place.

Harder won via pin in the first round of his opening match, but injured his back during that match and had to pull out of the rest of the tournament.

Morris won his first two matches of the tournament, but also had to pull out of the tournament after suffering a knee injury in his second match. Morris had to forfeit the championship match, finishing in second place.

“We’re getting to that point [of the season],” Hilzer said. “I think a lot of it, too, is they’re trying to wrestle three matches and it’s a lot on their bodies.”

Rosen bounced back and forth in the tournament, winning his first match to a state runner-up in his opening match, winning his second match and then losing in the third/fourth place match to finish in fourth place.