By AL STOVER
Staff Reporter
The Cheney High wrestling team wrapped up its regular season with a 51-21 loss to defending Great Northern League champion East Valley on Jan. 24, then competed in the North Idaho Rumble Jan. 27-28.
Josh Baker got things going for the Blackhawks against the Knights after he scored a second-round pin of Patrick Coleman.
Zack Nguyen picked up a 4-1 win over Zachary Bowsky. Francisco Martinez followed it up by pinning Isaiah Erwin in the second round.
“We had moments to capitalize and we knew that the match was going to come down to a couple of close ones, but East Valley is tough,” head coach Brad Rasmussen said.
Josh Corean defeated Jason Gillingham, 9-3 and Boedy Taylor picked up a 6-5 decision against Winston Scott for Cheney’s final victory of the night.
“Boedy had a great match, Winston Scott is tough,” Rasmussen said. “It was good to see some bright spots before the season ends.”
At the North Idaho tournament, Nguyen took fourth in the 138 bracket.
After a first-round bye, he pinned Capital High’s Cody Bryan and scored a 20-4 technical fall of Mountain View’s Preston Quick. Following a 17-0 loss to Lakeland’s Larry Johnson in the semifinals, Nguyen was pinned by American Falls’ Boone Giulio in the third-place match.
“Zack wrestled phenomenally and it was fun to see,” Rasmussen said. “I feel like he’s peaking at the right time.”
Calvin Edwards (152) and Taylor (182) went 2-2 in the tournament before they were eliminated in the consolation round. Saul Bautista (120), Taylor Nguyen (132) and Corean (160) were 1-2 in the tournament. Cheney finished 17th out of 20 teams with 51.5 points.
“There were moments where kids wrestled really well,” Rasmussen said. “It’s a tough tournament and kids are trying to stay healthy and gear up for districts.”
Cheney also had four out of five freshmen place in the Jan. 28 Spokaloo tournament, including Teagan Simon, who won his bracket, and Mason Allen, who took second in his division. No other individual results from the tournament were available as of press time.
“It’s the first time Cheney’s had a champion in that tournament in a long time,” Rasmussen said.
The Blackhawks will compete at the District 7 tournament, Feb. 3-4 at Shadle Park High School. Last year, Cheney had nine wrestlers qualify for regionals, including Martinez and Zack Nguyen, who finished second in their brackets, Taylor Nguyen, and Taylor, who were third in theirs.
Rasmussen said this year’s district tournament is different in that only the top two placers in each division will advance to the Feb. 11 regional tournament in Ellensburg.
For the 2017 season, the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association allotted the Central Washington Athletic Conference six spots in the regional tournament while the GNL only received two.
“There is no room for error and we can’t afford to have a bad day,” Rasmussen said.
Al Stover can be reached at al@cheneyfreepress.com.
Reader Comments(0)