Cheney's Michael Ferguson fights for hand control with East Valley's Court Kissinger during their match. Ferugson later pinned Kissinger in the second period.
The Cheney High wrestling team knew they were going into a hostile environment when they lost a Great Northern League dual, 47-30, Jan. 20 to East Valley.
"We competed as well as we could have," head coach Brad Rasmussen said. "East Valley is tough from top to bottom, but our kids wrestled well. As a staff we were pretty happy."
Despite the loss, the Blackhawks had several big moments throughout the night. Zack Nguyen (132 pounds) got Cheney's first win after he defeated Randy McDonald, 9-4.
Francisco Martinez (152) came from behind to defeat Jason Gillingham, 7-6.
"We weren't quite sure what was going to happen with Zack taking on McDonald, but he did great, as did Francisco Martinez in his match," Rasmussen said.
Devon Waterman (195) pinned Adam Kirk in 59 seconds and Michael Ferguson (220) also pinned Court Kessinger at 3:18. Garrett Pederson capped Cheney's scoring after he pinned Kevin Winder in 22 seconds.
"It was good to have Devon back, and Michael did great," Rasmussen said. "Garrett is 'Mr. Dependable,' for us but he really wanted to wrestle Kessinger. He thought East Valley was ducking him by having their No. 2 guy wrestle him."
With the win over Cheney, East Valley claimed their third consecutive regular season GNL title. Cheney had their final regular season dual Jan. 27 against Pullman. The following seniors were honored before the dual: John Beale, Cameron Wiseman, Billy Bakke, Waterman, Ferguson and Pederson.
The Blackhawks wrap up their regular season when they travel to Coeur d'Alene to compete in the North Idaho Rumble, Jan. 29-30.
"We're excited and we're hoping we can pack the gym for senior night," Rasmussen said before the Jan. 27 meet. "We are getting prepared and ready to get after it."
Al Stover can be reached at al@cheneyfreepress.com.
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