By THOMAS COSTIGAN
Contributor 

Cheney wrestlers take third at districts

 

Last updated 2/13/2020 at 8:18pm

DEER PARK — Cheney’s Jackson Showalter has patiently waited a year to get back on the Mat Classic stage.

The 152-pound Blackhawk wrestler made his debut at the Class 2A state championships last February in the Tacoma Dome with an eighth-place finish.

While the medal was gratifying, the junior acknowledged there were bumps in the road that needs to taken care of this time around.

“I need to prepare myself better before I wrestle,” said Showalter, who took a big step to getting back to the Mat Classic by successfully defending his District 7 title at Central Valley High School on Saturday.

Cheney, the seventh ranked Class 2A team in the state, according to washingtonwrestlingreport.net, won the district team title last week with an impressive 308.5-200 win over runner-up East Valley.

“I just thought I didn’t do as well as I should have,” explained Showalter, who won his first two matches last year at the Tacoma Dome before suffering a tough 2-1 loss to Blaine’s Aiden Button in the semifinals. He, however, was able to regroup in the consolation bracket to claim the eighth-place medal.

Working on his wrestling skills over the past spring and summer, Showalter decided to stay at 152 pounds this season. The decision forced him to drop about 20 pounds to get ready for another crack at a state medal.

The decision has worked to his benefit, as he has been one of the state’s top 152-pound wrestlers in the Class 2A ranks for most of the season.

Showalter, a member of the Blackhawk football team, took up wrestling as a grade schooler in Colorado. His family, including his younger brother Joseph (a varsity wrestler this season) moved to Cheney when he was a middle schooler.

Showalter will head to East Valley this weekend with teammates and fellow district champions William Seeberger (113 pounds), Blake Seubert (160), Anthony Aguilera (170) and James Whiteley (195), district runners-up Joseph Showalter (120), Trevor Caldwell (113), Hunter Despino (136), Dylan Straley (145) and Jason Inman (195), who dropped a weight class for the post season, and third place finishers Dalton Taylor (145), Gerald London (152) and Blake Gross 182.

“All but two wrestlers scored team points toward our second and final Great Northern League district title in as many years,” head coach Jason Connor said, adding, “The focus for this weekend is just advance.”

He noted that “nobody is going to lay down for us in this region,” so Blackhawk wrestlers were going to have to “scratch and claw all day” to move ahead in the post season.

“We have seen everyone at this point so it’s a matter of closing some gaps with a few guys and widening it for others,” Conner said.

Thomas Costigan is a former reporter for the Deer Park Tribune. Cheney Free Press reporter Lee Hughes contributed to this story.

 

Reader Comments(0)

 
 

Our Family of Publications Includes:

Cheney Free Press
Ritzville Adams County Journal
Whitman County Gazette
Odessa Record
Franklin Connection
Davenport Times
Spokane Valley News Herald
Colfax Daily Bulletin

Powered by ROAR Online Publication Software from Lions Light Corporation
© Copyright 2024

Rendered 02/15/2024 21:40