Blackhawks battle Clarkston for GNL wrestling win, improve to 2-1

By JOHN McCALLUM

Editor

Cheney wrestlers returned to the winning track last week with a 49-32 Great Northern League victory over visiting Clarkston Thursday, improving their league record to 2-1.

The Blackhawks got seven pins in 14 matches to help them to the win. After falling behind 6-0 on a fall at 112 pounds, Hunter Pederson and Duncan Rhoades notched pins at 119 and 125.

After Clarkston cut Cheney's lead to three with Eric Benton's 13-7 decision over Trae Martin at 130 the Blackhawks responded with four consecutive wins: Logan Huckins' 14-4 major decision of Dakota Cornish at 135 and pins by Dakota Mauzay (140), Josh Wessels (145) and Eli Mason (152) over Michael Shell, Darren Damon and Jon Strickland.

Wessels' win was particularly surprising. Down 10-1 in the third period the freshman caught the Bantams' junior out of position and got the fall.

Clarkston got falls in the next two matches at 160 and 171 to trim Cheney's lead to 14 at 34-20, but Josh Maio's pin of senior Danny Randles in the third period at 189 put a stop to that and effectively gave the Blackhawks the win. Clarkston got a win via fall at 215, and Cheney's Alin Walls got the last actual match win of the evening with a hard-fought 8-7 decision over Cody Chase at 285.

The final points of the evening came on a double forfeit at 103. It was Cheney's second straight win over Clarkston after losing at least 18 straight dual matches to the Bantams.

“It was a match that really could have gone either way, but the kids really stepped up and competed,” head coach Wade Schlotter said.

Friday and Saturday's results from the River City Duals in Post Falls was mixed, mainly because Cheney was forced to hold out several top wrestlers because of match limitations. Schlotter said wrestlers are limited to 33 matches prior to the district tournament, and projecting forward with the remaining league matches and this weekend's Clearwater Classic in Lewiston, Idaho forced Cheney to limit Pederson, Rhoades, Huckins and Mason to only eight total matches at Post Falls.

“We had to sit those guys, try to replace them with JV kids,” Schlotter said. “It was a great experience for the younger wrestlers because we were able to get five matches.”

It did make for some lopsided scores, at least at first as the Blackhawks lost 69-9 to a tough 5A Caldwell, Idaho team, the highlight coming from Rhoades with a win at 125 and Huckins who gave undefeated Martin Meza all he wanted at 130. Meza hadn't given up a takedown all year, Schlotter said, and Huckins worked himself a 6-2 lead with two takedowns before getting caught in the third in a cradle and getting pinned.

Cheney finished Friday with a 43-33 loss to Timberlake High School of Spirit Lake, Idaho, sitting most of their varsity wrestlers. The Blackhawks again juggled their lineup on Saturday, but opened with a 43-33 win over Kellogg, and with Rhoades and Huckins back in the lineup, easily downed Lakeland of Rathdrum 45-21.

The win put Cheney in the Bronze Division championship final against Sandpoint where the Blackhawks lost 41-38, again using a makeshift lineup.

“Dakota Mauzay was undefeated for the weekend, wrestled well,” Schlotter said, adding that Rhoades also went unbeaten in his two matches. “Our big guys, Josh Maio, Zac Corean and Alin Walls all wrestled well.”

Cheney resumes league action this week, hosting the three-time, 2A-defending champion Deer Park Stags on Thursday. The Blackhawks wrap up invitational competition Friday and Saturday with the Clearwater Classic.

John McCallum can be reached at [email protected].