Nguyen wins Freeman title, second at Blackhawk

The Cheney High wrestling team had a busy week in tournament action, competing in the Freeman Winter Classic, Dec. 30 and the Blackhawk Invite, Jan. 2.

At the Freeman Invite, Zack Nguyen won the 132-pound weight division.

Nguyen tore through his bracket, pinning East Valley’s Chase Miller, Newport’s Chase Malbury, Colville’s Chris Jones and Deer Park’s Jake Miller in the finals.

“It’s been fun to watch Zack open up like he did at Freeman, we knew he had potential,” head coach Brad Rasmussen said.

Saul Bautista (120) and Devon Waterman (185) took fifth place in their divisions.

Garrett Pederson (285) took sixth in his division while Francisco Martinez (152) won the consolation bracket in his.

Cameron Wiseman (145) and Billy Smith (106) lost in the consolation finals. Taylor Nguyen (126) and Boedy Taylor (170) went 1-2 in the tournament. Cheney was 11th out of 17 teams with 74 points.

“Devon had moments where he wrestled well, as did Garrett,” Rasmussen said. “We had a lot of bright spots at Freeman.”

At the Blackhawk Invite, Nguyen and Michael Ferguson (220) finished second in their brackets.

After pinning his first three opponents, Nguyen lost to Clarkston’s Tanner Benton, 10-7, in the finals.

“It was good way to see where Zack stood against Benton and it turned out to be a phenomenal match,” Rasmussen said. Benton is currently No. 1 at 132 pounds in the Washington Wrestling Report 2A rankings.

After a first-round bye, Ferguson pinned his quarterfinals and semifinals opponents before losing to Clarkston’s Dylan Beeler, 3-1.

Taylor finished fifth in his weight division. Taylor Nguyen and Wiseman were 2-2 in their brackets. Smith, J.W. Merriott (182), Colton Vandine (138) and Brendon Miller (138) were 1-2. Team scores from the Blackhawk Invite were not available as of press time.

“Our kids have worked hard every day during Christmas break and it’s good to see some of the benefits from that,” Rasmussen said.

Cheney hosted West Valley in their first Great Northern League dual, Jan. 6.

Al Stover can be reached at [email protected].