The Cheney High School wrestling team had its first tournament of the season at the Deer Park Invitational on Saturday, Dec. 2. The day ended with a sixth place finish with 115.5 points out of 17 teams participating. The one other Great Northern League team was Clarkston, who finished 10th overall.
“I was pleased with the showing we had,” head coach Brad Rasmussen said. “Even though we had a rough last couple rounds, we wrestled phenomenally in the first one. We also brought a lot of young guys with us for the experience.”
Three Blackhawks advanced to the championship round. Freshman Dylan Straley wrestled at 126 pounds but fell 6-0 to Hunter Nees from Freeman. Senior Zach Nguyen competed at 138 pounds and lost a close 5-4 battle to Blake Haney from Mt. Spokane. Rounding out the final match was senior Boedy Taylor at 182, who lost to a wrestler from Colville.
“Dylan Straley being in the finals was very impressive,” Rasmussen said. “There were a lot of bright spots throughout the tournament.”
There were also three Blackhawks wrestling for fifth and sixth place. Freshman Jase Winner, wrestling at 106 pounds fell 9-0. Sophomore Teagan Smith wrestled at 120 and lost 5-2. Senior Jackson Knutzen competed in the 220 pound spot and fell 7-0. With the results, all three of the Blackhawks placed sixth overall in the tournament.
In the consolation finals, junior Jeremy Seeberger was pinned in the 106 weight bracket. Junior Billy Smith was also pinned at 120 pounds.
“We always love going to Deer Park because it is a good gauge of where we are,” Rasmussen said. “We will see a lot of those guys down the road too. It is always a great way to kick off the season.”
The wrestling squad had its first dual match at Lakeside on Wednesday, Dec. 6. Then the Blackhawks will travel to West Valley High School on Dec. 9 for another tournament. The first home match will follow on Dec. 13 against Pullman.
“We are going to focus on the little things,” Rasmussen said. “The good news is that the guys know our system well and know what to do. The problems are fairly easy to fix and we will work on it all week.”
Grace Pohl can be reached [email protected].
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