The Blackhawk boys wrestling team powered their way to the league championship against West Valley Jan. 16 in a rivalry sparked by more than three decades of overall league losses. Neither team had taken the championship since the 1980s.
Both schools came into the dual 3-0 but Cheney wrapped up the win 44-30, taking nine out of 14 weight classes after making some strategic changes to their lineup. Cheney captured 26 takedown points to West Valley’s 24 and 10 reversal points to West Valley’s four.
“It was a good win for sure and we proved what the guys are capable of,” head coach Jason Connor said.
In the 106-weight class, William Seeberger won a 6-3 decision against an opponent who had beaten him earlier in the season, while Cheney’s Luke Ruby proved himself a quick learner taking the top spot in the 120-pound weight class.
“The goal now is to win against Clarkston to be sole league champs,” Connor said. “We’re just going to continue doing what we do.”
While waiting for Thursday, Jan. 25 to take on Clarkston, who Connor called “tough, well-coached guys who don’t like to lose,” Cheney traveled to Tumwater for the King of the Hills tournament.
The Blackhawks snagged third place after Meridian, Idaho and Auburn-Mountainview.
“It was a good experience seeing a bunch of teams we don’t see until the state tournament,” Connor said. “It takes away some of the mystery.”
Cheney’s Dylan Straley knocked out a tough opponent that had beaten him before in a smart tactical match, earning the first-place spot in the 138-pound weight class. Anthony Aguilera notched second, weighing in at 170 pounds.
Seeberger wrestled in his first finals match after upsetting the No. 1 seed, finding a newfound confidence in his mat strategy and taking second in the 106-pound weight class, while Jackson Showalter avenged a first-round loss to place third in the 152-weight class over a Steilacoom opponent.
Shannen Talbot can be reached at [email protected].
Reader Comments(0)