Cheney wrestlers tops in GNL

CHENEY — The Blackhawks finished the regular Great Northern League season with a blowout of Pullman to secure the Great Northern League wrestling title for the second year in a row, before heading to the Rumble in the Valley during the past week.

The consecutive titles are the first in 30 years, according to second-year head coach Jason Connor.

“It’s good to go back-to-back and get a couple of them,” he said.

Blackhawk wrestlers wrapped up their regular season with the 50-17 destruction of Pullman at home on Wednesday, Jan. 22, in a quick meet that favored Cheney as much due to the number of Greyhound forfeits as Blackhawk pins.

Wrestling in the 220-weight class, Cheney’s Jason Inman quickly pinned Holden Chandler in 1 minute, 23 seconds, while Luke Ruby beat Pullman’s Maxwell Cordova in an 8-2 decision at 126.

Blackhawk Dylan Straley pinned Zachary Dahmen in 1:00 at 145, and at 152 Teagan Simon pinned Lee Powers in 1:39.

Anthony Aguilera beat Greyhound Ali Albaqshi in a 9-0 major decision at 170, while at 195 James Whiteley pinned Pullman’s Cotton Sears in 1:13.

Jase Winner lost in a 3:10 pin at 132 to Pullman’s Gabe Smith, and Blackhawk Shane Moore lost in a 17-1, 4:30 technical fall to Mitchell LaVielle in the 160 class.

Pullman forfeits favored Blackhawks Hunter Despino (138), William Seeberger (113), Joe Showalter (120) and Ezra Anderson (182), with a double forfeit at 106, and a Cheney forfeit at 285.

Blackhawk wrestlers then traveled to Prosser for “a good test” at the Rumble in the Valley on Saturday, Jan. 25, where they placed ninth out of 17 teams at the tournament and faced some of their potential post-season competition.

Straley secured a third-place finish on a 7-5 decision at 145, while Jackson Showalter had to settle for second at 152 in his fight for first place after being pinned in 2:30.

Blake Seubert won his fifth-place bid at 160 with a 2:11 pin, as did Aguilera at 170, taking third on a 1-0 decision, and Whiteley won his fifth place match at 195 with a 4:06 pin.

“Now we take this momentum into the district tournament,” Connor said after the Pullman win. “And hope we can win that too. But there’s still a lot of wrestling to be done.”

The Blackhawks will head east to the North Idaho Rumble at Coeur d’Alene High School on Friday – Saturday, Jan. 31 – Feb. 1, before zeroing in on districts at Central Valley on Friday – Saturday, Feb. 7 – 8.

“I want to win a trophy at the state tournament,” Connor said, adding “four or above, that’s our goal,” when asked what place trophy.

Lee Hughes can be reached at [email protected].