Huitron, Morris win Liberty wrestling titles

The wrestling team took eight wrestlers to Liberty for a tournament on Saturday, Dec. 10. The tournament was set up a little different with wrestlers grouped into four- or five-man groups. It was a round robin format with everyone in the group wrestling each other.

Salvador Huitron and Grayson Morris provided the top highlights for the Broncos as both wrestlers won the championships in their respective weight classes.

Kyle Ritz wrestled at 106 pounds. He went against a Kettle Falls wrestler and it was a back and forth match with Ritz losing by a score of 4-2.

He was pinned in the first round of his second match. As a result of an elbow injury he had to default out of the tournament.

Johnny Hernandez, 126, wrestled a Northwest Christian opponent in his first round and in a hard fought match won by a score of 10-6. His next match was against North Central out of Spokane and lost by pin. In the match he hurt his knee but continued wrestling in the tournament. He then went against a Deer Park wrestler and eventually lost.

“I could tell that he couldn’t drive with that leg so he lost and I took him out of the tournament as a precautionary measure,” said head coach Jason Hilzer.

Keanu Niezwaag was up next at 145.

“He had probably the toughest bracket in the tournament,” Hilzer said.

His first match was against a North Central wrestler and he lost by a score of 7-4. He then went against a Deer Park opponent and lost 10-1.

“Those two kids were very good and even though he lost he competed very well and he needs these type of matches,” Hilzer said.

His next match pitted him against a NWC opponent. Niezwaag won by pin.

In his last match he was with Kettle Falls he won by pin to finish in third place.

Salvador Huitron weighed in at 152 pounds. He went against a Springdale wrestler and won by pin. He then wrestled a North Central wrestler and also won by pin in the first round.

The two wins set up a championship round meeting with a Deer Park wrestler.

“Salvador came out fired up and won by a score of 12-6 to finish in first place,” Hilzer said.

Next was Drew Wilke at 160 who went against a Deer Park wrestler in the first round and lost by pin. He then wrestled NWC and won by pin. His last match was against Springdale and he ended up losing by a score of 9-6 to finish in third place.

Ethan Melville wrestled at 160. He went against a Springdale wrestler first and fought hard but ended up losing. He then wrestled an opponent from North Central of Spokane and lost by pin. His last match was with an NWC opponent.

“This match was very competitive with Ethan losing. Ethan is getting better each time on the mat. With having very little wrestling experience he is doing well,” said Hilzer.

Zeth Swanger competed at 195 pounds. He wrestled a Springdale opponent first and lost by pin. His next opponent was a state veteran from Kettle Falls and Swanger lost by pin. His next opponent was another Springdale wrestler. Despite a hard fought battle, Swanger eventually lost the match.

The last wrestler was Grayson Morris at 220. He only had two other wrestlers in his bracket. The first wrestler was from Liberty.

“This was a big strong kid but Grayson prevailed by pin in the second period,” Hilzer said.

His last match was with a Springdale opponent and Morris was just too strong for him and won easily by pin in the first period to finish in first place.

“Overall I thought our kids competed very well. We still have a lot of work to do and the young kids will only get better,” Hilzer said.