Broncos wrestlers place in Pomeroy, Banks Lake Brawl tourneys

The Lind-Ritzville/Sprague Broncos wrestling team returned to action to compete in the Pomeroy Tournament on Dec. 29. The next day, they traveled to Coulee City to compete in the Banks Lake Brawl Tournament.

At the Pomeroy Tournament, Aarron Phelps took fifth place in the 220-pound weight class.

In his first match of the day, Phelps lost to Potlatch athlete, who pinned him in the first period.

Phelps rebounded from the loss to pin a Colfax wrestler in the first round of their match.

After he was pinned by a Clearwater Valley wrestler, Phelps was moved to the fifth-place match where he won via forfeit.

Thomas Rosen went 1-2 in the 285-pound weight division. Rosen pinned a Clearwater Valley wrestler in the first period advance to the quarterfinals.

Rosen wrestled an Orofino opponent during his second match.

Head Coach Jason Hilzer said the Orofino athlete picked Rosen up and slammed him hard on the mat. He decided to have Rosen forfeit the rest of the match and the next bout to prevent further injuries.

Sean Murphy went 1-2 in the 132-pound bracket. Murphy lost his first match to a Napavine athlete. Hilzer said Murphy was ahead in points, but moved out of position, which allowed his opponent to pin him in the first period.

In his next match, Murphy pinned an athlete from Enterprise, Oregon. In his third bout of the day Murphy was pinned by a Pomeroy wrestler in the second period.

Tristan Regan, wrestling at 113 pounds, was pinned by a Clarkston athlete in first period of their match.

Regan was eliminated from his bracket after his Colfax opponent pinned him in the third round of his second match. Hilzer noted the Colfax wrestler was a former state-placer.

Samuel Michels, competing at 126 pounds, lost his first match to a Clarkston athlete, who pinned him in the first period.

In the consolation round, he lost to a Clearwater Valley wrestler via pin in the first period.

Andy Ortiz, wrestling at 160 pounds, was pinned in his first match by a Colfax wrestler. He lost his next match to a wrestler from Joseph, Oregon.

Douglas Morris went 0-2 in the 182-pound division. He was pinned by a Clarkston wrestler in the second period of their match. Morris was eliminated from the tournament after an Orofino wrestler pinned him in the second round.

Hailey Roderick, wrestling at 135 pounds, was pinned in her first match by a Grangeville wrestler in the first period. She lost the next match to an athlete from Potlatch, who pinned her in the first period.

In her third match of the day, Roderick was pinned in the second period by a Clearwater Valley wrestler.

Hilzer said the Pomeroy Tournament was a tough event for the Broncos, especially because it included several larger schools from Washington, Idaho and Oregon.

The Broncos had a better outing in the Banks Lake Brawl Tournament, including Regan, who finished second in the 113-pound division.

Regan pinned a Republic Curlew athlete in the first period to advance to the semifinals.

In his second match, Regan wrestled a Wilbur-Creston athlete, who he defeated 8-7 in overtime. He wrestled an Oroville wrestler, who pinned him in the second period.

Regan was not the only Broncos wrestler who placed at the event.

Murphy took third in the 132-pound bracket. After losing matches to Oroville and Almira-Coulee/Hartline wrestlers, Murphy found himself in the third-place match against a Republic Curlew wrestler, who he pinned in the first period.

Morris finished fourth in the 182-pound division. After back-to-back losses against Oroville and Ephrata athletes, Morris wrestled a Davenport opponent in the third-place match. The Davenport wrestler pinned him in the first period.

Michels went 0-2 in the 126-pound division. He suffered back-to-back losses Oroville and Wilbur-Creston athletes.

Ortiz was 0-2 in the 160-pound weight class. He wrestled an Oroville opponent, who pinned him in the first round. In his second match, he lost to an ACH wrestler via pin in the second period.

Rosen was 0-2 in the 285-pound division. He was pinned by a Wilbur-Creston athlete in the first round of their match.

He then lost his second match to an ACH wrestler, who pinned him in the first period.

Roderick was 0-2 in the girls’ 135-pound weight division. She lost her first match to a wrestler from White Swan, who pinned her in the second period.

Roderick was eliminated from the tournament after another wrestler from White Swan pinned her in the second period of their match.

Hilzer said the Banks Lake Brawl was a better event for the Broncos as it featured more 2B schools and a similar level of competition of what they will face in the upcoming league tournament.

The Broncos will be in Springdale on Jan. 5-6.

The girls will compete in the Girls Mix and Match Tournament on Jan. 5 while the boys will participate in the Springdale Tournament the next day.