LRS wrestling squad steadily getting more mat experience

The Lind-Ritzville/Sprague wrestling squad got plenty of mat time in during winter break, and they’ll be getting even more matches in both this week and next.

The LRS grapplers took part in the Ephrata Mix & Match on Dec. 14, a format where wrestlers simply just get matches in with no type of bracket or team play to factor in.

Eighth grader Brandon Davis wrestled at 106 pounds at the event, losing by pin in the third round to a wrestler from Ephrata. Freshman Johnny Ryan also wrestled at 106 pounds and faced off against the same Ephrata wrestler, and also lost his match via pin in the third round. Davis, Ryan and the Ephrata wrestler were the only athletes in that weight class.

Sophomore Sam Michels wrestled at 132 pounds at the mix & match, and was pinned by a wrestler from Eastmont (Wenatchee) in the second round. Fellow sophomore Doug Morris wrestled at 182 pounds and lost to an “experienced” Wenatchee wrestler by a score of 6-1. Morris’ next match was also against an athlete from Wenatchee, who he pinned in the second round.

Wrestling at 220 pounds, sophomore Thomas Schermerhorn faced off against a wrestler from Wenatchee, and was pinned in the second round. He faced off against another Wenatchee wrestler in his second match, losing 18-3.

The squad then traveled to Central Valley to take part in the Tri County Tournament on Dec. 21.

Wrestling at 106 pounds again, Davis wrestled against an opponent from 2A foe Cheney and lost by pin in the first round. Davis then wrestled against an athlete from Republic, losing by pin in the second round.

Michels wrestled at 132 pounds, and lost by pin to a wrestler from Colville in the first round. In his second match, Michels wrestled against an athlete from University High School in Spokane, a 4A school, and lost by a score of 6-1.

Morris wrestled again at 182 pounds, and defeated his first opponent from Hanford 6-2. Morris faced off against a state competitor from Shadle Park in his second match, losing by pin in the second round. And in his third match of the tournament, Morris lost 11-4 against a wrestler from Liberty.

Schermerhorn wrestled at 220 and faced off against a wrestler from Pullman in the first round, losing by pin in the second round. He then faced off against an athlete from Shadle Park, losing by pin in the second round.

The Pomeroy Tournament on Dec. 28 was next up on the squad’s schedule, their first match following Christmas.

Davis lost to a wrestler from Colfax by pin in the first round at the tournament, and then wrestled against an athlete from Clearwater Valley (Idaho) and was also pinned in the first round.

Michels wrestled up a weight class at the Pomeroy Tournament, in the 132-pound division. He faced off against a wrestler from Hanford and lost by pin in the first round, and then took on an athlete from Orofino (Idaho), losing by pin in the second round.

Morris faced off against a wrestler from Clearwater Valley in his opening match, losing by pin in the second round. He then faced off against a wrestler from Orofino, losing that match 6-2.

Then came the Banks Lake Brawl a day later in Coulee City, with Davis losing to a wrestler from Chelan by pin in the first round.

Michels faced off against wrestlers from Kettle Falls in both of his matches, losing by pin in the first round and the second round, respectively.

Morris wrestled at 195 pounds in Coulee City, and pinned his opponent from Chelan in the third round to win his first match. Morris faced off against a wrestler from Lake Roosevelt in the finals, and was down by 5-0 in the third round before being pinned. Morris’ opponent placed in state the previous year.

Most recently, the squad participated in the Springdale Tournament on Jan. 5. Davis lost by pin in the first round to a wrestler from Republic, and came back in his second match to pin his opponent from Colfax in the third round. Davis entered that third round trailing 3-9, but was able to reverse his fortunes and get the pin and the victory. Davis finished in 3rd place at the tournament.

Michels wrestled two athletes from East Valley (Spokane) in his two matches, losing by pin in the first and second rounds, respectively.

Wrestling again at 195, Morris faced off against a wrestler from East Valley in his first match, pinning his opponent in the second round. That put Morris in the finals, where he wrestled an athlete from Kettle Falls and got pinned in the first round. Morris finished in second place at the tournament.

Head coach Jason Hilzer said that the plan is to keep Morris wrestling in the 195-pound division through the postseason. Hilzer also said that it’s important for his squad to keep getting mat time at these tournaments.

“The big thing right now is that we’ve got to get everybody back that’s been injured or are out because of grades,” said Hilzer. “But other than that, we’re progressing and we’re doing things well. Some of these guys are starting to win, and we weren’t sure if they would.”

The squad took part in the second Ephrata Mix & Match of the season on Jan. 8. The squad will then participate in the South League Match in Davenport on Jan. 10, with matches starting at 5 p.m. The team will then take part in the Crusader Classic at Northwest Christian on Jan. 12, with matches beginning at 9 a.m.

The team’s first an only home event of the season is on Jan. 15, as they host the Ritzville Mix & Match. Weigh-in is at 5 p.m., and match play starts at 6 p.m. in the Gilson Gymnasium.