All four LRS wrestlers advance to State-without playing a single match

Due to inclement weather that affected driving conditions throughout the state, the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association cancelled all regional wrestling tournaments in the state.

That included the Regional Tournament that four Lind-Ritzville/Sprague Broncos grapplers were set to participate in on Feb. 9 in Liberty. Now, all four have advanced to the Mat Classic, which will be held at the Tacoma Dome in Tacoma beginning on Feb. 15.

Rather than try and reschedule the regional tournaments, WIAA staff and event managers developed 32-person brackets rather than the usual 16-person brackets for each weight division in each of the five classifications. Like usual, each of the four “A” classifications will have their own tournaments, while the 2B and 1B schools will join as one classification for the Mat Classic.

Freshman Johnny Ryan, who advanced to regionals as the South’s No. 2 seed in the 106-pound weight class, will receive a first-round bye to start the tournament due to the fact that there are only 19 wrestlers in his division. Ryan will wrestler either junior Ramiro Ambriz from Pateros or freshman Braydon Rauscher from Kalama in his second-round match.

At 113 pounds, eighth grader Brandon Davis will also receive a first-round bye after he was originally the South’s No. 2 seed heading into regionals. Davis will go up against sophomore Darrin Sedenius from Darrington in his second-round match.

Sophomore Doug Morris was not able to secure a first-round bye in the tournament. Wrestling at 195 pounds, Morris will wrestle Toledo sophomore Hunter Smith in his opening-round match. Morris had advanced to regionals as the South’s No. 3 seed.

The fourth LRS wrestler to advance to the Mat Classic is sophomore Thomas Schermerhorn, who like Morris also was not able to get a first-round bye. Wrestling in the 220-pound weight class, Schermerhorn was the South’s No. 3 seed heading into regionals. He will wrestler senior Arthur Olinger from Kalama in his first-round match.

The Mat Classic will take place on Feb. 15 and 16, starting early in the morning and ending around 8 p.m. each day.