February 22, 2012 Star4C copy.indd - The Star of Grand Coulee

The STar • FeBrUarY 22, 2012
Page 7
Orrin Gross is state wrestling champion
Four Raiders
place at state
by John R. McNeil II
Sean Waters breaks down
Ike Martinez of Reardan
Orrin Gross wrestles Davenport’s
Daniel Stauffer to take first place
Dominant all season, Raider wrestler Orrin
Gross seized the state championship at
138 pounds at the
Mat Classic in Tacoma
last weekend to
lead the team to sixth
place in the state "B"
championship tournament.
In his first match,
Gross pinned Oscar
Roa of Brewster in
the third round to
move on to a semifinal
match against
Jon Walling of Kittitas.
Walling continued
to be a tough opponent
for Gross, but
Gross put the moves on Walling and defeated
him 10-5.
Gross took on Daniel Stauffer of Davenport
in the hard-fought championship match,
coming out on top 10-4 to take home the gold
medal.
Gross was joined in the medaling and placing
by three other Raider wrestlers to give LR
the sixth-place team finish in the all-B classification.
"It was the culmination of a season, or for
some, years of hard work and preparation paying
off at the right time," Raider Head Coach
Steve Hood said.
At 126 pounds, Kodie Horn defeated
Elijah Towery of
North Beach in his
first match by firstround
pin. Then
Horn was tripped
up by J. P. Martinez
of Warden,
the eventual state
champ at 126. After
defeating Mason
Mackey of Wahkiakum,
Horn had to
wrestle for third or
fourth place against
another similar opponent,
Noel Espinoza
of Kittitas.
It was
an even fight until the very end when
Espinoza came out the victor by just
one point, 10-9. Horn took home fourth
at 126.
Sean Waters started his state tournament
off with a first-round pin of Cody
Corn of Concrete, then got pinned in the
first round by Tony Knebel of Pomeroy
in the semifinal match for 170 pounds.
Knebel went on to take the championship.
Waters moved on to pin Gus Randall
of Winlock in the second round.
In the placing match for 170, Waters
faced a league foe in Garet Sax of Selkirk,
prevailing in a three-round match
5-3 to earn the bronze.
The final placer for LR was Levi Seylor at
182 pounds. Seylor won his first-round match
8-2 over Matthew Boyes of Raymond, then
moved on to face Niko Knezovich of Reardan.
Seylor put up a hard fight, but Knezovich defeated
him in a second-round pin, eventually
taking the state championship.
Seylor didn't let himself remain frustrated
long. He mauled Cameron Wischhausen of
Kodie Horn takes down
Mason Mackey of Wahkiakum
Liberty (Spangle) 14-2. In the third/fourth
match against Ike Martinez of Reardan, Seylor
overcame the challenges Martinez threw
Levi Seylor defeats Matthew Boyes of Raymond.
at him to win 9-7 and take home the bronze
medal at 182.
Coltin Williams did not place at 120 pounds,
but he gained great experience for next year,
Coach Hood noted, pleased with the way Williams
wrestled in the tough matches.
From left - Sean Waters, Kodie Horn, Orrin Gross and Levi Seylor.
— Wrestling photos by Brittany Hood
All the Raiders at the Mat Classic last weekend will likely return
next year, forming a strong base to challenge Reardan and Kittitas for
dominance of State "B" wrestling.
Hood said the Raider success this season also came from the large
amount of volunteer coaching from former LR wrestlers and from community
members who took time out of their day to help for two hours
making the current LR wrestling better.
Raiders take District 5/6 championship
by John R. McNeil II
The Raiders defeated White
Swan 79-55 to take home the District
5/6 2B Basketball Championship
and earn the number-one seed
to the regional tournament.
They will play Waitsburg/Presscott
Cardinals at Walla Walla High
School on Friday at 6 p.m. for the
right to move on to the state 2B
tournament in the Spokane Arena
the following weekend.
The Raiders reached this triumph
by first defeating Kittitas
Feb. 13 with a score of 73-36 at
Wenatchee.
With a halftime lead at 47-14,
the Raiders rested their starters in
Ty Egbert rebounds. — Scott Hunter photo
the second half and set the cruise
control to the win.
The Raiders faced Oroville on
Wednesday in the semifinal game
to decide who would play the redhot
Cougars of White Swan. LR
did not look past the Hornets and
ran away with another first half,
gaining a 38-19 lead.
But the Hornets were not ready
to roll over and came back to life
in the fourth.
“Oroville made some shots in
the fourth quarter to close the
26-point lead we had after three
quarters of play,” Head Coach Brad
Wilson said, noting he had to keep
the Raiders together to hold back
Oroville and their 17-point surge
in the fourth before the Raiders
came away with the win at 65-47.
At home, the Raiders for two
days prepared for White Swan
and tied up loose ends in their
own play.
On Saturday, White Swan came
in, still hot off a 40-point pounding
of Brewster, and tried to throw the
Raiders off balance with a fullcourt
press to take a three-point
lead at the end of the first quarter,
22-19.
But the Raiders had practiced
for the Cougar press and countered
with long-bomb passes.
“We were able to play with great
focus and poise against their pressure,”
Wilson said.
The Raiders fought back and
took a nine-point lead into halftime,
LR 38-White Swan 29.
After halftime, the pressure
was on White Swan’s forwards
to cover the Raiders’ 6-8 Ty Egbert,
who scored 32 points from
assists dished up to him by the
backcourt.
“Our guards were able to control
the action on both ends and fed Ty
for numerous buckets or free-throw
opportunities,” Wilson said.
The Raiders pressed home the
advantage, and, after holding off
a White Swan surge in the third
quarter, cruised to the 79-55 victory.
With the win, the Raiders
clinched the District 5/6 2B Championship
for the second year in a
The Raiders celebrate their District 5/6 2B Championship Saturday in Wenatchee. — Scott Hunter photo
row.
Coach Wilson was thrilled with
the amount of fan support at Eastmont
High School for the game.
“It was rewarding to see our
tremendous fan base get to join us
in celebrating the district championship,”
he said.
Now the Raiders (12-0, 19-4)
must focus on their matchup Friday
against Presscott, the numbertwo
seed from District 9 (8-2, 11-7),
the last step between the Raiders
and the Spokane Arena and the
state tournament.
LR 73-Kittitas 36
Williams 6, Garvin 8, Adkins 4, Rosenbaum
10, Black 2, Saxon 10, Carlson
5, LaPlante 2, Egbert 26, Boutain 0,
Piccolo 0.
LR 65-Oroville 47
Williams 4, Garvin 7 points 6 rebounds,
Adkins 11 points 6 rebounds, Rosenbaum
15 points 6 rebounds 5 steals,
Saxon 2, Carlson 2 points 8 assists,
Egbert 22 points 12 rebounds, Boutain
2.
LR 79-White Swan 55
Williams 9, Garvin 7 points 5 assists,
Adkins 7 points 4 rebounds, Rosenbaum
17 points 3 three pointers, Black
0, Saxon 2, Carlson 5 points 6 assists,
LaPlante 0, Egbert 32, Boutain 0, Piccolo
0.
Lady Raiders End Season in Overtime
by John R. McNeil II
The Lady Raiders saw their season end last Friday
at Eastmont High School in an overtime loss to
Riverside Christian, 65-58.
The Lady Raiders finished with a 15-8 overall winloss
record with several impressive wins and with a
great deal of promise for the future.
The team’s week started on a sour note with a loss
to Entiat 58-49, that placed LR against the eight ball;
any let-down or cold shooting streak could end the
season right then and there.
With that in mind, the girls faced Oroville on
Wednesday and took out all the fustrations of the
Entiat loss, tearing the Hornets to shreds, with score
LR 32-Oroville 6 at the half, on the way to the 54-14
win.
Head Coach Wallace Pleasants said the girls
found a rhythm and ran with it, allowing girls who
may otherwise not see any playing time in a district
tournament some playing time, which will pay off in
the future.
The victory buoyed the spirits of the Lady Raiders
and their fans as there was still a chance to make
regionals; all they had to do was beat Riverside Christian
on Friday at Eastmont.
The game was a blow-for-blow fight for the finish. In
the first half the scoring was tit for tat, neither team
gaining much of an advantage. The Lady Raiders came
out of the first half ahead by just two point 27-25.
In the third, the Lady Raiders locked horns with
the Crusaders. At the end of the third quarter the
score was all tied 40-40.
The fourth found the evenly matched teams answering
score for score, each adding 10 points to end
regulation tied at 50-50.
In overtime, one side had to either run out of gas or
find their second wind and seize the victory. Riverside
Christian found its second wind and outscored the LR
15-8 in the period for the final score LR 58, Riverside
Christian 65.
Coach Wallace Pleasants was not pleased with
the free-throw effort (13 of 26 attempts) nor with 11
missed lay-ins.
It was the last game for the seniors, who had finished
third at state last year.
Pleasants said he was happy with the winning
season and how LR is being taken seriously by other
schools in eastern Washington.
LR 54-Oroville14
Desautel 15, Sam 2, Chaney 0, Barry 0, Fasthorse 4, Mc-
Craigie 0, Pleasants 10, Laramie 5, Salas 1, Monaghan 4,
Schilling 4, Antone 9.
Riverside Christian 65-LR 58
Desatutel 18, Sam 3, Chaney 5, Barry 0, Fasthorse 0, Pleasants
11, Salas 6, Monaghan 3, Schilling 0, Rowena Antone
12.
Jada Desautel, Brianna Monaghan and Dominique
Pleasants scramble for the ball.