Titans Muscle Their Way To District Title

AAA wrestling

For a tournament that unfolded nearly as expected, University had an unexpectedly easy march to the title.

Competing without state champion Andy Roberts, who has a broken thumb, U-Hi won its first District 8-AAA team title Saturday.

The Titans, Greater Spokane League champs, had the title all but wrapped up heading into the finals. U-Hi outscored runner-up and host Mead 269-247, although the Panthers notched a tournament-best four individual titles.

The finals held little drama, as top seeds won 11 of the 13 matches. In the two exceptions, second-seeded wrestlers defeated No. 1 seeds.

“There weren’t a lot of surprises because the No. 1 kids are solid and pretty established,” said U-Hi coach Don Owen.

The top four in each weight division advance to the Region IV-AAA tournament, Friday and Saturday at Central Valley. U-Hi qualified 10 to region, while upset-minded Central Valley sends nine and Rogers eight.

CV finished third in team scoring, nipping Rogers 216.5 to 212. Nine district wrestlers who weren’t seeded in the top four fought their way through to region. Four were from CV, including finalists Shane Yackel (148) and Gunder Gregerson (275).

U-Hi’s Dusty Roberts (148) and Mead’s Troy Hughes (178) became three-time district champs, both with ease. Roberts is 27-0, Hughes 25-0.

Justin O’Connor (190) of Mead is 25-0 after a pin in the finals.

U-Hi’s Scott Garcia (141) defended his district title with a first-round pin.

The other returning district champ, CV’s Joel Gehrett (135), took third.

Mead, CV and U-Hi had five finalists apiece.

The most compelling finals were bunched together, at 122, 129 and 135.

The best - and most controversial - was at 129, between G-Prep senior Steve Steigleder (27-3) and Mead sophomore Lyle Beerbohm (20-5).

Steigleder is no stranger to frantic district finals, having lost at the buzzer last year when he thought he had scored a winning takedown.

This time, Steigleder scored a takedown with 1:29 left for a 5-4 lead. Beerbohm tried an escape with 26 seconds left, but Steigleder held.

At the end, Beerbohm made a quick move and heard the official’s hand slap the mat at the buzzer, indicating a pin.

After conferring twice with a co-worker, however, the official ruled that the buzzer went off 2 seconds after time had expired on the clock. Steigleder had the title.

“When I heard the buzzer go off, it scared me,” Steigleder said. “It was a flashback to last year.”

At 122, Ferris junior Fletcher Barkdull (21-7) defeated top-seeded Eddie Jones (20-7), a North Central sophomore, 3-1. Mead junior James

Clark (21-1) beat Shadle Park’s Rodney Martinez, 5-2 at 135.

U-Hi sophomore Jared Osborn (16-8) upset top-seeded Chris Montgomery (22-5), a G-Prep freshman, 4-1. Osborn badly cut his hand in shop class less than two weeks ago.

Rogers won the next two, with Daryl Groom (24-2) stopping Cory Brannon of G-Prep, 6-2 at 108, and senior Mike Knight (19-7) handling U-Hi’s Josh Knowles, 5-0 at 115.

After three good matches, blowouts began. Garcia (25-2) needed just 1:59 to pin NC’s Josh Robertson, then Titans classmate Roberts took 27 seconds less to pin Yackel.

“I’m wrestling right now like I don’t think anyone should beat me,” said Roberts, who won district at 135 two years ago and 141 last year.

Roberts was also the one practicing with his brother, Andy, when the broken thumb occurred.

CV junior Rick Giampietri (21-8) powered to a 17-2 technical fall over Rogers’ Mark Rinde at 158. The match ended when Rinde was assessed a penalty point for swinging at Giampietri.

Mead’s turn to dominate began, with senior Erin Vandagriff (22-4) pinning Zach Ripley of Lewis and Clark; senior Hughes practicing takedowns in a 25-10 technical fall over CV’s Ben Asbury; and senior O’Connor pinning U-Hi’s Mike Clark in the second round.

Hughes, sporting a cut chin that occurred during one of his 11 or so takedowns, said, “I’m keeping up my intensity and focus.

Vandagriff said he wanted vengeance for injuries and illnesses he suffered the last two years. Last year, toxic shock syndrome from a staph infection nearly took his life.

CV couldn’t lose at 275, as junior Bob Perkes (22-3) met - and pinned - teammate Gregerson.