Silver Valley sports wrap: Dec. 30-Jan. 5
Photo by AMY MILLER Wildcat Dakota Eixenberger controls his opponent’s back during a match at the Cheney Blackhawk Invitational.
Kellogg wrestling
CHENEY — The Kellogg Wildcats split their wrestling squad up this past weekend with half of the team headed to Cheney to participate in the Blackhawk Invitational.
Kellogg’s Dakota Eixenberger led the way with a solid second-place finish, while several other Wildcats battled their way to some solid placing and resulted in a seventh-place finish for the team.
“Dakota continues to have a strong season and rebounded well from Tri-State,” Kellogg coach Scott Miller said. “He wrestled much smarter this weekend and his position was much improved. Travis Lohr had a very good tournament too, I’m really pleased with his performance.”
Lohr finished in fourth place, while teammate Ethan Guy took third.
Finishing seventh among several larger schools in the 19-team tournament was another positive step for the Wildcats who have aspirations of team and individual glory this season.
“I’m really proud of all our kids,” Miller said. “It’s tough to go into another state and compete because a number of the factors change, so it creates a different dynamic for the team. I thought they handled adversity well, and having all get wins and seven coming home with places is encouraging.”
TEAM SCORES:
1-Mead 217.5, 2-Lakeside 181.5, 3-Cheney 181, 4-Wapato 134, 5-Kennewick 126.5
6- Quincey 126.0, 7-Kellogg 108.5, 8-Chewelah 108, 9-Riverside 95, 10-Grandview 86.5
11-Goldendale 64, 12-West Valley 62, 13-Colfax 56, 14-Clarkston 51.5, 15 Snohomish 45.5
16-Newport 36, 17-Selkirk 32, 18-Pullman 25, 19-Reardon 23
ST. MARIES — The other half of the Wildcat wrestling team competed at the Chad E. Ross Memorial Wrestling Tournament at St. Maries High School.
The Wildcats had several high placers, including Wyatt Hei, who brought home the 113 pound title and Taylor Stovern who won the girls’ division.
Carter Stepro and Brody Harris finished in third place, while Jayce Garcia brought home fourth place.
For Hei, this win was particularly sweet and one that coach Miller thinks will be a good foundation for him moving forward.
“Really happy for Wyatt Hei winning his first title,” Miller said. “We like to measure ourselves during the season to see how we are progressing and his opponent had beaten him three times this season, so getting that win is a big step forward for Wyatt. Taylor wrestled very well on the way to her championship. This is also her first high school level title, so we’re really pleased for her.”
Miller was also complimentary of Stepro and Harris, who he said, “showed significant improvements in their matches.”
TEAM SCORES
1-Bonners Ferry 192.5, 2-St. Maries 176.5, 3-Rogers 124, 4-Coeur d'Alene 124, 5-Clearwater Valley 113
6-Orofino 98, 7-Liberty 94, 8-KELLOGG 82, 9-Lakeland 74, 10-Priest River 69
11-Lewiston 56, 12-Northwest Christian 31.5, 13-Kootenai 4, 14-Grangeville 2
Kellogg will be wrestling this week on Jan. 8, at Coeur d’Alene High School at 5 p.m. and then again on Jan. 10-11 at Post Falls High School at 3 p.m.