TACOMA – A year after taking third place in the 195-pound weight class in the Mat Classic, Lind-Ritzville/Sprague senior Gabe Smith came into his senior season on a mission; to finish on top of the podium in Tacoma.
His mission was a success, having been crowned the 215-pound champion of the 1B/2B Boys classification at last week’s state wrestling tournament.
“I went up a weight class so it was different people all around, but knowing I could compete with those guys last year – that was a big confidence booster, considering that I consider them the best wrestlers out of 1B/2B,” Smith said. “I knew if I could compete with them, I could compete with anybody.”
Smith, who wrestled in the 215-pound class this season and earned a first-round bye, went 3-0 at the Tacoma Dome last week, defeating Coupeville’s Jaje Drake with a first-round pin in the quarterfinals, Liberty Bell’s Damien Spears in the semifinals and Almira/Coulee-Hartline’s Noah Butler in the champio
TACOMA – Nearly 70 wrestlers traveled from the Columbia Basin to Tacoma to compete in the Mat Classic last week, with 37 wrestlers reaching the podium in their respective classifications.
RITZVILLE – After taking fifth as a team at Saturday’s 1B/2B Region 3 tournament in Spangle, the Lind-Ritzville/Sprague Broncos will take four wrestlers to this week’s Mat Classic at the Tacoma Dome.
COLUMBIA BASIN It was a busy weekend of wrestling tournaments across the Columbia Basin, with Lind-Ritzville/Sprague, Othello and Quincy all hosting tournaments on Saturday.