Small schools reign at duals

RITZVILLE — Tekoa-Rosalia and a combined Pomeroy-Colfax team tied for third-place Saturday, Jan. 28, in the Northeast B League Duals-South League wrestling tournament.

The small schools placed higher than Reardan, Liberty (Spangle) and Lind-Ritzville/Sprague.

Only head-to-head matches counted toward team points.

Tekoa-Rosalia opened against Davenport, with the Timberwolves’ lone wrestler, senior Bryce Casey, falling to Brody Solomon, losing by pin in 1:00 at 152 pounds.

Casey weighed in at 145, but wrestled up so his team wouldn’t lose by forfeit.

The loss knocked Tekoa-Rosalia into the consolation round.

Colfax opened with a one-match loss to Northwest Christian (Colbert).

That loss dropped the Bulldogs into the consolation round, where they were scheduled to face Pomeroy.

Instead of forfeiting, because there were no head-to-head matches and Pomeroy had a larger team, the Pirates and the Bulldogs merged to finish the tournament as a joint team.

Across the bracket, Tekoa-Rosalia lined up against Lind-Ritzville/Sprague.

Casey again wrestled up at 152 pounds, this time facing Pete Spain.

Casey won the bout 19-4. 17 of his points came off a Peterson roll, a move he learned only two weeks ago.

“It was one of the best matches Bryce has wrestled all year,” Tekoa-Rosalia coach Roger Harnack said.

The victory advanced Tekoa-Rosalia to the next round and eliminated Lind-Ritzville from the tournament.

In the next round, Casey once again pulled out a win.

This time he was matched against Thorne Tissue, a 145-pounder who lives in Tekoa, but wrestles for Liberty. Casey pinned Tissue in 1:49.

The win advanced the Timberwolves to the faceoff for third and fourth places. It also eliminated the Liberty Lancers from the tournament.

“What a culminating moment for Bryce this season — single-handedly eliminating two teams,” Harnack said.

Cross bracket, the combined Colfax-Pomeroy team had three matches against Reardan, with the combination team winning two bouts.

The Colfax-Pomeroy combined team eliminated Reardan from the tournament and advanced to face Tekoa-Rosalia.

Neither Pomeroy nor Colfax had a wrestler who could be matched with Casey’s weight classes.

Rather than go to forfeit criteria, Tekoa-Rosalia and Colfax-Pomeroy agreed to share the third-place finish.

The tournament ended the regular season for both the Timberwolves and Bulldogs.

Saturday, Feb. 4, both teams travel to Pomeroy for the district tournament.

Weigh-ins are at 9:30 a.m. and wrestling begins at 11 a.m.

The top four placers in each weight class will advance to regionals Feb. 11 in Reardan.

The fifth-place finisher will advance as the alternate, should someone not make weight, get sick or is otherwise ineligible.