Wrestlers Take 5 at Lind-Ritzville

RITZVILLE - Waits­burg Prescott made a good showing at the January 9 Lind-Ritzville tourna­ment. WP won five of their fourteen matches against Pomeroy, Lind-Ritzville and White Swan. Travis New­man and Kavin Kuykendall brought in two wins each and David Just grabbed the fifth. "Everyone wrestled hard," said Coach Lanny Adams. "It was a good match."

David Just ( 126) - Pinned Oscar Pounce, White Swan, 1:25. "David came out with a high level of inten­sity, despite recovering from an illness," said Adams.

Kavin Kuykendall (145) - Pinned Jared Thorpe, Pomeroy, :52; pinned Hua­ong Vo, Lind-Ritzville, 1:44. Adams said Kuykendall wrestled hard and smart, executing newly learned moves. "He has finally tran­sitioned from thinking on the mat to feeling what the opponent is doing and being able to keep an ear open so the coaches can help him."

TJ Morrison (145) - Pinned by Jared Thorpe, Pomeroy, 4:47; pinned by Clayton King, Pomeroy, 1:56. Adams said Morri­son wasn't necessarily out- wrestled, but simply made some mistakes that they'll be working on before their next matches.

Tyler Brooks (160) - Pinned by Taylor Lewis, Pomeroy, 3:17; pinned by Jacob Shuh, Pomeroy, 3:00. Brooks is a freshman wres­tling in a weight class domi­nated by juniors and seniors, who usually have more years of experience. "I think that once it sinks in to him that technique will prevail over trying to out-muscle the op­ponent, we will see a whole new level out of Tyler," said Adams.

DJ Lalka (182) - Pinned by Manueal Vidrios, White Swan, :24; pinned by Karl Hawks, Lind-Rtizville, :08. Lalka continues to improve and, according to Adams "went out onto that mat and moved more than I have seen him do so far this season."

EJ Oppelt-Rising Sun (195) - Pinned by Everett Stevenson, Pomeroy, 3:15. "As a first-year wrestler struggling against those with more experience, Oppelt is still trying to find his center of balance, but is determined to succeed," said Adams.

Tyler Hoffman (220) - Pinned by Giovanni Rojas, White Swan, 1:15; pinned by Robert Garza, White Swan, 1:35. Adams said Hoffman is becoming more aggressive and improving his offensive game. As he gains confi­dence Adams expects to see "a new Tyler on the mat."

Tristan Newman (285) - Pinned Salvadore Esquivel, White Swan, :52; pinned Layne Hawks, Lind-Ritz­ville, :28. Newman remains undefeated in league compe­titions. "Tristan is working on executing new moves. He's determined to return to the State tournament and is working toward that goal," Adams said.

WP faces Mac-Hi on January 14 and travels to Colfax on January 16.