Newman Takes Third Trip to State Wrestling Tourney

COLBERT – Waitsburg-Prescott heavyweight junior Tristan Newman is headed for his third trip to the state wrestling tournament in Tacoma after placing second at the Feb. 14 Class 1B/2B East Regional wrestling tournament here. Last year Newman placed fourth at the regional meet before taking fourth place at state.

285-pound Newman pinned Jimmy Coleman of Tonasket by pin in 1:30 in his first match, then took Mikey Hernandez of Warden by pin in 4:22 in match two. "Tristan came out being reserved in his first match. He had not wrestled Coleman before, so we weren't sure what style of wrestler he was. Once Tristan took him down I knew that he was going to win," said WP coach Lanny Adams. The first round of the second match against Hernandez was 0-0 but Tristan took control in the second round. Tristan chose top in the third round, broke Hernandez down, and turned him with a half-nelson for the pin, said Adams.

In a bid for championship standing, Newman lost to Octavio Alejandre of Lake Roosevelt in a 6-3 decision." Tristan and Octavio battled it out for the championships. Octavio moved a little bit more and controlled Tristan. It was a battle that I think will play out again at the state tournament next week at the Tacoma Dome," said Adams.

Newman became the first WP wrestler to advance to the State Class B Mat Classic in Tacoma when he finished third at the Eastern Regional Tournament in 2013. The then-freshman failed to advance at state after losing his first two matches. In 2014 Newman took fourth at Regionals and went on to become the first WP wrestler to place at state, where he also came in fourth. WP coaches, teammates and fans are hopeful that Newman will move higher on the podium in this, his third trip to the Tacoma Dome. The WIAA Mat Classic Wrestling 2105 High School State Championships take place at the Tacoma Dome Arena on Feb. 20-21. Wrestling begins at 10 a.m. on both Friday and Saturday.