Raiders take fifth at Connell

Raider wrestling had a busy week as they travelled to Warden for a dual meet last Thursday then trekked to Connell Saturday for the early season Connell Tourney.

At Warden, the Raiders did not match up well as Warden fills out every weight with depth. LR did record four wins against the Cougars, with Sean Waters at 195 pounds taking care of business and Kodie Horn along with Orrin Gross receiving forfeits.

The Warden meet was “good for exposing our weakness,” Head Coach Steve Hood said, “which led to a great day of practice Friday and then to a good outing on Saturday at Connell.”

Four Raiders made it to the Connell finals and eight team members placed, making it possible to score a fifth-place finish. The Raiders were one of the only B schools at the tourney, which featured 15-plus schools.

Leading the scoring for the Raiders was Oscar Pakootas, who for the second straight week, is a weight class champion at 120. Gross at 152, Horn at 145, and Waters at 195 all took home second place from a tough tourney.

Andrew McClure at 285 and Coltin Williams at 132 both placed fourth at Connell.

Taking sixth place at their weight classes were James Monaghan at 120 and Alexia Hanway at 106.

“At Connell, she faced the best girls in Eastern Washington,” Hood commented on Hanway’s tourney place.

Saturday, the Raiders face tough opponents at a Cashmere tourney that starts at 10 a.m.

“We schedule tough early season tournaments against 1A or larger schools to prepare us for the late season stretch.” Hood said.