LR wrestlers win dual meet against Cascade Kodiaks

Raiders wrestled in a dual with Cascade last week, as well as sending a wrestler to the Columbia Burbank Girls Invitational.

Raiders wrestled in a dual match in Coulee Dam against the Cascade Kodiaks Dec. 20, with one match going on at a time underneath a spotlight.

The event was the first dual match LR has hosted in five years.

Out of the 16 matches, which included three forfeits, as well as exhibitions, Lake Roosevelt garnered 39 points to Cascade's 31.

Terrance Saulque stole the show, wrestling in the heavyweight, 285-pound division. He was on the verge of being pinned when he pulled off a last-second reversal on Cascade's Hunter Reinhart, then pinned him to the mat as his teammates roared with excitement.

"He bridged and rolled," explained Head Coach Steve Hood. "You move the other guy to a position where you can bridge up on your head and feet and throw them off of you, and he rolled himself right on top of him and pinned him. It was pretty exciting.

"The excitement of a dual meet is something we've been missing out on," Hood continued. "You get in that situation, there's only one match going on, the whole gym is watching that - and that's exciting."

Raider Tony Marchand, wrestling at 145, pinned Austin Carry "in something like 10 seconds, real fast pin," Hood said.

Kaleb Horn, dominating his match at 138, couldn't be contained to a small mat with his explosive wrestling style. He slammed his opponent, named Arceo, to the mat again and again, but on one takedown, the opponent got backed off the mat, getting slammed onto the gym floor where he took a few minutes to recover. The win was given to Arceo.

"They penalized Kaleb for unnecessary roughness and decided the other wrestler shouldn't return," Hood explained. "The guy hit his head on the floor, and that's how it got settled. That was unfortunate. You're wrestling with a lot of intensity. With the other guy backing up, you put the two of them together and [Horn] just carried him out of bounds."

At the Columbia Burbank Girls Invitational, Raider Ida Sue placed fourth in the 145 weight bracket, winning two and losing two. Sue pinned her first opponent, Kimberly Alvarez from Kennewick, in one minute and 52 seconds. Sue pinned her next opponent, Marilee Garza from Warden, in 4:49. Sue lost 3-0 against Ayana Asselin from Kennewick, then was pinned by Shannon Workinger from Quincy in 4:36.

On Friday, Dec. 28, the Raiders host the Powerhouse Tournament in Coulee Dam at 10 a.m.

The next day, they'll trek to Almira-Coulee-Hartline High School in Coulee City for the Banks Lake Brawl, which starts at 10 a.m.