Reardan wrestles at multiple meets

COEUR D'ALENE-Reardan's Connor Kline placed eighth at the Tri-State Wrestling Tournament at North Idaho College Friday, Dec. 15. He was the Screaming Eagles' top finisher in the 68-team event that included teams from Washington, Oregon, Idaho and Montana.

"This is one of the toughest tournaments in the country," Reardan assistant coach Wayne Terry said.

Joey Matusik won three of the five matches he wrestled in the 106-pound weight class.

In his first match, he pinned Aiden Figueroa of Kellogg in 1:34. He then lost a 7-2 decision to Jayson Jasso of Sunnyside.

In his third match, he pinned Jesus Jiminez of Chiawana in 1:50. Matusik defeated Connor Ball of Kamiakin in a sudden victory match before ending the tournament with a loss to Libby Roberts of University.

In the 120-pound weight class, Alex Matusik pinned Adrian Corrales of Pullman in 3:41. He lost his second match by 17-5 major decision to Daniel Gonzalez of Othello.

In his last match, Matusik was pinned by Kacen Hamilton of Castle Rock.

Carson Kline won two of his four matches in the 138 pound weight class. He lost his first match to Shane Sherrill of Sandpoint but bounced back to pin his next two opponents.

He pinned Alekzander Isbelle of University in 2:27 and Gavin Carnahan of Deer Park in 1:12. In his last match, Kline lost to Ben Orth of Lakeside via a 5-2 decision.

In the 195-pound weight class, Sterling McLaughlin lost his two matches to John Paul Workman of Richland and Matthew Duthie of West Valley.

Carson Durbin lost both of his matches in the 220-pound weight class to Micah Burkhart of East Valley and Liam Hamilton of Lakeside.

"These kids made a good showing, and it was an opportunity for them to see how they stack up with their competition in their weight bracket," Terry said.

Conner Kline picked up two wins in the 220-pound weight class, earning him an eighth place medal in the tournament. In his first match, he beat Ryan Sulpizio of University by a 6-4 decision.

He then lost to Joshua Limon-Garcia of Kamiakin by a 4-3 decision. Kline rebounded from the loss by defeating Matthew Duthie of West Valley.

He closed out the tournament with losses to Trenton Moore of Cheney and Jordan Tyler of Sandpoint.

"What Connor Kline did was more than respectable," Terry said. "He had tough matches, but he never quit. He wrestled his heart out. He made a very strong showing with his eighth place finish."

On Saturday, Dec. 16, Reardan wrestlers competed in the 10-team Gorilla Invitational held in Davenport.

Alex Matusik went 3-0 to place first in the 120 pound weight class. He pinned all three of his opponents: Titan Jennings of Mary Walker, Nakoa Rocha of Northwest Christian and Spencer Duty of Selkirk.

H.K. Bird lost his three matches to Gabriel Carey of Davenport, Pete Spain of Lind-Ritzville and Noah Salz of Asotin.

McLaughlin went 3-1 to earn third place in the 190-pound weight class. He pinned Carl Medhaug of Davenport and John Branham of Lind-Ritzville and won by major decision over Dylan Valadez of Mary Walker.

His sole loss was to Curtis Winona of Pomeroy.

Durbin won both of his matches to place first in the 215 pound weight class. He pinned Kyron Clovis of Asotin and won by injury default over Gabriel Smith of Reardan.

On Wednesday, Dec. 13, Danika Bretz competed in the Liberty Girls Wrestle-In where she pinned both her opponents.