(COLIN HAFFNER/Chewelah Indpendent)

Selkirk’s Ryan Zimmerman, Jay Link and Justin Krabbenhoft earned All-League honors after helping lead the Rangers to the District 7 1B Championship Game. (Courtesy photo)

Selkirk to play Tacoma Baptist on Saturday in state opener…

Selkirk got themselves into the District 7 1B title matchup Saturday but waiting for them on the other end of the court was an undefeated Odessa squad looking to stay that way. While Odessa came away with the win, Selkirk basketball qualified for the state tournament for the first time since  2005 and the last time Selkirk played in the district championship game was in 1973.

The Rangers managed to staunch the Tigers offense early on but could not maintain the pace, ultimately falling 78-34 to take second in the district tournament. More

(GENO LUDWIG/Chewelah Independent)

Chewelah junior Kaden Krouse jumps into the arms of his brother Conner Krouse, after winning the 170-pound B state championship at the Mat Classic Saturday in the Tacoma Dome. (Brandon Hansen photo)

Juniors Cole Davis and Justyce Acosta place second, freshman phenom Clay Jeanneret earns fourth place medal…

Chewelah got its first three-time state wrestling champion on Saturday evening when the referee raised the hand of Cougar 170-pounder Kaden Krouse after he won a 13-3 major decision over Tonasket’s Austin Brock in the title match. In what has become a state tournament tradition, Krouse then ran off the mat, leaped into the arms of his older brother Conner, and hoisted three fingers to signify his accomplishment.

Krouse was one of four Chewelah wrestlers who fought their way into the tournament semifinals and brought home state medals. Cougar 132-pounder Justyce Acosta and 220-pounder Cole Davis both placed second in their respective weight brackets, and 145-pound freshman Clay Jeanneret placed fourth. The four lifted Chewelah to its second straight third place finish in the team scoring. And, all four will return to the team next season.

The 170-pound championship match brought together the state’s top-ranked and second-ranked class 2B wrestlers, but Krouse made it a one-sided encounter. He scored five takedowns through the match and put Brock on his back for a two-point near fall in the first round while yielding Brock three escapes. Krouse led 6-1 at the end of the first round with Brock scoring an escape on a Granby roll. He scored on two single-leg takedowns in the second round to spread his lead to 10-3. Krouse finished with an escape and a takedown in the final round to claim the 170-pound crown by the 13-3 score.

Kaden Krouse has his hand raised after winning his third straight state championship.

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(BRANDON HANSEN/Chewelah Independent) 

Freshman Clayton Jeanneret has toppled several ranked wrestlers on his trip to the State B semifinals (Brandon Hansen photo)

Four Chewelah wrestlers in the state semifinals…

The most important part of the wrestling season happens tomorrow morning, where dreams of a championship are born and some are dashed. For Chewelah, a small school by most metrics, there will be a lot to cheer about tomorrow with four kids in the State 1B/2B semifinals at the Tacoma Dome in Tacoma.

170-pounder and two time state champion Kaden Krouse, state placer and 220-pound Cole Davis, freshman Clay Jeanneret and two-time state placer Justyce Acosta at 132 pounds, are still all in the running for a state title.

With three wrestlers on the Cougars winning a regional championship, Thursday morning’s slate was a bit light as those three received a first round bye. Freshman Clay Jeanneret, however, provided a highlight, pinning his first round foe, No. 8-ranked Anthony Michel of Kittitas in 5:11. In the second round, he toppled No. 2-ranked Keegan Kemmer of Illwaco with a pin 4:10 into the match. Kemmer then had Jeanneret in a cradle but the Cougar freshman broke out of it.

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(GENO LUDWIG/Chewelah Independent)

Congrats to the Chewelah Wrestling Team which took second at regionals. Kaden Krouse, Justyce Acosta and Zeke Crockett won regional championships, Cole Davis and Clayton Jeanneret took second and Cole Piepgrass took 4th. Jake Jeanneret and River Rainer are state alternates as well. (Jesseca Jeanneret photo)

WRESTLEMANIA HITS WASHINGTON: NE Washington wrestlers ready to make their mark at state level…

Kaden Krouse, Justyce Acosta and Zeke Crockett wrestled to weight division championships at last Saturday’s Region 3 Tournament in Reardan, leading Chewelah to a second place finish in the team totals. The trio will head a delegation of six Cougar wrestlers to the Tacoma Dome this week for the Mat Classic XXXII state tournament that starts on Friday morning. Cole Davis and Clayton Jeanneret placed second in their weight brackets, and Cole Piepgras finished fourth in regional qualifying. They will be joined by Cougar 120-pounder Kristen Erickson who placed third in the Region 4 Girls Tournament at Othello last Saturday.

The quest for state championships will begin this Friday at 10 a.m. in the Tacoma Dome with six classifications wrestling on 24 mats. By Saturday evening, 84 individual weight division champions and six team champions will be crowned.

Liberty won the team championship at Reardan with 210 points. Chewelah was second with 149 points, followed by Reardan, Springdale and Davenport. Throughout the season, the Cougars were unable to fill four of the 14 weight classes, which limited them to the number of team points they could earn in the tournament. The loss of senior defending 182-pound state champion Jake Jeanneret will further hinder them in this week’s state finale. Chewelah has been ranked second through most of the season but was dropped to fourth in the team ratings this week because of the loss of Jeanneret and the number of points he would generate. More

Here are some things that happened over the weekend in our area, state and nation…

MAIN STORY

Chewelah places second at regionals, sending many to Tacoma
Congrats to the Chewelah Wrestling Team which took second at regionals. Kaden Krouse, Justyce Acosta and Zeke Crockett won regional championships, Cole Davis and Clayton Jeanneret took second and Cole Piepgrass took 4th. Jake Jeanneret and River Rainer are state alternates as well. More

(COLIN HAFFNER/Chewelah Independent)

Kettle Falls will now play Reardan…

Matthew Thompson dropped 27 in Kettle Falls second round matchup with Colfax Tuesday in the District 7 2B tournament, but it wasn’t enough to keep the Bulldogs on the winning track as they fell to the Bulldogs 72-57.

Kettle Falls kept it close for most of the game despite falling behind by six in the first quarter. A solid second and third periods prevented the Bulldogs from gaining much ground on the Bulldogs allowing Kettle Falls to stay in striking distance in the fourth. However, another run by Colfax in the final frame sealed the game and sent Kettle Falls to the consolation bracket.

Cade McKern pitched in 15 for the Bulldogs to help lead the team.

The loss sends Kettle Falls to a loser out matchup with Reardan Feb. 15 at 3:30 p.m. at West Valley High School in Spokane.

(BRANDON HANSEN/Chewelah Independent)

Chewelah’s Jaron Baldwin expressed his agreement with a call during District 7 basketball action against LRS. (Taylor Newquist photo/Statesman-Examiner)

Baldwin leads Cougars with 15 points…

Chewelah outscored their high-seeded opponent 14-6 in the third quarter of a District 7 2B boys basketball tournament brawl, but it would be Lind-Ritzville-Sprague that would come away with the 49-43 victory on Thursday night.

This third quarter spurt tied the game up at 26 apiece heading into the fourth quarter but LRS was able to pull away in the final stanza.

Jaron Baldwin led the Cougars with 15 points while Nick Franks heated up in the second half and notched 13 points. More

(COLIN HAFFNER/Chewelah Independent)

Wellpinit shines in district opener

Ashlynn Hill led the way for Wellpinit in their District 7 1B tournament opener with 15 points to help the Redskins get the win over visiting Selkirk 40-28.

Wellpinit took the lead with a 10-4 opening quarter and never relinquished that lead despite a Rangers squad that fought to stay in contention the whole way. The six-point first quarter lead was the largest margin of any of the periods with Wellpinit never getting ahead by more than three in any other period the rest of the game.

Kaitlyn Chantry had a team high 13 points for Selkirk in the losing effort.

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(COLIN HAFFNER/Chewelah Independent)

Colville hosted their opening District 7 1A tournament game Wednesday against Riverside, getting off to an early lead and using that for a 57-42 win.

Jordyn True had a game high 16 to lead the Indians on a night that saw the team go up 14-6 after one and take a 29-20 lead by the half. Riverside was never able to break through the Indians defense, and Colville kept the offensive pressure on in the second half to lead them to an easy first round win.

McKenna Reggear added another 13 for Colville, and True complimented her 16 with 12 rebounds in the game.

Colville will take on top-seed Freeman Feb. 14 in the next round.

(COLIN HAFNER/Chewelah Independent)

Selkirk advances with win over Valley Christian…

Selkirk got off to a good start in the District 7 1B tournament Tuesday night when they took out the visiting fourth-seeded Valley Christian Panthers 65-46.

The Rangers, playing as the top-seed in the tournament, took a small lead at the half with a 31-26 score. The team blew things open coming out of the break pushing the lead to 16 by the end of the quarter and riding that lead to an easy first round win.

Selkirk got some quality scoring on the night, with Ryan Zimmerman getting 26 and Justin Krabbenhoft adding 18 to lead the way.

The team will move on in the winner’s bracket with the matchup TBD.

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