Kettle Falls Wrestling Turns Heads in Spokane

The Kettle Falls wrestling team delivered one of its strongest performances of the season at the East Valley Winter Clash on Dec. 22 at East Valley High School, piling up podium finishes across nearly every weight class, and crowning four individual champions with dominant runs through their brackets.

They also did something that some may consider unexpected for a 2B team to do when up against bigger Greater Spokane League schools: they won the tournament as a whole. 

At 113 pounds, Josh Bair was flawless on his way to the title, finishing 5-0 on the day. Bair opened the tournament with a fall over Colville’s Asher Culler at 4:26, then pinned Newport’s Alex Garris in 1:19. He followed with back-to-back decision wins, narrowly beating Hanford’s Slade Clayton 10-8 and Colville’s Andy Ussery 8-6, before closing the championship run with a 45-second fall over teammate Mason Snider in the finals. Snider also placed fourth at 113 pounds.

Another championship came at 126 pounds, where Gideon Evans went 3-0, winning all three matches by fall. Evans pinned Republic-Curlew’s Rynn Stangeland in 2:22, followed by a 1:02 pin against Colville’s Samuel Miller, and capped the title with a 1:11 fall over Newport’s Josh Turner. Teammate Tanner Schumacher added depth at 126 pounds by placing fourth.

At 150 pounds, Ezekiel Evans was equally dominant, recording three pins in under one minute each to secure first place. Evans opened with a 38-second fall over Cheney’s Dylan Charlson, pinned teammate Baylor Rosen in 32 seconds in the semifinal, and sealed the championship with a 52-second pin against Deer Park’s Sage Nichols. Rosen went on to place third at the same weight.

Kettle Falls’ final champion came at 190 pounds, where Aiden Fowler went 3-0. Fowler opened with a controlled 7-2 decision over Northwest Christian’s Braden Walker, then pinned Lewis and Clark’s Dexter Flores in 1:44. In the championship match, Fowler secured the title with a 2:06 fall over Republic-Curlew’s Connor Bouge.

Beyond the champions, the Bulldogs continued to rack up points throughout the lineup. Lee Fowler placed third at 106 pounds, Michael Winn finished second at 120 pounds, Joseph Young earned runner-up honors at 132 pounds, and Nathan Thurman battled to third at 144 pounds. Kettle Falls also picked up strong finishes from Kincaid Freer at 165 pounds (fourth), Harley Rowe at 215 pounds (second), and Zhaine Herrera at 285 pounds (fourth).