Clan travel to Idaho and Washington to compete on the road
By Clay Gray
Men’s wrestling recently hit the road in a tour of the Northwest as they traveled to Couer d’Alene, Idaho for duals against the University of Great Falls and North Idaho College. The Clan’s came up with a win in their first dual of the year as they defeated against the University of Great Falls, 31–17.
SFU got off to a strong start with a decision win from Skylor Davis at 125 lbs followed by a third round pin from Sukhan Chalhal at 133 lbs. the Clan lead 9–0. 141-pounder Dillon Hume lost a highly contested decision in the final second of the third round, 9–3. Senior Alex Stemer got the Clan back on track with a third period technical fall to extend the lead to 14–3. However, SFU would lose the next three weight classes via one pin, one technical fall, and one decision. The slide gave UGF a momentary three-point lead, 17–14. Manvir Sahota put on a true display of technical superiority by tucking his opponent away early in the second period via a technical fall, which thrust SFU back into the lead, 19–17. Ryan Yewchin graced the mats to accept a victory by default and guaranteeing a Clan victory at 197 pounds, 25–17 Clan. The last match of the duel saw freshman heavyweight Sunny Dhinsa secure yet another first round pin; the final score was 31–17.
The second dual of the day gave the Clan their first dual loss of the year. The host school, North Idaho College, defeated SFU 25–15. The Clansmen’s points came from decision victories from Sukhan Chalhal over Blake Adams, Brock Lamb over Connor Pelzel, and Manvir Sahota over Caleb Rivera. The Clan’s only pin came from freshman heavyweight Sunny Dhinsa. The fall was called with 11 seconds left in the second round.
The road trip didn’t end in Idaho, as the Clan rolled into Spokane, Washington looking for matches and medals. The standout performance came from Skylor Davis, who placed third. In Davis’s medal round match he faced off and bested the wrestler responsible for knocking him out of the front side, Aaron LaFarge of Montana State Northern. Brock Lamb, 165 pounds, scrapped his way to the finals with two minor and one major decision. The 285-pound weight class was an all Clan final with showdown between Senior Gurjoot Kooner and Freshman Sunny Dhinsa. The bout ended with Dhinsa getting his hand raised. Head coach Justin Abdou said, “I’m happy with a lot of things we have done, but I am not satisfied. I see a lot of potential in this group.”
