The Norm Friehauf Clark County Championships came down to the final matches Friday and Saturday, Jan. 17-18, with Prairie narrowly topping Ridgefield in a tight team race. Prairie finished first with 210 points, just ahead of Ridgefield’s 208, in a tournament that swung back and forth throughout the finals.
Prairie takes first by two team points
Prairie leaned on depth and consistency to pull ahead late, highlighted by senior Tommy Vick’s championship at 138 pounds and a runner-up finish from Remington Hewes at 126. Head coach Rob Smith said the title reflected months of work rather than a single moment.
“It's definitely a team effort today. We won the matches that we needed to win. We struggled through some matches. We battled back. It's the kids who just put in a ton of hard work. I run them through the grindstone every day, and they accept the challenge and they just work hard and they earned this,” he said.
Smith, who has coached at Prairie for more than two decades, said this group separated itself with its mindset when matches tightened.
“We've come close before, but this group I have right now is just a different breed and there's no quitting them. There's no stop, and they're just going to continue to fight every single day, and they deserve this,” Smith said.
Prairie’s win was not something Smith assumed going in, especially with several established programs in the field.
“My mind is just blown right now at the fact that we actually pulled it off and won it … I know Camas and Union and Ridgefield … they're solid programs,” Smith said.
DesRochers brothers deliver titles as Ridgefield takes second
Ridgefield stayed in contention until the final rounds behind championship performances from Mason DesRochers at 144, Jonas DesRochers at 132 and Lance Draper at 150. The DesRochers twins, both ranked near the top of their respective weight classes, capped another strong showing after transferring back to Ridgefield from Skyview.
The twins attended Ridgefield K-8, transferring to Skyview for the past two wrestling seasons.
“When we were going into high school, they didn’t have a wrestling room; we were rolling out mats in the cafeteria and we just didn’t think that’d be good, so we went to Skyview,” Mason explained. “When the transfer rules changed … and I had a bunch of friends from Skyview graduate. We just wanted to come back and graduate with our friends, (being) with the people we grew up with.”
Both brothers took titles at the Pac Coast Tournament in December, where they helped Ridgefield place second as a team.
Mason said tougher matchups earlier in the season helped sharpen his approach heading into the postseason.
“I’m undefeated so far … I feel like I’m wrestling pretty good, I thought I beat some tough kids pretty handily,” Jonas added. “Haven’t lost yet so it’s going good.”
Jonas and Mason’s goal is to take State and remain undefeated.
