Chiawana never had a Tri-State champ. Josh Alvarez wanted to change that

Chiawana High School crowned its first Tri-State champion Saturday at North Idaho College in Coeur d’Alene.

Josh Alvarez won the 285-pound title with a 3-1 decision over Wyatt Whickham of Central Valley.

The Riverhawks also had two sophomore wrestlers place second, Riley Cissne at 145 and Tyson Stover at 160.

Larry Johnson of Lakeland High School (Idaho) pinned Cissne in 51 seconds, while Stover was pinned by Hunter Cruz of Moses Lake in 1:21.

“It was a great weekend for Chiawana wrestling,” coach Jack Anderson said.

The Riverhawks placed 14th at the 60-team tournament with 106 points. Post Falls (Idaho) won the team title with 220 points. Moses Lake was third (156), while Othello was 19th (84), Hermiston 21st (78) and Kamiakin 31st (51).

Hermiston’s Joey Gutierrez finished second at 195, getting pinned by Hunter Gregerson of University in 2:59.

Kamiakin’s Luke Eskelsen placed fourth at 220, dropping the third-place match to John Keiser of Central Valley, 5-3.

Chris Melo of Othello placed fifth at 106, beating Alex Edelbrute of Lakeland 6-1 in his final match.

Hermiston’s Aiden Villarreal was sixth at 145, losing the fifth-place match to Tanner Russell of Flathead (Mont.) 12-4.

At 285, Isaiah Perez of Othello was sixth, getting pinned by Michael Lee of Flathead in 42 seconds.

Former Kamiakin standout Riley Gurr, now wrestling for Frenchtown, Mont., won the 132-pound title, pinning Tanner Craig of Camas in 50 seconds.

This story was originally published December 17, 2017 at 1:42 PM with the headline "Chiawana never had a Tri-State champ. Josh Alvarez wanted to change that."