Six Broncos headed to the west side to compete

RITZVILLE — As six Broncos get ready to hop on the bus for Tacoma, coach Jason Hilzer said he’s proud of his team and is looking forward to seeing the brackets that indicate who his folks will be paired up with.  

“It’s been going pretty good. (We’ve been doing) drills, live wrestling and just kind of getting ready to look at the brackets and who they potentially would have to go against,” Hilzer said. 

The hope is that using the bracket info and remembering each opponent’s strengths and weaknesses will help with strategy and preparation prior to each match. Lind/Ritzville-Sprague is bringing two seniors with experience in Carson Kubik and Brock Tracy, who he said have both stepped up as leaders throughout the season. Junior Cooper Ramos has also been to the Mat Classic to compete before. Rhowan Armstrong and Gabriel Muniga have earned a trip to Tacoma in their freshman year, and Hilzer said it will be a good opportunity for them.  

“(Kubik and Tracy have) been leaders all year long,” Hilzer said. “They’ve pushed the younger kids to do the right thing all the time, both of those kids.”  

Tracy has had challenges finding someone to wrestle in his weight class, but Hilzer said the 285-pound wrestler is still prepared and ready to face the challenges that will come up.  

The prep work has intensified a bit as the Mat Classic has drawn closer, but Hilzer said the team has done its homework in the offseason and throughout the year. A football camp last summer in Montana has brought skills over into both the Broncos’ on-the-gridiron successes and on the mats, he said. With the exception of freshman wrestlers Carter Briely and Armstrong, the team has collectively also attended a variety of camps in Coeur d’Alene, Pasco and elsewhere last summer. Briely and Armstrong hadn’t planned to go out for wrestling until just before the season, though, and have had strong showings.  

Hilzer said he is hoping his students can do well at the state meet, but he also wants them to remember to do their best and enjoy the tournament for its own sake.  

“The biggest thing I always tell them is, ‘You get there, wrestle, have fun and let the chips fall where they may, because you never know what’s going to happen at the state tournament,’” he said. 

Broncos Roster 

Boys 

senior Carson Kubik (150)  

senior Brock Tracy (285, first)  

junior Cooper Ramos (120)  

freshman Carter Briely (105) 

freshman Rhowan Armstrong (106) 

freshman Gabriel Mungia (165) 

    LRS senior Brock Tracy, top, pins his opponent at the Bronco Invite in Ritzville in January. Tracy is a two-time state placer, taking fifth in both 2023 and 2024.

    Lind-Ritzville/Sprague’s Brock Tracy, 70, goes in for a tackle against Northwest Christian during a prior football season. LRS wrestling coach Jason Hilzer said Tracy and other members of the wrestling team attended a football leadership camp in Montana last summer that has carried some solid skills over into the wrestling season.
  

    The Broncos Carson Kubik, top, is one of the wrestlers heading to the West Side with experience at the Mat Classic. Coach Jason Hilzer says Kubik and teammate Brock Tracy have both stepped into leadership roles on the LRS team.