District champs, again

EAST WENATCHEE — What started out as an uphill battle, finished with Moses Lake looking down on the rest of the competition.

The Chiefs were awarded seven bye's in the first round, which helped moved wrestlers farther in the brackets, but did so without any team points. Moses Lake head coach Nathan Stanley said the number of wrestlers the Chiefs brought into the tournament also put Moses Lake at a disadvantage.

"We thought it was going to be an uphill battle," Stanley said. "… with as many bye's as we had and a few second round upsets, (it) really robbed a lot of points from us."

Moses Lake finished the tournament in first with 293.5 team points, Pasco finished second with 248 points. Eastmont, who won league, finished third with 204, followed by Southridge (158.5), Walla Walla (135), Richland (132), Wenatchee (114.5), Kamiakin (104.5), Eisenhower (101.5), Kennewick (80.5) and Davis (80).

Pasco and Eastmont took advantage of Moses Lake's near absence in the first round, building a lead over Moses Lake through Friday and the first round of Saturday, but soon fell behind after the semifinal round.

The Chiefs sent 15 wrestlers into the semifinals and qualified 10 for the regional tournament next Friday at University High School.

"Where we won the tournament was in the semifinals," Stanley added. "That was a testament to their determination and hard work."

Missing from Moses Lake was Anthony Vela, who was ineligible for the district tournament, ending his run for a third straight state title.

Sean Hoiness was the lone Chief district champion out of six who wrestled in the finals. Hoiness defeated Moses Lake's Jordan Hill midway through the second period with a head and arm pin.

Thomas Courtright just missed the tournament with his fifth-place finish. Courtright battled through the 145-pound weight class with a sinus infection that started to plague him in his consolation quarterfinal match against Bobby Everson of Pasco.

Courtright came away with an 8-3 win over Everson, but started reaching for his head during the second period.

During Courtright's semifinal match, Southridge's Ben Buccarelli built a 3-0 lead after two periods. Courtright scored a takedown in the third, followed by a Buccarelli escape that led to an injury timeout by Courtright.

Buccarelli won the match 4-3, eliminating Courtright from the regional tournament.

"Any sort of contact to his head felt like he was taking a knockout punch," Stanley said. "When he would hit his head on the mat, he said he was blacking out."

"It would have been nice for him to go on to regionals, but he was so sick, that it took all that he had to compete here this weekend," Stanley added.

Along with Hoiness at 125 pounds, Moses Lake will send Roberto Cruz (103), Joe Vela (112), Jordan Hill (125), Cody Hoiness (130), Ty Payne (152), A.J. Harra (160), Nick Lane (160), John Fackrell (171) and Brett Frederickson (215).

After finishing second during the regular season, Stanley brought Moses Lake back for a district title and qualified more wrestlers for regionals than any other Big Nine team. Pasco came the closest with nine wrestlers heading to University High School.

"The coaches coach and the wrestlers wrestle and no matter how hard we coach, the kids have to get it done on the mat," Stanley said. "They did a really good job this year and it is not over."

Individual results from the Big Nine district tournament:

103 - first place: J. Martinez (P) def. Carbajal (D); third place: Carpenter (R) def. Cruz (ML). 112 - first place: Yniguez (P) def. Robbins (EAST); third place: Vela (ML) def. Cowin (S). 119 - first place: Iniquez (W) def. Schadler (P); third place: Mendez (P) def. Sanchez (D). 125 - first place: Hoiness (ML) def. Hill (ML); third place: Tally (Ka) def. Williams (Kn). 130 - first place: Whitley (W) def. Hoiness (ML); third place: Garcia (EISN) def. Alexander (R). 135 - first place: Marlowe (Kn) def. Springer (S); third place: Medrano (EAST) def. Robles (S). 140 - first place: Ramos (EISN) def. Remer (Ka); third place: Sharp (R) def. Sligar (S). 145 - first place: Anderson (Ka) def. Heffner (EAST); third place: Buccarelli (S) def. Tate (S). 152 - first place: Butenhoff (WW) def. Payne (ML); third place: Vanhorn (EAST) def. Jackson (P). 160 - first place: Varner (W) def. Hara (ML); third place: Gutzwiler (EAST) def. Lane (ML). 171 - first place: Martinez (P) def. Gerken (Ka); third place: Fackrell (ML) def. Small (WW). 189 - first place: White (S) def. Kimball (EAST); third place: Daggett (WW) def. Urlacher (P). 215 - first place: Wamsher (EAST) def. Frederickson (ML); third place: Miles (P) def. Puzycki (Ka). 275 - first place: Rodriguez (WW) def. Guzman (P); third place: Biddle (R) def. Henle (EAST).