Huskies heartbroken by Grandview

Othello drops dual by one point

OTHELLO - The final two bouts of the night proved the most crucial in Othello's 35-34 loss to Grandview Thursday.

Trailing by three points, Othello needed back-to-back wins to seal a victory.

In the 135-pound match Ray Melo of Othello squared off against Dalton Walker of Grandview in a lopsided bout. Melo struck first with a takedown but would not earn another point against Walker to win 8-2 after three rounds.

To tie the match Othello needed a pin in the 140-pound bout between the Huskies' Kevin Smith and Yoni Causor of Grandview. Smith jumped out to a huge lead in the first two rounds with a combined 13 points on two takedowns and three 3-point near falls. With Causor yet to score a point in the match, Smith took the Grandview wrestler down for a 15-0 technical fall and gave Othello 5 team points, instead of the 6 needed for a tie.

"Nobody likes losing," said Othello head coach Ruben Martinez. "But we had them on their backs a few times. We just missed too many opportunities."

The dual was the last time Othello seniors Jack Calvert and Jacob Johnston wrestled for the Huskies. Bidding a farewell to home duals and fans, both wrestlers defeated their respective opponents.

Calvert got the senior sweep started for Othello in the 145-pound bout that began the night. He fell early against Fernando Godinez of Grandview who earned a takedown in the first round. Both wrestlers were held scoreless through the remainder of the first and all of the second round.

Calvert chose the down position in the third round and earned an escape and takedown. With time winding down, Calvert earned a pin with a mere five seconds remaining in the bout.

Johnston did not cut his matchup so close. Facing off against Adrian Jasso of Grandview, Johnston recorded a takedown before sticking Jasso for a pin with 1:05 remaining in the first round.

"We've had a tough year so I'm glad to see us wrestle that well," said Martinez.

Jake Smith of Othello added another win for the Huskies defeating Santos Guillen of Grandview 9-6. Guillen took an early 3-2 lead with a takedown and an escape in the first round. Smith gained the lead in the second round with a reversal and a locking hands penalty against Grandview. Smith continued to press his advantage early in the third round with a 3-point near fall. Guillen tried to regain momentum with an escape and takedown but it was not enough to overcome Smith's lead.

At 112 pounds, Reuben Lopez of Othello took on Erik Dimas of Grandview and won 19-6. Lopez took an early lead with three takedowns and a 2-point near fall in the first round and pressed his advantage with another takedown in the second round. In the final round of the bout, Lopez earned a takedown, a reversal and a 3-point near fall on his way to victory.

Israel Rebuelta of Othello defeated Viano Perez of Grandview 22-8 in the 125-pound bout. Rebuelta took down the Grandview wrestler four times in the first round and added a 2-point near fall to his score before the first two minutes had expired. He continued to pressure Perez with a reversal and 3-point near fall in the second round. The final round of the match was marked with three takedowns and an escape for Rebuelta.

At 130 pounds, Chris Gifford of Othello took on Efren Ramos of Grandview. Ramos earned a 2-0 lead in the first round with a takedown, holding Gifford scoreless for two minutes. Gifford chose to be down in the second round and earned an escape before taking the lead with a takedown. At 3:23, Gifford pinned Ramos.

Tyson Alvarez of Othello was pinned with 55 seconds remaining in the third round of the 152-pound bout against Greg Gonzalez of Grandview. At 160 pounds, Lukas Vetter of Othello was pinned by Sergio Lopez of Grandview at 1:19. Billy Duke of Othello was pinned by Jacob Robillard of Grandview with 49 seconds remaining in the first round of the 171-pound bout. Jusdin Lynch of Othello lost by a technical fall 16-1 against Roy Cantu of Grandview at 189. At 285 pounds, Michael Carmona of Othello lost 8-2 to Joe Rodriguez of Grandview. Nicoh Montemayor of Othello was pinned with 24 seconds remaining in the second round by Silverstre Dimas of Grandview after establishing a 12-0 lead in the first round.