Moses Lake takes down Davis for victory

MOSES LAKE — The Moses Lake Chiefs wrestling team continued their Columbia Basin Big Nine conference dominance Thursday night when they defeated the Davis Pirates 45-21 at Moses Lake High School.

The Chiefs got off to an early start at 189 pounds when sophomore Brian Chamberlain earned his first victory of the season. Chamberlain gave the Chiefs a 3-0 lead when he defeated Tio Gonzalez of Davis 7-1. Chamberlain’s decision over Gonzalez was Chamberlain's first match of the season.

Moses Lake head coach Jamie Wise said Chamberlain wrestled well for his first match of the season.

“He looked pretty good given his lack of mat-time,” coach Wise said.

Moses Lake continued to roll in the 215-pound weight class when senior Spencer Fackrell gave the Chiefs a 9-0 lead when he pinned Alexis Garcia of Davis in 1:56.

Coach Wise said he knew he would get a solid performance out of his senior.

“We expected that out of Spencer,” he said.

Sophomore Kabe Fluaitt gave the Chiefs a 15-0 lead when he pinned C.J. McCray in 4:48 in the 285-pound weight class.

Fluaitt continued to look to the Moses Lake coaches during the match for advice and coach Wise said it helped Fluaitt earn the victory.

“He ended up making some little adjustments during the match and that was key,” coach Wise said.

With the Chiefs holding a 15-0 lead at home, freshman Hayden Wise stepped on the mat to battle Alexeo Garcia at 103 pounds. Garcia managed to work in on Hayden Wise early in the match, throwing the freshman to his back.

Hayden Wise continued to battle Garcia from his back, determined to deny Garcia the pin.

Hayden Wise succeeded and pushed the match to the second period. The two wrestlers continued to exchange takedowns, reversals and near-fall points as Hayden Wise managed to take a 12-10 lead late in the third period. Hayden Wise kept Garcia on the mat as time expired.

Moses Lake earned the victory and built an 18-0 lead.

Coach Wise said Hayden Wise’s determination helped him earn the victory.

“He got thrown to his back right away,” he said. “He fought through it and hopefully that is a big confidence builder.”

With the Chiefs having won four consecutive matches, the Pirates began a rally of their own at 112 pounds.

The Pirates cut into the Moses Lake lead when Courtney Nally earned a 17-2 technical fall victory over Andrew Valdez to help Davis pull within 18-5.

The Pirates continued their rally at 119 pounds when Jorge Cardenas pinned Omar Suarez in 2:16 as Davis pulled within 18-11.

Davis pulled within four points of Moses Lake when Zach Nally earned a 13-4 major decision over Moses Lake junior David Peralez at 125 pounds. With the win Davis pulled within three points of Moses Lake at 18-15.

The Pirates eventually pulled even with the Chiefs at 18-18  when Nick Saucedo pulled out a 4-2 victory over Moses Lake’s Ricco Moreno at 130 pounds.

After surrendering an 18-point lead to Davis, the Chiefs got back on track at 135 pounds.

With the match tied, Nicco Moreno pinned Davis’ Ray Cardenas in 3:10 to regain the lead for Moses Lake and the Chiefs pulled ahead 24-18.

The Chiefs earned another victory by pin when senior Tyler Vela pinned Kido Espinoza in 3:42. The victory gave Moses Lake a 30-18 lead.

Moses Lake continued their domination of the middle weight classes when senior Thomas Pfieffer pinned Austin Wagner in 1:37 as the Chiefs earned their second 18-point lead of the evening.

With Moses Lake holding the lead, senior transfer and 2008 1A state champion Sammy Villegas stepped on the Moses Lake mat for the first time.

Villegas said he couldn’t help but remember watching the Chiefs wrestling when he was younger.

“I was thinking about all of the matches I watched here as a little kid,” he said. “The fans here are great, they’re loud, It’s awesome.”

The Chiefs took a 42-18 lead when Villegas pinned Tony Yocom in :54.

As the referee’s hand hit the mat to signal Villegas’ victory, the crowd erupted, cheering for Villegas.

“Welcome to Moses Lake wrestling,” Villegas said of the crowd’s response to his victory.

Pfieffer said he was proud to see his team come through with the match on the line.

“It was a barn-burner,” he said. “I was excited to see some pins toward the end so we could put it away.”

Moses Lake continued to add to its lead when Logan Phelps defeated Jorge Alcada 9-2 to give Moses Lake its largest lead of the night at 45-18.

Davis would cut the lead to 45-21 when Dylan Their knocked off Fidel Barajas 4-2 in the final match of the night.

The victory improved the Chiefs to 2-0 in Big Nine conference action and coach Wise was proud of his team’s win, he said.

“That was all right,” he sad. “It was a good night.”