Warden whips Kiona-Benton on SCAC mats

WARDEN - Even head coach Rick Bowers will tell you his wrestling team isn't what it used to be.

But after you win four consecutive state championships, you've got no place to go but down.

The Warden Cougars are less than three years removed from their last 1A state crown, and Bowers, in his 32nd year as head coach, said they don't stand much chance of winning one this season. But the Cougars are still a proud, hard-working program, and with a wealth of talented sophomores and juniors on this year's team, don't count them out of title contention in the near future.

"We're young and we've got a ways to go still, but there's a lot of good things happening," Bowers said. "We're not the dominant force we have been, but we're a good program."

Warden began its South Central Athletic Conference East Division schedule on Thursday night, beating the visiting Kiona-Benton Bears 57-19. It was a good dual meet on many levels, not the least being three of the team's four returning state medalists winning their bouts.

With Warden leading 12-6 after a pair of forfeit victories, 112-pounder Frank Jimenez got the Cougars on the board for real. The runner-up at 103 pounds last year, Jimenez had no trouble with Ki-Be's Isais Fabias, winning by pin at 46 seconds.

Two matches later, 125-pounder Jesse Guerra also earned a nice win. Guerra has moved up two weight classes this winter following an eighth-place finish at state, and he pinned Garrett Parsons at 3 minutes, 50 seconds.

Guerra had a chance for a first-period pin, holding Parsons in a near fall position for the final 30 seconds. He was interrupted by the horn, but got Parsons in another bad spot midway through the second and finished it off.

"He was out of position. Instead of being chest to chest, he was hip to chest," Bowers said of Guerra's match. "When there was that timeout, that's what I told him, and then he adjusted and he got the pin. That's smart wrestling."

Warden's 160-pounder, senior Scott Phillips, grabbed an early lead on Mike Salyers and earned the pin with a quick move 22 seconds into the second period. Phillips is another of the Cougars' returning Mat Classic medalists, having placed fourth as a junior.

Robert Pruneda, a returning medalist at 130 pounds, wasn't as fortunate. He was the victim of an early takedown and near fall against Troy Cunningham, and though Pruneda rallied a bit, he wound up on the short end of a 6-2 decision.

Another key for Warden's success could be 152-pounder Arturo Martinez, who knocked off Devon Hudspeth 5-0.

"Today was the first time he could get to weight," Bowers said of Martinez. "He looked solid."

Kameron Tamayo, filling the 140-pound spot in place of regular starter Lupe Landeros, lost a 13-4 decision to Jesse Henderson, but wrestled well in his coach's mind.

"We put some young kids in tonight because we've got Newport (tonight) and a tournament on Saturday," Bowers said. "I'm trying to hold a few (starters) out each night."

"Right now everybody's healthy and we're doing fine," he added. "We're just gaining experience and learning as we go. That's our goal, is just to get a little better each week."

Other Warden winners included 135-pounder Chris Kalous, who pinned Sheridan McDonald in 60 seconds; 145-pounder Kevin Tursio, winner by pin at 58 seconds against Clay Wilcox; and 171-pounder Jose Gonsales, winner by pin at 1:17 against Antonio Lopez.

Isaac DeLeon (189), Tony Martinez (285) and Carlos Gomez (103) all won by forfeit for the Cougars.

Ki-Be's Travis Roos pinned Jonny Guerra in the 119-pound match at the 40-second mark, and the Bears' other win came from 215-pounder Britt Samsel, who pinned Ivan Cuevas at 3:37.

Bowers thinks it a bit beyond his relatively young squad to outmatch some of the state's powerhouse squads, but a good finish at Mat Classic XX shouldn't be.

"My goal is to be on the board at state and have a shot," he said. "I mean, we're not going to win it. That's not a realistic goal for us now. But top four could be."

It certainly helps to wrestle in the same league as two-time defending champion Royal, which has helped make the SCAC East a perennial force.

"We won it four in a row, five out of seven, and now they've stepped up," Bowers said. "You know you better be able to compete, because if you don't you're going to get your head kicked in."