Quincy outlasts Ephrata in CWAC wrestling rivalry
Prep sports recaps
QUINCY - Trailing 30-22 going into the final two matches, the Quincy Jackrabbits needed a little thunder on Tuesday night.
They got it in the form of two pins, rallying to defeat Central Washington Athletic Conference rival Ephrata 34-30.
The Jacks' 215-pounder, Michael Reyes, brought his team within two points with a pin of Deion Ducksworth at 3 minutes. Max Melburn put Quincy over the top, pinning Anthony Johnson at 5:24.
In spite of the comeback win, Quincy head coach Manuel Ybarra wasn't particularly pleased with what he saw.
"We just wanted to out-wrestle them, but I don't know if that happened," Ybarra said. "I don't think we wrestled very well tonight.
"We just need to be more aggressive," he added.
The younger Tigers began the match with three consecutive victories, bolting to an 11-0 lead. Seth Kulakoski knocked off Johnny Navarro at 103 pounds, 23-10. Anthony Bush defeated Tony Lee 5-1 at 112 pounds, and 119-pounder Brenton Beard beat Carlos Magana 10-2.
The Jacks regained their poise after that. Armando Herrera (125) beat Brandon Butcher 14-7 and Manny Ybarra (130) got a 15-7 major decision over Mitchell Friend.
The teams split the next four matches. Ephrata's Kurt Nygard (135) earned a 10-2 major decision over Ben Horning, while Quincy's Dan Somers (140) took out Quinton Hendrickson 3-1. Ephrata's Tyson Hubbard (145) pinned Ronald Sorto at 1:58, and the Jacks' 152-pounder, Colby Melburn, pinned Erich Sonnabend at 1:40.
Breck Webley (160) inched Quincy back in front with a pin of Chris Davidson at 1:55, but the Tigers got their eight-point margin as Robert Motzkus (171) pinned Baldo Valdivinos at 5:47 and Brady Beard (189) defeated Marcus Medina 7-2.
Despite the loss, Tigers head coach P.J. Anderson had a lot of positives to take home.
"We fought hard. This is our big rival. We geared up for it," Anderson said. "We just had some of their older kids matched up against some of our younger kids, and they got some pins where they needed them."
Lakeside 48, Royal 20
ROYAL CITY - The Knights and the visiting Eagles from Nine Mile Falls are probably two of the favorites to contend for the 1A state title, and Lakeside got the best of what figures to be the first of multiple meetings.
The Eagles took immediate control of the match by winning six straight matches for a 32-0 lead. Mike Baumgarden (103) pinned Royal's Hank Ellis at 2:42, Ryan Norstadt (112) won by forfeit and Jacob Lauderdale (119) pinned Pedro Lopez at 1:30.
Lakeside continued to dominate as Josh Lauderdale (125) got a 9-0 major decision over Travis Villegas, Bryan Baumgarden (130) beat Kris Rice 14-0, and Kyle Johnson (135) pinned Chencho Lopez at 1:26.
The Knights won the next four matches to salvage some pride. Luke Tonnemaker (140) dropped Ryan England 12-7, Sam Villegas (145) pinned Cody Little in 43 seconds, Angel Ledezma (152) picked up a 17-2 technical fall over Tim Irish, and Mitch Christensen (160) pinned Alex Lazott at 2:41.
Royal got no closer as Wes McAdam (171) got a forfeit victory for Lakeside. The Eagles have the state's top-ranked wrestlers at 189 and 215, and they both won as Reid Chivers beat Hector Ledezma 6-3 and Dustin Baldwin took out T.J. Hunt 12-4.
Lakeside's heavyweight, Ben Fusan, ended the night with a 5-1 win over Edgar Montoya.
Royal was missing a couple regulars due to injury, leading Knights head coach Ben Orth to keep things in perspective.
"It was a tough dual in the sense that they're a great team," Orth said. "I wasn't really mad at ourselves because they were just better."
The teams will likely square off again at the Jan. 19 Dream Duals in Spokane, and some individual match-ups could also be in store next month at the state tournament.
Royal's next test comes on Thursday when it travels to Connell at 7 p.m.
Bowling
Moses Lake d. Kennewick
MOSES LAKE - Tuesday's Central Washington League match with the Kennewick Lions was supposed to be a challenge for the Moses Lake girls bowling team.
Instead, the undefeated Chiefs turned the showdown into a laugher.
Moses Lake swept both ends of the scratch series and Baker series at Lake Bowl, improving to 15-0 in league play with a total pin tally of 2,322. Kennewick, which was leading the league's 2A/3A division, finished at 1,895.
"The girls bowled really well," Chiefs head coach Billy Brice said. "They came out really hot."
Moses Lake took control with a 971-798 victory to open the scratch series. Michelle Reynolds bowled six consecutive strikes to open the match en route to a 257 game. Virginia Valdez finished at 212, followed by Sandy Smith (184), Shanice Brice (173) and Amanda Strezlczyk (145).
But the Chiefs weren't done. In game two, they shattered their previous season-high for a scratch game, winning 1,007-809. Reynolds bowled a 265, which set the team's individual high for a scratch game.
"Michelle Reynolds, in that 265 game, strung eight in a row with no open (frames), which is very nice," coach Brice said.
Moses Lake ended the day with a pair of Baker game victories, winning 201-155 and inserting junior varsity players for a 143-133 triumph.
The Chiefs bowl their second-to-last regular-season match on Thursday at Pasco, a 3:30 p.m. start.
"We're looking forward to districts now because we're locked into going," coach Brice said.
Girls basketball
Royal 53, Warden 39
WARDEN - A big run over the final 11 minutes gave the Lady Knights a victory over the Lady Cougars in South Central Athletic Conference East Division action.
With three minutes remaining in the third quarter, the Cougars led by a point, but it was all Knights after that.
"We got control of it and just that fast, it slipped away again," Warden head coach Todd Kisler said.
Royal's Danni Callahan and Warden's Brandi Kisler shared game-high honors with 13 points apiece. Royal also got 11 points from Leslie Brown and nine points apiece from Tawnee Gonzales and Kelcy Jansen. Warden's Cassandra Kisler chipped in 11 points and Kelsey Garner added eight.
On Friday at 6 p.m., the Knights (2-2 East) host the Wahluke Warriors, while the Cougars (1-2 East) hit the road to take on the Kiona-Benton Bears.
Almira/Coulee-Hartline 44, Valley Christian 39
HARTLINE - The Lady Warriors overcame a two-point deficit entering the fourth period to beat the visiting Panthers in Bi-County League play.
ACH (8-5 overall, 3-4 league) got a balanced offensive attack in the victory. Nikki Osborne led the way with 14 points, Megan Osborne added 10, Sarah Gloyn had eight and Alyssa Bodeau had seven.
ACH hits the road on Friday, taking on the Wilbur-Creston Wildcats at 6 p.m.
Northwest Christian 42, Lind-Ritzville 16
SPOKANE - The showdown for first place in the Bi-County League turned into a letdown for the Lady Broncos.
Lind-Ritzville struggled all evening on offense, managing no more than five points in any quarter as the Lady Crusaders improved to 9-3 overall, 8-0 in league. The Broncos fell to 9-3, 6-2.
Laura Cain was Lind-Ritzville's leading scorer with seven points. Northwest Christian, which had a 14-3 lead after one quarter and a 36-12 lead after three, had two players in double figures.
The Lady Broncos return to the court on Friday, traveling to Odessa at 6 p.m.
Boys basketball
Almira/Coulee-Hartline 59, Valley Christian 46
HARTLINE - The Warriors took charge of a close game after one quarter to win their second Bi-County League game of the season.
ACH (3-9 overall, 2-6 league) got 26 points from Kyle Tucker and outscored the Panthers 37-18 in the second and third quarters.
Garrett Jess had 12 points and Brandon Boutain added nine for the Warriors.
ACH travels to Wilbur-Creston on Friday for a 7:30 p.m. tip-off.
Northwest Christian 68, Lind-Ritzville 38
SPOKANE - Like their female counterparts, the Crusaders' and Broncos' boys squared off Tuesday night with the Bi-County League lead on the line.
Northwest Christian set the pace from the opening tip, going up 21-11 after one period and blowing the game open with a 36-17 surge in the second half.
The Broncos got strong games in defeat from Cory Whitmore, who scored 15 points, and Jamie Stevenson, who added 11.
Lind-Ritzville (10-2 overall, 6-2 league) slipped into third place in the league standings, two games back of Northwest Christian and one back of Reardan.
The Broncos play at Odessa on Friday at 7:30 p.m.