Basin wrestlers show grit at Dream Duals

SPOKANE VALLEY - Five Columbia Basin wrestling teams participated in the prestigious Dream Duals event on Saturday.

Moses Lake, Othello and Royal, as well as boys and girls squads from Warden, made the trek to East Valley High School for the annual event that pits top programs from each classification head to head in a format that differs greatly from February's Mat Classic state tournament.

All five programs won at least one dual, with Royal's and Warden's boys finishing second and third, respectively, in the 1A standings, Moses Lake placing second among 4A schools and Warden taking second in the girls' competition. Othello finished 1-2, third among 2A schools.

Moses Lake won two of its three matchups, losing only to state powerhouse Lake Stevens - a program that hasn't lost a dual match since 1993.

The Chiefs opened the day with a 35-26 win over Rogers-Puyallup. Moses Lake earned decisions in eight of their nine wins, with 125-pounder Tyler Vela getting the only pin.

Derrick Johnson (103) was an 8-3 winner and Andrew Valdez (112) earned a 15-2 major decision. David Peralez (119) won by forfeit, while 130-pounder Gabe Guzman got a 9-2 win.

Cody Hoiness (140) eked out an 8-6 decision, with Brian Chamberlain (171) blanking his man 4-0. Spencer Fackrell (189) was a 12-4 winner and Tad Harman (285) won 8-6.

The Chiefs followed that with a 49-16 victory over Columbia Basin League rival Pasco, Moses Lake's second dual victory over the Bulldogs this season.

Moses Lake went on a tear between 135 and 145, with Cameron Chlarson, Hoiness and Thomas Pfeiffer all winning by pin. Harman did likewise at 285, as did Johnson at 103 and Josh Nielsen at 160.

Peralez (119) was a 12-6 victor, Parker Byington (152) won 8-0, and Chamberlain (171) won 4-1.

The wins over Rogers and Pasco moved the Chiefs into the title match with Lake Stevens, which wound up taking a hard-fought 30-25 win.

The Vikings took four consecutive wins between 103 and 125, with Johnson (103) losing 15-0, Valdez (112) getting pinned, Peralez (119) falling 4-0 and Vela (125) falling 9-4.

Moses Lake's victories came from Guzman (9-1 at 130), Hoiness (pin at 140), Nielsen (4-3 at 160), Chamberlain (17-4 at 171) and Fackrell (12-2 at 189).

Chlarson lost a 17-8 decision at 135, John Silva (145) was beaten 14-1, and Byington (152) fell 12-7. Levi Walpole was a 6-1 victim at 215, while Harman lost his heavyweight battle 5-2.

For the second time this season, the Royal Knights were bested by fellow 1A power Lakeside-Nine Mile Falls. The teams met in the title match on Saturday, with the Eagles winning 48-26.

Seven of Lakeside's nine wins came via pin. Royal did have three straight wins at one point, with 145-pounder Sam Villegas pinning Kody Little at 1:03, 152-pounder Angel Ledezma pinning Tim Irish in 53 seconds, and 160-pounder Mitch Christensen pinned Alex Lazott at 1:40.

Omar Avelar (130) gutted out a 14-13 decision over Bryan Baumgarden, while Hernan Cortez (112) stopped Ryan Norstadt 14-6 for Royal's other wins.

But the Eagles took charge at the upper weights - their biggest strength. Royal's Jake Thomas (171) lost by pin in 41 seconds to Wes McAdam, Hector Ledezma (189) was pinned by Reid Chivers at 3:53, T.J. Hunt (215) fell 11-5 to Dustin Baldwin, and Edgar Montoya (285) was blanked 3-0 by Ben Fuson.

The Knights, however, were sharp in a 64-8 mauling of the Vashon Island Pirates and a 43-24 win over the Castle Rock Rockets.

Against Vashon, Cortez (112) got a 7-0 win over Eddie Protzeller. Juan Esquivel (119) pinned Sylvie Shiosaki in 46 seconds, while Chencho Lopez (125) and Kris Rice (130) both won by forfeit.

At 140, Luke Tonnemaker beat Quin Patrick 15-6. Villegas (145) steamrolled Alex Steamboat 8-1, while Angel Ledezma (152) and Mitch Christensen (160) both won by forfeit.

Thomas (171) downed "Air Guitar" Salazar with a 67-second pin, Hector Ledezma (189) pinned Kyle Martin at 3:00, Hunt (215) pinned Geran Webb at 4:53, and Montoya (285) defeated Timmy Jovanovich 11-6.

Royal's winners against Castle Rock included Esquivel (119), who pinned Blake Adams; Avelar (130), 17-7 over Jon Roden; Tonnemaker (140), 10-9 over Kody Lindeman; Villegas (145), a winner by pin; Angel Ledezma (152), a 10-1 victor over Mitch Grendahl; Mitch Christensen (160), who pinned Jon Byerly; Hector Ledezma (189), 11-1 over Dane Williams; Hunt (215), pin over Chase Alderman; and Montoya (285), 13-3 over Beau Radach.

The Warden Cougars dominated the middle and upper weights to gain a 39-24 win over Castle Rock for third place.

Josh Reyes (130) started a four-match win streak for the Cougars by beating Jon Roden 19-10. Robert Pruneda (135) pinned Cody Martin at 1 minute, 20 seconds, Chris Kalous (140) hammered Jay Daggy 13-0, and Lupe Landeros (145) took a forfeit win.

Arturo Martinez (160) buried Jon Byerly 11-2. Isaac DeLeon (189) handled Dane Williams 5-2, Joey Massa (215) pinned Chase Alderman at 3:50, and Tony Martinez (285) took just 28 seconds to pin Beau Radach.

Warden also battered the Tonasket Tigers 48-21, winning nine of the 13 contested weights.

Jonny Guerra (112), Franky Jimenez (119) and Jesse Guerra (125) had an impressive streak, winning three straight for Warden via first-period pins. Carlos Gomez (103) earned an 8-5 decision.

At 130, Reyes won 11-6. Landeros (140) pinned his man at 3:40 and Scott Phillips (160) got a pin at 2:50. DeLeon (189) pinned his man at 1:31 and Massa (215) won by forfeit.

The Cougars' first match on Saturday ended with a 48-24 loss to Lakeside. The Eagles took seven matches by pin and went on for a 48-24 win.

Warden's winners included Pruneda (130), a 7-2 victor over Bryan Baumgarden; Kalous (135), who pinned Tyler Labelle at 1:28; Kevin Tursio (145), a winner by pin over Kody Little at 2:53; Arturo Martinez (152), winner by decision against Tim Irish; and Phillips (160), who pinned Alex Lazott at 5:28.

Warden's girls earned victories over Kelso and Mary Walker but fell 42-12 to eventual champion Mount Baker.

Chelsea Dinsmoor (119) and Sandra Castoreno (125) highlighted the Lady Cougars' afternoon. Dinsmoor went 3-0, pinning two opponents and outscoring another 12-4. Castoreno was also 3-0, pinning two opponents and winning her third match 14-10.

The Othello Huskies forfeited their match with 2A champion Riverside, and split decisions with the Steilacoom Sentinels and Tumwater Thunderbirds.

Against Steilacoom, the Huskies came out with a 48-28 victory that included four pins. Michael Carmona (285) pinned Ryan Zboralski at 3:18, with Amando DeLeon (145) doing the same to Adam Rose in 36 seconds, Nicoh Montemayor (125) ousting Matt Trinkle at 2:29 and Jake Smith (112) taking just 22 seconds to beat Ryan Taylor.

Othello's other wins came from Chris Gifford (135), 8-6 over Darrin Humphrey, and Jusdin Lynch (189), 10-4 over Jake McCane. Colten Rodriguez (103), Reuben Lopez (130) and Eddie Garza (140) all won by forfeit.

Against Tumwater, the Huskies also earned four wins with pins. Carmona (285) downed Alex Anderson in 24 seconds, Lopez (130) took out Destry Higa at 1:18, Montemayor (125) beat Nico Costa at 1:40, and Matt Jordan (119) bettered Colton Weiks at 3:07.

Smith (112) was a 16-0 technical fall winner over Aaron Mihalyi, while DeLeon (145) picked up a 12-4 technical fall against Thomas Benson.