Warden takes care of business

WARDEN — They expect victory and no matter the scenario the Warden Cougars’ wrestling program takes what is there.

Usually, that means a victory.

On Thursday night, despite having already clinched seven wins by forfeit, the Cougars still came to grapple hard and put River View in their rearview mirrors with a 70-10 win.

“We tell the kids that there is a performance level we expect at all time because we are Warden,” Warden coach Rick Bowers said. “When we put that uniform on we have to perform at a high level always. Tonight was a professional job.”

Warden’s wrestlers may have been buoyed by the cushion but they came out firing as Hector Camacho set the tempo with a first-round pin at 145-pounds.

Kenny Sullivan (152-pounds) won by decision, while Adam Hanson (171-pounds) won by major decision, and Dakota Scott (189-pounds) claimed a 2nd-round pin.

“You don’t come into our gym often and win,” Bowers said. “If you do, you are a dang good team. Our job is to perform as a Warden wrestler at all times and especially at home.”

Sam Suarez also claimed a tough third-round pin against some stiff competition at the 140-pound class.

“Sam beat him by a couple points on Saturday,” Bowers said. “But the kid is a heavily muscled guy and those guys run out of fuel due to having to keep that body powered. It takes more energy. We’ll go all day if we have to.”

The win was nothing new at Warden, who has lost only five times in 30 years.

Even though many wrestlers didn’t hit the mat the time was valuable for those who did.

“We had practice before so we had a good work put in tonight,” Bowers said. “I also schedule a lot more matches than they can perform in, so it gives some guys a chance to rest.”

Ellensburg 45, Ephrata 22

EPHRATA — Ellensburg came to wrestle and the Ephrata Tigers fell short in a 45-22 home loss last night.

The Tigers received wins from Benny Carter (112-pounds) in a 9-6 win, Kurt Nygard (145-pounds) who recorded a 13-0 major decision, Preston Hendrickson’s (152-pounds) 6-5 win, Robert Motzkus (160-pounds) who earned a 3rd-round pin, and Chris Davidson (171-pounds) who registered a 1st-round pin.

“They are a tough team and we weren’t hitting on all cylinders,” Tigers coach P.J. Anderson said. “We could have performed a lot better. We didn’t quite get to our handles like we were hoping to. It was hit and miss. We had some guys really hit hard and commit to things. Its a frame of mind and some kids went out not trying to lose instead of wrestling aggressively.”

Othello 34, Toppenish 32

OTHELLO — A narrow Central Washington Athletic Conference (CWAC) win fell on Othello as the Huskies held on for a narrow 34-32 victory Thursday night.

Lucas Garza (112-pounds, 7-6 win), Eduardo Montes (135-pounds, 1st-round pin), Eric Garza (140-pounds, 2nd-round pin), Reuben Lopez (145-pounds, 2nd-round pin), Eddie Garza (160-pounds, 8-2 win), Amando DeLeon (171-pounds, 7-2 win), Daniel Walker (189-pounds, 9-7 win), and

Joey Gomez (215-pounds, 15-4 win), all scored points for the Huskies who opened up their CWAC slate with a win over Toppenish.

East Valley 39, Quincy 28

YAKIMA — They may have outwrestled hosts East Valley in total, but the Quincy Jacks couldn’t nail down the big wins and fell 39-28 in Yakima on Thursday.

“We won seven of the 13 matches wrestled, we just didnt get enough pins,” Quincy coach Greg Martinez said. “But I saw some good wrestling on the basics we’ve been working on. We’re moving in the right direction.”

East Valley won five matches by pin and one forfeit while Quincy recorded five decision victories and two sole pins.

Those wins were recorded by, Hector Avalos (112-pounds) by 10-0 major decision, Uriel Heras (119-pounds) in a 11-5 decision, Johnny Navarro (130-pounds) with a 12-6 decision, Gabe Herrera’s (140-pounds) 5-4 decision, Ben Horning (152-pounds) with a 3rd-round pin, Breck Webley (171-pounds) with a 1st-round pin, and Baldo Valdovinos (189-pounds) pulling out a13-11 decision.