Warden takes wrestling crown

WARDEN — The Columbia Basin schools dominated the South Central Athletic Conference district wrestling tournament in Warden over the weekend when the Cougars and the Royal Knights wrestled to a one-two finish.

The Cougars controlled the tournament from the beginning, claiming six individual champions and sending 20 wrestlers to the regional championship in Connell. Warden more than doubled-up second-place Royal over the weekend, amassing 402 team points on their way to the tournament title.

The Knights grabbed 191.5 team points to slide past the Connell Golden Eagles (189 team points) for the second-place finish.

Warden’s first champion came at 103 pounds when J.P. Martinez won the title with a victory over Freddy Herrer of Connell. Warden had another regional qualifier at 103 pounds when Javier Tapia finished in fourth place.

While the Cougars claimed the first champion of the final round, the Knights claimed the second champion at 112 pounds when Danny Barajas defeated Warden’s Carlos Gomez. Royal’s victory in the 112-pound weight class was the first of their two championship performances.

The Cougars got back on track in the 119-pound final when Franky Jiminez defeated Matt McCallum of Kiona-Benton for the district championship.

Warden did not have another district champion until Robert Pruneda claimed the 135-pound title with a win over Scott Sullivan of River View.

Although the Cougars did not win championships at either 125 pounds or 130 pounds, Warden had runners-up in each of those weight classes. Jesse Guerra finished second at 125 pounds and Chris Kalous finished second at 130 pounds.

Pruneda was not the only Cougars wrestler to advance at 135 pounds, Sam Saurez qualified when he finished fourth in the weight class.

The Cougars had another finalist at 140 pounds in Lupe Landeros. Landeros was unable to give the Cougars another champion when he fell to Harris Garcia of Connell.

Neither the Cougars nor the Knights sent wrestlers to the finals at 145 pounds, but Royal sent one to the mat at 152 pounds. Royal’s Dallas White faced Chris Howell of Kiona-Benton for the title at 152 pounds, but Howell proved to be too much for White Saturday night.

The Knights and the Cougars squared off in the 160-pound final when Angela Ledezma of Royal began his final quest for an elusive state championship.

Ledezma has qualified for each of the past three Mat Classic state tournaments, falling in the championship match each time. In his three years wrestling for Royal, Ledezma has three second-place finishes at the Tacoma Dome.

Ledezma began his final opportunity for the 1A state crown Saturday when he defeated Warden’s Jose Gonzalez for the 160-pound title.

Warden’s next champion came at 171 pounds when Dakota Scott knocked off Garrett Whitney of Connell for the district title. Scott’s victory at 171 pounds began a stretch where Warden won championships in three of the final four weight classes.

Isaac Deleon won the 189-pound championship over Enrique Barajas of Wahluke to give the Cougars back-to-back champions at 171 and 189 pounds.

Warden’s final champion came at 285 pounds when Tony Martinez defeated fellow Cougars wrestler and teammate Gerino Luna in the championship.

Warden

Regional Qualifiers

• 103) J.P. Martinez - First
• 103) Javier Tapia - Fourth
• 112) Carlos Gomez - Second
• 119) Franky Jiminez - First
• 119) Jonny Guerra - Third
• 125) Jesse Guerra - Second
• 130) Chris Kalous - Second
• 130) Scott Henderson - Fourth
• 135) Robert Pruneda - First
• 135) Sam Suarez - Fourth
• 140) Lupe Landeros - Second
• 140) Kameron Tamayo - Fourth
• 145) Kenny Sullivan - Fourth
• 160) Jose Gonzalez - Second
• 171) Dakota Scott - First
• 189) Isaac Deleon - First
• 189) Bernie Garza - Fourth
• 215) Matt Deleon - Fourth
• 285) Tony Martinez - First
• 285) Gerino Luna - Second

Royal

Regional Qualifiers

• 112) Danny Barajas - First
• 119) Hank Willis - Fourth
• 130) Chencho Lopez - Third
• 140) Omar Gomez - Third
• 152) Dallas White - Second
• 160) Angel Ledezma - First
• 171) Kody Eilers - Third
• 189) Jake Thomas - Third
• 215) Justin Kincade - Second
• 215) Edwin Barajas - Third
• 285) Jake Bartlett - Fourth