Moses Lake heads Big 9 class again

WENATCHEE — They have been known as a leader of the Big 9 wrestling pack for years.

Moses Lake High School would cement that legacy with their third straight district title this weekend as the Chiefs outdistanced the hosts while sending 12 wrestlers through to Saturday’s regional competition in Richland.

“It was a pretty good weekend,” Moses Lake head coach Jamie Wise said. “I always want everybody to do better and go on and I feel bad for those who were close and couldn’t move on. But I am proud of the kids who stepped up and did well. Wenatchee hung with us and hung with us, until we pushed more into the finals.”

Moses Lake also has two alternates on record.

Ten wrestlers broke through to the semifinals, eight made their respective championship match, and five ultimately topped their weight class as Moses Lake finished with 316.5 points to beat out Wenatchee’s 277.

The host Panthers managed to get five wrestlers through to finals as the Chiefs broke away from what was a tight race - three-point margin - heading into semifinal action.

The top five wrestlers in each weight class advance to regionals.

Beau Gleed won the 103-pound class by virtue of a injury-defeat of Richland’s Josh Andrews, and David Peralez defeated Eastmont’s Josh Alverez 7-0 in the 125-pound final.

“David Peralez really set the tone,” Wise said. “He hammered Alverez who’s a tough wrestler. It was an action-packed match and David tore him up. It was fun to watch. I bet Alverez is sore this morning.”

Peralez scored two pin wins and a majority decision leading up to the final.

Gleed started his run with two pins and then registered a dominating 10-0 win in the semifinals.

One surprising result was not that Nico Moreno won the 140-pound title over Wenatchee’s Hilario Farias, but in the fashion he did so, winning 15-2.

“Hilario is so hard to score on because of the way he wrestles,” Wise said. “Nico took his gas tank away and is a better scrambler. He outscrambled him and he pushed the pace to make sure he could catch him and get him fatigued a little bit. His ability to make the best out of so many scramble positions is amazing.”

Moreno had two pins and a 20-5 technical fall win in the semifinals before locking horns with Farias.

Moses Lake wrapped up their titles with Brian Chamberlain defeating Lucas Selby of Wenatchee, 9-5, at 215-pounds and Kabe Fluaitt’s domination of Damian Adams of Pasco - pinning him in 22 seconds to claim the heavyweight crown.

Chamberlain recorded three quick pin wins en route to the final.

Fluaitt’s run to his championship was even more dominating.

The junior recorded pins in all four wins and he spent just over a total of three minutes on the mat the entire weekend.

Andrew Valdez (119-pounds), Jordan Bishop (135-pounds), and Chris Lacelle (160-pounds) fell in their weight class finals.

Logan Phelps (third at 171-pounds), Ricco Moreno (fourth at 140-pounds), and Omar Suarez (fifth at 119-pounds) also qualified for regionals.

One of the more dramatic moments came when Wise’s sophomore son Hayden pulled off two big wins in the 112-pound bracket to get to the semifinals before falling 5-0 to the top seed.

“He lost 5-0 and Kyler Mara was the champion but they’ve always had those kind of matches,” Jamie Wise said. “He could hang with those guys. It is more stressful watching your own kid because I definitely want him to go on and do well.”

Hayden Wise, who was unseeded, finished fourth and did indeed stay alive in the chase for a spot at the Mat Classic in Tacoma, Feb. 19-20.

“I really want to thank the fans who were there this weekend supporting us,” coach Wise said. “They do such a great job staying behind the kids and giving them the support we need.”

A breakdown on the Regional tournament in Richland will be posted in the Herald in an edition later this week.

For more information on the brackets visit http://www.jcrawford.