Othello completes CWAC sweep
ELLENSBURG — Two down, two to go.
But even with only half the journey to a state title complete, the Othello Huskies wrestling team can guarantee one sure thing for the 2009-2010 season.
They are the top dogs of the Central Washington Athletic Conference (CWAC).
Othello followed up their CWAC regular season title by winning the District 4/5/6 meet at Ellensburg over the weekend. Othello scored 300 points outdistancing runner-ups Selah (242.5) and third place Toppenish (238.5).
Quincy ended up fifth with 164.5 points and Ephrata finished sixth at 148.
What can I say, it was our weekend,” Othello coach Ruben Martinez said. “The team wrestled as well as I had hoped they would. We had the best quarter and semi results since 2004. We won the state title that year. We were able to push 14 through with one more wrestling to get in and two alternates.”
Othello was sparked by the individual championships of Reuben Lopez (135-pounds), Eddie Garza (152-pouns), Amando DeLeon (160-pounds), Daniel Walker (171-pounds), and Joey Gomez (189-pounds).
“We gave our fans a great showing,” Martinez said. “They did not miss much as we had wrestlers going on pretty much on the beat every time you looked at the mats.”
Lopez won his title via pin over East Valley’s Mason Yates, while Garza defeated Ephrata’s Robert Motzkus 10-5.
DeLeon - the CWAC wrestler of the year - won over Ellensburg’s Tyler Coates who withdrew mid-match with an injury.
Walker escaped with a 5-3 win over Grandview’s Isaac Alaniz while Gomez survived a gruelling 9-8 win over Quincy’s Baldo Valdovinos.
Matt Jordan took second at 125-pounds.
Other Othello wrestlers who finished in the top four were Gilberto Villa (third at 103), Eduardo Montes (third at 130), Eric Garza (fourth at 135), and Alec Alvarez (fourth at 145).
“On my behalf I want to thank my coaching staff for their commitment to helping me get this young team not only ready for the tough competition but the commitment to helping get our team compete the way we are right now,” Martinez said. “The other coaches acknowledge our teams accomplishments and consistency and they voted me the CWAC coach of the year. I accept this award with honor and a privilege and most importantly I accept it on behalf of my entire coaching staff. We earned the award.”
Quincy outdistanced Ephrata as the rivals were involved with some tight matches against one another.
The Jacks’ Manny Ybarra held on to defeat Ephrata’s Anthony Bush 6-0 in the 130-pound final.
“Manny wrestled a great tournament,” Quincy coach Greg Martinez said. “He really opened up his attack and beat Montes in the semifinal. Manny just really opened up and nearly won by majority decision. He also did well in the final.”
“I was real pleased with Anthony’s performance,” Ephrata coach PJ Anderson said. “This year he kept his head on straight and he’s been focused all year. He was always looking for the tougher kids to wrestle. I like where he’s at going on in the post season.”
In third-fourth place matches, Ephrata swept their Quincy counterparts, as Andrew Sconce beat Ben Horning at 152-pounds and Chris Davidson beat Breck Webley, both by pin.
“I was pleased with the style of wrestling we were doing,” Anderson said. “All in all we dictated the matches and we were in control most of the times even if the scores didn’t always show it. They stayed loose and we were having fun. I like how we wrestled.”
Ephrata’s Kurt Nygard won the 140-pound title over Eduardo Torres of Wapato 8-3.
“Kurt’s one of those kids who always finds a way, he doesn’t stop,” Anderson said. “He keeps coming at you and doesn’t let you breathe. I like his chances getting through next weekend. He’ll have a tough bracket but he’s at home in tough matches.”
Overall eight Tigers advance (and one alternate) to next week’s Regionals at West Valley High School in Spokane.
Quincy also saw top finishes by Daniel Herrera (third at 215-pounds) an Marcus Medina (third at 285-pounds), as 10 wrestlers move on to Spokane.
“My wrestlers really wrestled tough,” Greg Martinez said. “Of the 17 kids we entered eight finished higher than they were seeded and seven finished right where they were seeded. We were able to place higher than some teams that beat us in the regular season. All in all it was a great weekend for us. The kids fought hard and I am proud of them.”