CWAC, GNL Regional begins tomorrow
Courtesy photo<br> Chris Davidson (right) of Ephrata will go into Spokane and regional action this weekend with as good a chance as any to sneak into the top five of his 160-pound class.
SPOKANE — Beginning at 5 p.m. on Friday, numerous Columbia Basin wrestlers from the Central Washington Athletic Conference (CWAC) will do battle at West Valley High School against Great Northern League (GNL) representatives with multiple state berths on the line.
The top five in each weight class goes on to the Mat Classic and the 2A state finals in Tacoma next weekend.
Othello enter the regionals coming off a district tournament title to complement their regular season CWAC championship.
Othello Huskies’ head coach Ruben Martinez continues to speak of the exploits of his young team which started the season as a potential challenger to the CWAC elite that has now become a legitimate 2A title threat.
A trip down to Ephrata and one can see the Tigers, who finished sixth at districts, will pose some threats of their own, while rivals Quincy have plenty of wrestlers that could make a name of their own.
Either way, all three will have to hold off the challenges of GNL top-dogs Deer Park and Riverside to make their way down I-90 next Friday.
OTHELLO HUSKIES:
Regional Qualifiers: Anthony Barrera (freshman, 103-pounds), Lucas Garza (third-seed, freshman, 112-pounds), Matt Jordan (third-seed, junior, 125-pounds), Joseph Gonzales (sophomore, 125-pounds), Eduardo Montes (junior, 130-pounds), Reuben Lopez (top-seed, senior, 135-pounds), Eric Garza (freshman, 135-pounds), Alec Alvarez (freshman, 145-pounds), Eddie Garza (top-seed, junior, 152-pounds), Amando DeLeon (top-seed, junior, 160-pounds), Stevie Garza (junior, 160-pounds), Daniel Walker (top-seed, senior, 171-pounds), Joey Gomez (top-seed, sophomore, 189-pounds), and Alberto Vargas (junior, 189-pounds).
Outlook: Fourteen Othello wrestlers are going to be represented in Spokane with all but two of them underclassmen.Those youngsters are ready to lead the Huskies to a potential regional title. Of the total Huskies going in to do battle this weekend, seven are seeded in the top three, with five heading their respective weight classes.
Lopez, Eddie Garza, DeLeon, Walker, and Gomez all won their respective weight classes at last week’s district tournament in Ellensburg, so their being named top seeds should indicate where they could stack up against winners from the GNL.
Other wrestlers such as Barrera, Montes, and both Eric and Joey Garza could surprise.
QUINCY JACKS:
Regional Qualifiers: Christian Alejandrez (freshman, 103-pounds), Uriel Heras (sophomore, 119-pounds), Manny Ybarra (top-seed, junior, 130-pounds), Gabe Herrera (sophomore, 135-pounds), Ben Horning (junior, 152-pounds), Breck Webley (senior, 160-pounds), Baldo Valdovinos (third-seed, senior, 189-pounds), Daniel Herrera (senior, 215-pounds), and Marcus Medina (junior, 285-pounds).
Outlook: Quincy heads east with nine wrestlers in tow and all coming off of a strong fifth place performance at districts. Ybarra, who finished second at state at 125-pounds last year, is the favorite to take the 130-pound crown this weekend with a chance to better his previous post-season performance. Valdovinos fell to Joey Gomez last week at districts but looks to have a favorable draw which could get him to move on to Tacoma.
Heras, Alejandrez, Horning and Webley could also make noise by weekend’s end.
“Our kids fought hard to get into the position they did,” Quincy coach Greg Martinez said. “If we pull off some upsets we may be able to sneak one or two more kids into the state tournament. We have a very tough region, every weight class has someone that can threaten the number one seeds. No one is safe.”
EPHRATA TIGERS:
Regional Qualifiers: Tyler Childs (junior, 119-pounds), Anthony Bush (third-seed, senior, 130-pounds), Kurt Nygard (top-seed, senior, 140-pounds), Robert Motzkus (third-seed, senior, 152-pounds), Andrew Sconce (senior, 152-pounds), Chris Davidson (senior, 160-pounds), Jacob Green (sophomore, 171-pounds), and Brandt Monson (sophomore, 215-pounds).
Outlook: Eight strong wrestlers make their way to Spokane hoping to give the Tigers a nice exclamation point to their late season successes.
Nygard steamrolled through district slast week and may not quite be as dominant this weekend but is still favored to take the crown.
Bush may get another crack at Ybarra, who won the 130-pound final 6-0 in Ellensburg.
Davidson has shown promise and Motzkus could get the right draw to stay alive for one last weekend.
“The boys are peaking at the right time,” Ephrata coach PJ Anderson said. “There isn’t a single bracket where the top five boys run away with state berths. We will have to put together a good weekend to get through any of the brackets. I believe all of our seniors have a shot at getting through. They will still need to put together a great weekend.”