Othello takes step in higher CWAC supremacy direction
OTHELLO — A new year for the Othello Huskies only meant one thing on Tuesday night.
Winning time.
The Huskies wrestlers started the second half of the season with a resounding 61-12 Central Washington Athletic Conference (CWAC) win over visiting Prosser to move to 3-0 in the league.
“We were actually pretty busy during the break so we didn’t have a chance to not pick up from where we left off,” Othello coach Ruben Martinez said. “The kids are also getting into their correct weight classes and so we are becoming a solid team.”
Winning for Othello were Lucas Garza (112-pounds) second-round pin, Colton Rodriguez (119-pounds) 10-9 decision, Matt Jordan (130-pounds) third-round pin, Eduardo Montes (135-pounds) first-round pin, Rueben Lopez (140-pounds) 12-4 major decision, Eddie Garza (152-pounds) 12-4 major decision, Amando DeLeon (160-pounds) first round pin, Daniel Walker (171-pounds) 11-9 decision, Alberto Vargas (189-pounds) 18-1 technical fall, Joey Gomez (215-pounds) second-round pin.
“Our veterans are wrestling like they should be and the younger kids are picking up from them and starting to peak,” Martinez said. “Our coaching staff believe that the attitude is hot right now. The kids are fired up. The coaches are fired up. Once we get the last few kids in the right weight classes it’s going to look good.”
East Valley 50, Ephrata 24
EPHRATA — The Ephrata Tigers managed four convincing wins last night but came out on the short of a 50-24 final against East Valley.
The Tigers wrestlers that got on the score sheet include, pin victories for Jacob Green at 171-pounds and Chris Davidson at 189-pounds, Anthony Bush who won 9-0 at 130-pounds, and Kurt Nygard who claimed a 12-1 victory at 140-pounds.
“We were on our heels from the start of the night and couldn’t seem to get anything going,” Tigers coach PJ Anderson said. “I think there were chances for a ton of excuses but we need to stop looking for excuses why things don’t get done and start turning things around.”
Ephrata (1-2 in CWAC) travels to Wapato on Thursday.
“Its all mental right now,” Anderson said. “We can wrestle a lot better than we did tonight we just had a big block tonight. I do believe these kids have what it takes to be successful but they need that full commitment to put them over the top.”
Toppenish 49, Quincy 22
QUINCY — The young and scrappy Jacks of Quincy couldn’t quite overcome the might of CWAC powers Toppenish and fell 49-22 on Tuesday night.
Quincy’s wins were recorded by, Gary Benitez (130-pounds) via 13-3 major decision, Manny Ybarra (135-pounds) by 4-2 overtime decision, Ben Horning (152-pounds) through 16-5 major decision, Keaton Webley (160-pounds) by 17-2 technical fall, Baldo Valdovinos (189-pounds) via second-round pin.
“I feel we did well and the kids wrestled hard,” Quincy coach Greg Martinez said. “We gave up a couple more pins than we should have. But those kids wrestled hard. We have had a tough schedule so far and I think we are right around the corner from seeing success from them.”