Chiefs hold off Bulldogs in Big 9 dual
Alan Dale/Columbia Basin Herald<br> Moses Lake's Andrew Valdez (top) holds off Robert Mendoza of Pasco during his 14-0 win for the Chiefs on Thursday night.
MOSES LAKE — With so much success during their visits to in-season wrestling tournaments, Moses Lake High School coach Jamie Wise must deal with limitations placed on his athletes on how many times they can perform during a campaign.
Thus dual meets like Thursday’s with Big Nine rivals Pasco can come in handy to give lesser-used wrestlers a chance to shine in front of the big crowds while also complying within state rules.
Regardless of lineup shakeups, the Chiefs once again took care of business in a 43-28 win over the visiting Bulldogs.
“We changed the lineup tonight just for injuries and to stay within match count and so we kept some guys out,” Wise said. “We didn’t look as good as we should have tonight. We lacked correct position coming off the body and our legs weren’t as sharp as they should be yet. But some of the young kids battled real well which was nice to see.”
Beau Gleed won by first-round pin at 103-pounds and was joined by similar winners Jordan Bishop (135-pounds, first-round), Logan Phelps (171-pounds, first round), and James Fitting (189-pounds, second-round).
Nico Moreno took his match at 140-pounds with an 18-2 technical fall decision despite having a handful of potential pin opportunities that just slipped away.
“He wrestles very well and he got into a pretty decent flow,” Wise said. “I don’t know if he’s trying to pin him or try to work him over. He just seemed to want to go, go, go, go, go. He doesn’t get a lot of pins he just wears you out.”
Other big wins were recorded by Hayden Wise (12-3 decision at 112-pounds) and Andrew Valdez (12-4 at 119-pounds).
Some of the more dramatic matches came at 125-pounds where Omar Suarez held on to defeat Hugo Mabry 16-10.
“Omar really is our backup 119-pounder but he’s getting good enough that I can bump him up to 125 and he can win,” coach Wise said. “He showed his flexibility in coming out on top. It was a good gutsy performance.”
The match that brought the most fans out of their seats came at 145-pounds, when the Chiefs’ Nathan Martinez escaped with a 12-10 overtime win.
Martinez trailed early only to lead 10-9 with six second left before being penalized for stalling and one-point, sending the match into the extra session.
Eventually Martinez would hold on and gain the momentum he would need to win in the extra period.
“Both wrestlers were both very fatigued,” Jamie Wise said. “Being down 7-5 at the end of the first round I was worried because he was so tired. Obviously the other guy was more tired than he was. He just had a bigger gas tank than the other guy.”
Martinez won with a two-point take down with :33 left in overtime.
Wrestlers like Martinez and Suarez are just some of the many examples of the Moses Lake depth.
“It seems like on our team that everyone gets at least one chance to wrestle on varsity throughout the year,” Jamie Wise said. “Sometimes it’s because of match count or to get someone rested up. At least tonight we had enough kids to juggle the lineup.”
On Saturday, Moses Lake travels to the Marysville/Pillchuck Premiere in Marysville.
“I think it’s going to be a good weekend,” Jamie Wise said. “We’ve always had fun over there. It’s a fast paced tournament. The kids love it and we’ve always done very well over there.”
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