Wahluke Warriors claim two titles at Davis Invite

MATTAWA - Ricardo Silverio and Alberto Cruz claimed titles at 182 and 220 pounds to highlight a fine day for Wahluke wrestling at the Davis Invitational Tournament on Saturday.

The Warriors were short-handed and did not field contestants at three weights. Still they finished 5th in the field of 10.

"It was great. The only 1A school to beat us was Granger," coach Russell Kovalenko said. "To beat Davis, Naches, Goldendale, Prosser and Highland was cool."

Another thing that made Kovalenko happy was the way some Warriors battled in close matches. Their victories gave Wahluke a 124-122 edge over Davis.

Cruz had the big day for Wahluke. He defeated boys from Granger and Peninsula on the way to the final. There he took out Granger's Eli Galarno with a pin in 3:20.

Silverio nearly matched Cruz's effort. He defeated boys from Granger and Ike on the way to showdown with Granger's Jason Ornelas.

Silverio and Ornelas battled from start to end. Silverio scored a pin to make the score 10-8 with 57 seconds remaining and rode Ornelas to the end.

At 120 pounds, Wahluke's Brandon Cuevas finished second with wins over boys from Prairie and Davis. He lost his final to Joshua Salcedo of Granger.

The Warriors got third place at 195 from Tyler Yorgesen, who scored wins over boys from Prairie and Davis. He won third place with a 6-5 decision.

Jack Yorgesen came back from a first-round 10-8 overtime loss at 170 pounds to take fifth place. He defeated Granger and Prairie wrestlers.

Other Warriors to get at least one win were 126-pounder Victor San?doval, 141-pounder Edgar Gonzalez and 160-pounder Mario Herrera.

The Warriors will travel to River View on Thursday for non-league matches against Granger and Goldendale. On Saturday they will be at the Granger Iron Man Invitational.