Huskies finish off undefeated CWAC regular season
Othello's Eric Garza (right) sizes up Ephrata's Bryce Unruh just before the Huskie's 'strike' led to a second period pin at 145-pounds on Friday night. Garza and the Huskies won 39-20.
He may appear to be in a jam but Othello's Isaiah Barrera (in red) would eventually cruise to a 17-3 win over Ephrata's Rolo Padron at 103-pounds. Othello would beat Ephrata 39-20 on Friday to clinch a second straight unbeaten CWAC campaign.
OTHELLO - It took a little while to get going but the Othello
Huskies wrapped up their second consecutive unbeaten Central
Washington Athletic Conference (CWAC) regular season title Friday
night.
OTHELLO - It took a little while to get going but the Othello Huskies wrapped up their second consecutive unbeaten Central Washington Athletic Conference (CWAC) regular season title Friday night.
But the Ephrata Tigers did anything but make it easy, leading 14-10 after six matches before finally succumbing 39-20.
"It was a big win and a great way to finish the regular season," Othello head coach Ruben Martinez said. " I am very proud of our wrestlers. We managed to keep them together and we grew stronger as the season progresses and kids were able to get to their postseason weight classes."
Against the Tigers, Othello got started via Isaiah Barrera's 17-3 win over Rolo Padron at 103-pounds.
Barrera's 112-pound teammate AJ Garza built the Huskies' lead 7-0 with a 9-4 win over Eli Perez.
The lead got bumped up to 10-0 as Lucas Garza scored a tense 10-8 win over Tyler Childs at 119-pounds.
Ephrata got on the board at 125-pounds when Tiger Benny Carter scored a last second 7-6 win over Colton Rodriguez.
The Tigers used that intense victory to keep their momentum going in Jesus Valencia's 20-5 victory over Levi Garza (130-pounds), and Seth Kulackoski's second-round pin of Othello's Brandon Medina at 135-pounds.
Then Othello got serious.
State title contender, Matt Jordan registered an emphatic second period pin of Kyle Pohle at 140-pounds and Eric Garza did the same at 145-pounds over Bryce Unruh, but not before witnessing one of the more comical moments on the mat.
Eric Garza and Unruh battled to a relative stalemate and as the Huskie continued to figure out a way through his opponent's defenses, many of the Othello wrestlers urged him on with more humor than tough talk.
Then, as if on queue, a teammate shouted, "Kamikaze strike," just as Eric Garza made the move that would lead to a pin only five seconds later.
The coaching staff, team, and nearby crowd burst out with laughter, which prompted a big grin from Eric Garza.
"I've never seen anything like that," Martinez admitted.
That win and the moment seemed to relax the Huskies as the wins began to pile on.
Eddie Garza (152-pounds) beat Dalton Balentine 13-3 to give Othello a 26-14 lead.
At 160-pounds, senior stalwart Amando DeLeon pulled off a 12-4 win over Tyrus Kemp and Stevie Garza escaped with an 8-6 win over Jacob Green at 171-pounds for a 33-14 Othello advantage.
Joey Gomez's triumph at 189-pounds -- a 11-4 win over Curtis Treiber -- preceded Ephrata's final win of the night, a first period pin by Deion Duckworth over Stephen Villareal.
The dual was wrapped up with Bubba Ruiz's 1-0 win over Brandt Monson at 285-pounds.
"We were able to win 10 matches and I was glad that we were able to wrestle three rounds in most of the matches," Martinez said. "This was our last opportunity to get competition in before the district tournament."
The CWAC district tournament runs Friday through Saturday at Othello High School.
Action begins at 4 p.m. on Friday before getting things started the next day at 10 a.m.