Cougars finish second at Royal tournament; Knights take fifth

ROYAL CITY - A once again strong field at the Royal Christmas Tournament brought out some of the finer wrestler programs in the state and one, the Warden Cougars, showed that their strong start to the season is no fluke.

The Cougars finished second with 161.5 points behind winners Lakeside (167 points), thanks in part to a deep squad that earned many points in multiple classes despite winning only one individual title.

Adam Hansen claimed the 189-pound crown.

"The Royal tourney has always been tough," Warden head coach Rick Bowers said. "This year was one of the deepest as far as quality wrestlers are concerned.  We showed up to wrestle all day and performed well as a team." 

The host Knights finished fifth with 150 points as Danny Barajas (125-pounds), Laddie Goroski (135-pounds), and Alex Myrick (152-pounds) each claimed championships.

Hansen won his title behind a third-round pin in the final against Othello' JV wrestler Joseph Walker.

Hansen, a sophomore, recorded four consecutive pin wins to claim his championship.

Javier Tapia took second at 112-pounds for Warden, losing in the final 10-3 to Granger's Joshua Salcedo.

Warden's J.P. Martinez captured third-place at 119-pounds, while Sam Suarez earned the same spot at 140-pounds.

For the Knights, Barajas won 17-4 over Colton Skelton of Liberty Bell to take first place, Goroski earned a 9-7 win over Tyler Laurie of Tonasket for his crown, and Myrick squeaked out a 5-4 win over Chase Florez of Riverside.

At 103-pounds, Knight Brian Gallardo dropped the title match by second round fall to Jose Cienfuegos of Granger.