Chiefs drop close match to Sunnyside

MOSES LAKE - Coach Jamie Garza knew his wrestlers would have to perform at a high level if they intended to knock off the No. 3 ranked Grizzlies at home Tuesday night. And the Chiefs came oh so close to doing just that, but lost the hard-fought match 30-24.

"We suffered a tough loss to Sunnyside ... the team scores were neck and neck throughout the match, but we could not pull out the win," Garza said. "We lost four critical matches ... three of them by a point or two and had we won those, it would have changed the outcome."

Moses Lake lost its first two matches as Brenden Sanchez (145) was turned back 5-4, and Hudson Mauseth (152) was defeated by a score of 15-7.

"Brenden had several opportunities to score, but was not able to put together a take down in  bounds," Garza said. "Hudson lost, but he faced a kid who  was a state placer and gave him a run."

Joel Torres (160) got the Chiefs first win of the night as he pulled out a 6-4 decision. The next two Moses Lake wrestlers Nico Hernandez (170) and Easton Castro (182) suffered losses.

"Easton lost a close match by two points, 6-4, "Garza said. "He tied the  match with about 30 seconds left, but wasn't able to take his opponent down."

The Chiefs got right back in the thick of things however, with three straight wins.

Jordan Lacelle (195) recorded a pin in the first round, Dylan Morris (220) pulled out a 7-5 decision, and heavy weight Jacob Stout pinned his opponent in the third round.

"Jordan is starting to feel comfortable and has recorded four pins in his last five  matches," Garza said. "With the injury to Justin Sainsbury, we were  forced to re-arrange our line-up and told Dylan to be ready because we just may use you. Well, he was  and he wrestled well. And Jacob gave up a lot of weight, but continued to pressure his opponent and was eventually able to get him on his back and pin him."

Trey Long (106) suffered an 8-7 loss to his opponent, and Fernando Leyva (113) lost a close match, 6-5, to a Grizzly who was a multiple state placer. 

Moses Lake bounced back it its next match with a big win by Chase Classen at the 120 weight class.

"Chase had a fantastic match against a kid who placed at the state tournament last year," Garza said. "He is such a hard worker and never gives up. As a coach, you enjoy that in an athlete. Chase defeated his opponent by a significant margin."

Anthony Barajas (126)and Spencer Vela (132) lost their matches, but the Chiefs got a win in the final match of the night by Brad Fox at 138.

"Brad wrestled a smart match and you like that. You can tell he has had plenty of varsity experience," Garza said. "Although we lost the match to Sunnyside, we did have a lot positives came out of it, and we'll put our helmets back on and get after it at practice to fix the mistakes we made."

Moses Lake is back in action Friday and Saturday when the Chiefs head to the Tri-State Tournament in Coeur d' Alene.

The team will participate in the Battle at Beasley in Pullman Dec. 29, then will get back to league action Jan. 10 when Moses Lake travels to Wenatchee to take on the Panthers