Chiefs lose to Chiawana

MOSES LAKE - The match between the Chiefs and the Riverhawks was a battle for first place out right as both teams were undefeated in league action.

Moses Lake got the upper hand early as the Chiefs took three of the first four matches. Trey Long (106) defeated Eli Sikes (FALL 5:09), Chase Clasen (113), lost (Fall 3:36) to Chris Montelongo, Hayden Wise (120) won by a 10-1 decision over Pedro Murillo, and Beau Gleed (126) beat Mark McKeown (Fall:58).

But the Riverhawks came back with a vengeance in the middle weight rounds to win four in a row and take the lead as Brandon Gonzalez (132) beat Brad Fox by a 5-3 decision; Clayton Smith (138) defeated Parker Hill by a technical fall 22-6, Jose Garcia (145) won by fall, and Blake Bishop (152) beat Easton Castro by a 10-8 decision.

"I thought our guys were wrestling well, but there were some instances where we had some let downs," Wise said. "It doesn't do any good to wrestle well for five and a half minutes and then have a laps at the end of the match. It'll get you every time."

A win by Nico Moreno who moved up to wrestle at 160 over Jaden Scheuerlen (fall: 18) gave Moses Lake hope. But Chiawana, determined to get a win on the road and remain undefeated in the Big Nine standings, took three of the final five matches to come away with the victory. The two winners for the Chiefs were Derek Fredricksen (195) who defeated Jordan Vaughn (Fall 1:14) and Justin Sainsbury (285) by fall (5:51) over Martin Villanueva.

The Chiefs are back in action as the post-season gets underway Friday when the team takes part in the CBBN District Tournament at Chiawana.

"This is the time of year where we really need to wrestle our best," Wise said. "We'll have a hard week of practice to get ready and make that last mental push that hopefully will see us through."