Royal qualifies four boys for state wrestling, Wahluke advances two
Victoria Gaytan of Wahluke, looking away, scores five points on a takedown and near fall shortly into a match with a girl from Othello. However, she fails to get the pin and is reversed and pinned. She'll go to state as an alternate.
Eduardo Ortiz of Wahluke, squeezes down and scores a pin over a wrestler from Granger during consolation matches. He made it to the fifth-place match but did not advance to state.
CONNELL - Scoring two championships at regionals here last Saturday, Royal High School qualified four boys for the state 1A wrestling tournament this Friday and Saturday.
Wahluke, which is a year away from a strong program, qualified two boys for state. It will send two girls as alternates.
There was a major casualty at regionals. Royal's 118-pound district champ Brea Diaz was unable to advance to state. The junior won her first match by pin, then was upset twice by one point.
"She just had a bad day," coach Seth Weeks said.
Having an exceptional day were Royal's Emilio Bustos at 160 pounds and Alex Myrick at 170. Both won regional titles against the top two programs at the meet.
Bustos took a 7-4 victory from Granger's Abel Morales. Myrick defeated Zillah's Jim Meyers, 3-0. Granger finished first and Zillah second in the team scoring. Royal took fifth, and Wahluke finished ninth.
Weeks believes Bustos, Myrick and 182-pound runner-up Christian Guerrero will make the state finals. Myrick will have the best chance to finish as champ.
Myrick will compete at state for the fourth time. He finished fourth at 145 as a freshman, third at 152 as a sophomore and second at 160 as a junior.
"He's ready for a state championship," Weeks said.
Based on his performance at regionals, Bustos may also be in line for a title. He competed at state last year, finishing seventh at 152.
Guerrero can win, Weeks believes, but it will be an uphill climb. He has not been able to get past Kiona-Benton's Cruz DelAngel in three matches, losing by pin at regionals.
Guerrero is also battling the loss of one year of development. He competed at state as a freshman, finished seventh as a sophomore, then gave up the sport last year.
The chances for Royal's fourth state entry are slim, not because of his skills but because of injury. Carlos Hernandez, 126, had to forfeit his final match at regionals and settle for fourth.
"He may not even make the trip to Tacoma," Weeks said.
Wahluke's best chance for a state title is junior Jack Yorgesen, but it's a slim chance. Like Guerrero, he's been chasing DelAngel unsuccessfully. And he finished behind Guerrero at district and regionals.
The good news for Yorgesen is that he's on the upswing. He took third place at regionals with a 6-1 defeat of Zillah's Luis Ochoa.
Wahluke's second state entry is Antonio Gomez at 113. He finished fourth at regionals, but he is the district champ and a senior.
The two Wahluke girls who will travel to state as alternates are Victoria Gaytan at 190 pounds and Jennifer Aznaran at 235. Both finished fourth at regionals, and fourth does not qualify girls for state as it does the boys.