Moses Lake wrestlers finish third at Dream Duals

SPOKANE - Moses Lake High School wrestlers had a productive outing as the Dream Duals tournament at East Valley High School over the weekend.

The Chiefs matched up with Rogers from Puyallup on Friday and came out the victor with a 48-26 win over the Rams.

"We wrestled with lots of intensity and came away with a convincing win," coach Jaime Garza said. "Key wins were at 106 with Trey long winning by a major decision."

Moses Lake moved on to face Chiawana in round two, but was turned back by the Riverhawks, 40-20.

The Chiefs dug themselves a hole they ere unable to get out of losing two close matches to start the competition. Despite the loss, Garza said there were plenty of positives to build on.

"Chiawana is an up and coming team and have their sights high. I feel we are very capable of beating them, but needed to wrestle with a sense of urgency," he said. "Nico Hernandez  wrestled a great match at 160, but was not able to pull out a win. Easton Castro wrested great, but lost a two-point match to third ranked Austin Silvers. Brad Fox lost a 3-1 decision ... had a few opportunities to pull it out ... but wasn't able to secure the win. Chase Clasen continues to wrestled extremely well. He beat a tough Chiawana kid in overtime, and is starting to wrestle with confidence every time he steps out the mat, and at 113 Fernando Leyva wrestled to a major decision against a kid that is predicted to go to state."

The loss to Chiawana dropped Moses Lake into the consolation bracket Saturday, and put the Chiefs against Eastmont in a battle for third and fourth place.

Moses Lake had little trouble in securing the win as the team beat the Wildcats 40-21.

"We wrestled much better than the first time we met up," Garza said. "Hector Zavala beat a ranked Eastmont kid in a close match, and several wrestlers battled well. This match was a gage to how much we have improved. We beat the Wildcats by three points earlier in the year and a six weeks later we beat them by 19."

Moses Lake wrestled Davis prior to heading to the duals and beat the Pirates handily Jan. 17, winning 11-of-14 matches for a final score of 58-14.

"The match of the night was at the 120 weight between Clasen between Lopez," Garza said. "Chase had been looking forward the match, but was not able to pull away with a win, losing in overtime to a highly ranked kid."

Cooper McCullough received a forfeit at 106. Clayton Clark beat a regional veteran at 113 by a score of 8-4, Brad Fox recorded a pin at 132, and Sean Cotton received a forfeit at 138.

Brenden Sanchez won by a major decision at 145, Nico Hernandez won by pin at 160, and Zavala at 170, won by decision. Easton Castro (182) won by fall in the first round, Jordan Lacelle won by fall at 195, Jacob Stout (220) won by forfeit, and freshman Cole Deaver won in overtime at heavyweight.

"Cole wrestled his heart out and I'm extreme proud of him," Garza said. "As a whole, every time we step on the mat, we are improving."

The Chiefs are back in action Thursday for the last regular match of the season when they host the Eisenhower Cadets at 7 p.m.

The district tournament gets underway Feb. 2 at Eastmont High School in Wenatchee.