Moses Lake sends 10 to Mat Classic

Moses Lake senior Fernando Leyva (maroon) grapples his opponent, Mead's Zach Bade (blue), during the 4A East Regional Tournament at Pasco High School Saturday. Leyva won, 13-1, and was crowned champion of the 113-pound weight class after defeating teammate sophomore Jose Garcia in the finals.

by CONNOR VANDERWEYST & Herald Sports Editor
Staff Writer | February 18, 2014 5:00 AM

PASCO - As far as wrestling east of the Cascade Range, Moses Lake is king.

The Chiefs advanced seven to finals and placed 15 wrestlers, which was good for 229.5 points and the team's second consecutive 4A East Regional championship.

"It's a great accomplishment," head coach Jaime Garza said. "The Eastside of the state has been pretty dominant. Though we haven't won a team title we've been in the thick of things for several years."

Mead was second with 167 points and Central Valley was third with 158.5 points.

With seven wrestlers in the finals and three taking third place, 10 Chiefs will compete at Mat Classic XXVI in Tacoma Feb. 21 and 22.

"It's great to have 10 guys go out there and represent this team, it's been fantastic," Garza said. "Ultimately, it would've been nice to have another two guys in there but the reality is that didn't happen. Lost some close matches and that's just part of it."

Moses Lake dominated the lighter weights and advanced wrestlers to the finals in 106, 113, 120 and 132 pounds. Trey Long was able to best teammate Cooper McCullough, 4-2, at 106 pounds, while Fernando Leyva was crowned champion after pinning teammate Jose Garcia at 113 pounds.

"It's an honor to have two of your kids in the finals," Garza said. "It brings great joy, a sense of relief... As a coach, it's a great feeling to have four guys in the finals in two different weights. It shows a lot to not just this coaching staff, but to the club, the middle school coaching staff, to all the work they put in as a youth. Not only that, it's nice to see their parents receive some sense of relief."

After hours of scrambling across Pasco High School's gym barking instructions an eerie calm descended on the mat when two teammates battled. Garza and his staff were able to sit back and briefly become spectators.

"You just got to let them wrestle their match and keep it as fair as possible," he said. "I know wrestling at times it's pretty cut and dry you win or you lose but there's a lot of coaching and strategy that gets involved and a lot of that's given by a coach but in this position you have to be neutral."

Clayton Clark (120 .lbs) and Chase Clasen (132 .lbs) were runners up in their respective weight classes.

Jordan Lacelle was champion of the 182-pound weight class after Kevin McLean of Mead had to stop due to injury.

Lacelle was leading the match at the time of the injury default.

After losing a hard fought semifinal match to eventual champion Blake Bishop of Chiawana, Joel Torres was able to work his way through the losers bracket and take third place.

Hudson Mauseth (160 .lbs) and Justin Sainsbury (285 .lbs) were also able to take third place.

Unlike the rest of the state which takes the top four finishers to Tacoma, only the top three wrestlers from the East region advance to the state tournament.

Some may see this as a disadvantage. Garza doesn't.

"The fortunate thing about us is that our 10 are top three guys out of our region," he said. "That's a nice thing to know we're not getting a number one seed."

The bracket for the state tournament was revealed Sunday afternoon and Moses Lake has already started preparing for this weekend.

"We met with the kids early on today and spoke about that and what the draws were," Garza said. "We have some good draws. Once again, I think the reason why is where we placed."

Last season at the state tournament, Moses Lake stumbled early as seven wrestlers lost their first match and the Chiefs took 10th place. Garza thinks his team will draw from that experience and enter this year's tournament with a new focus.

"The difference between this year and last year is they're not satisfied yet," he said.