Moses Lake places first at WSWF tournament

OLYMPIA - Moses Lake wrestling continued its run of dominance taking first place at WSWF "Gut Check" tournament in Olympia.

The Chiefs saw 10/14 wrestlers place and won by a comfortable 18-point margin.

Head coach Jaime Garza said his team was a little worn down after the continuous schedule through the Holiday break, but Moses Lake still managed a strong showing.

"The tournament was classified as gut check and trust me it was," he said. "To come off the winter break this is our one, two, three, four, fifth weekend in a row it was a gut check for some kids."

Sophomore Cooper McCullough had been dealing with an illness leading into the tournament, but still rallied to take first place. It was an all-Moses Lake final in the 106-pound weight class as McCullough faced his teammate, fellow sophomore, Jesus Cornejo

"I hope it gives both of them some confidence," Garza said. "Being able to pull out a win when you're not feeling well and being able to persevere in a situation like that and Jesus... Jesus is right there. He's a tough second guy."

Moses Lake owned the lighter weights as senior Fernando Leyva and junior Trey Long placed first and third, respectively.

One Chief who did have a tough tournament was sophomore Joel Torres who lost both of his matches. Torres has had a tough stretch of wrestling after facing some of the best wrestlers in the state in the 160-pound weight division.

"We got to put things in perspective," Garza said. "You're losing, but it's very close and then you're losing to some of the best guys in your weight throughout the state. So, you're not just losing to some random guys so keep your head up and keep on going... His spirits definitely changed."

Junior Chase Clasen and sophomore Clayton Clark took fourth and third, respectively, while junior Nico Hernandez placed fifth at 170 pounds. Garza said Hernandez has had a strong week of wrestling after finishing 3-0 at the Moses Lake Hall of Fame Duals, defeating his matchup against Sunnyside and finishing 3-1 in Olympia.

Sophomore Hudson Mauseth took second place at the tournament. Garza has been impressed with Mauseth's aggressiveness on the mat.

"Hudson's wrestling with a lot of pride," he said. "He's beating guys up too. You don't want to wrestle Hudson."

Senior Jordan Lacelle finished second after losing a close match, 2-4, to Joseph Meyer of Puyallup at 195 pounds.

Moses Lake returns home for a match against Columbia Basin Big 9 foe Wenatchee Jan. 16.