Chiefs dominate Wenatchee, 59-12

MOSES LAKE - After weeks of wrestling some of the top schools in the state, Moses Lake received in a respite in the form of the Wenatchee Panthers.

The Chiefs dominated from the opening whistle and recorded pins in seven of the team's first eight matches en route to a 59-12 win. To prevent any thoughts of a letdown, Moses Lake implemented a new spotlight in the middle of the mat that only illuminated the two wrestlers jockeying for position.

"We don't get to wrestle in front of our home crowd too often so that was really nice," head coach Jaime Garza said. "That was uplifting. We have something new that Moses Lake's never had, which is that spotlight so they were excited about that also."

Moses Lake simply overmatched the Panthers for the majority of the match. After juniors Nico Hernandez (170 .lbs) and Easton Castro (182 .lbs) scored a pin and a major decision to begin the match, the Chiefs rattled off six pins in a row including four that came in the first round.

Garza and his staff used Moses Lake's clear advantage to allow the team to work on certain techniques throughout the course of the match.

"You allow the kids to spend a little more time on there feet and take their guy down and kind of let them go then take them down," he said. "By no means, you don't want to embarrass the guy, but you do it so the kid can gain some confidence in his shot."

In a duel were the outcome was never in question, some matches provided a little drama for the crowd. Castro, who had been sick over the weekend, had to fight off cramps during his match and gutted out a 10-3 major decision.

"We might need to be able to work with his conditioning and become a little more intense especially off the bottom, more purposeful," Garza said. "You can't lay down there and some of that comes with an attitude of, 'I'm not going to be rode, I'm not going to hang out down in the bottom, I'm going to get out and get to where I'm best and where I'm successful which is on our feet.'"

In the duel's finale, sophomore Hudson Mauseth (160 .lbs) was nearly pinned in the waning seconds of the first round after losing his balance. However, Mauseth regained control and recorded a 9-6 win.

Mauseth is known for his aggressiveness on the mat, which sometimes can be a detriment.

"I hope here in the next couple weeks we can not necessarily control that but kind of hone it in a little bit and we'll be fine," Garza said. "I love the way he came out and battled and got after it there."

Moses Lake will send a limited squad to the Central Kitsap Matman Classic this weekend.