Moses Lake wrestling heads to Pasco Redneck Summer Camp

PASCO - After crisscrossing to different camps around the Northwest, the Moses Lake wrestling team will become whole next week.

Looking to improve on a second place finish last summer, the Chiefs will head down to the Tri-Cities for the Pasco Redneck Summer Camp where the team will face schools from Washington, Idaho, Montana and Oregon.

"Some are tougher than others, but overall it's a great dual tournament," head coach Jaime Garza said. "It's great for the kids to be able to come together and cheer each other on, kind of get excited. It's great for us as coaches to get to know the kids and what they've learned throughout the spring and into the summer."

Along with teams from outside the state, Moses Lake will see strong Washington wrestling programs like Tahoma, Chiawana and Pasco.

At last season's Mat Classic XXVI for 4A, Tahoma finished in fifth place, Chiawana finished 12th and Pasco finished 17th.

Moses Lake took second, 16.5 points behind champion Lake Stevens.

"I'll definitely have my eyes peeled when it comes to Chiawana, when it comes to Pasco and Tahoma, all the 4A teams," Garza said. "I'm making sure I'm trying to watch them as much as I possibly can."

Even though the wrestling season is months away, the countless hours spent in the wrestling room and at summer camps will prepare the team for a run at Moses Lake's 18th team championship.

The Chiefs lost three seniors: state runner-ups Fernando Leyva and Jordan Lacelle, as well as Sean Cotton.

However, there hasn't been a regression in leadership or intensity.

"I feel as though we have a core group kids that have been putting in the time and effort to sustain that endurance and then perform in the summer," Garza said. "There's a saying ... 'Summer camps make winter champs.'"

Moses Lake lost to Colville at last year's Redneck Camp, but rallied to defeat Decatur to finish in second.

Colville finished seventh in state last season for 2A while Decatur finished second for 3A.

The Colville dual was particularly intense for both teams.

"It was a really fun match to coach, to be a part of," Garza said. "The kids really got up for it. The intensity was really high. You can tell there was quite a bit of passion there and to see the kids get up like that during the summer was fantastic."

Despite being in the middle of the dog days of summer, Garza's competitiveness hasn't waned.

"I'd love to win this thing," he said. It's just great confidence building going into our season."

So far, it seems that the stalwarts of the Moses Lake team haven't had any problems this offseason.

Although Garza said he doesn't think he will wrestle at this weight, state runner-up (he lost to teammate Trey Long in the 106-pound finals) Cooper McCullough has jumped up to 132 pounds.

McCullough took second in a takedown tournament recently, losing to teammate Chase Clasen in the finals.

Clasen has also had summer success, finishing first in his weight class at a camp at Boise State University.

Garza was also happy to see some incoming freshmen in the wrestling room over the summer.

However, the one wrestler who looks to be setting the tone for his teammate has been Hudson Mauseth.

Mauseth's motor and intensity have never been questioned. This season he is looking to add leadership to his repertoire.

"As far as being a leader, I can see him flourishing in that role," Garza said. "He is going to be one of our captains and he's taken the lead on that and it's been nice to see him do that."

The camp runs Monday through Wednesday at Pasco High School. Matches begin at 9 a.m. each day of the camp.