Warden, Othello place high at Lady Jags Kickoff Invite
PUYALLUP — Warden and Othello placed high at the Lady Jags Kickoff Invite and Emerald Ridge High School in Puyallup.
Rogers took first place overall with 229 points; Warden and Othello finished second and third, respectively, with 227 and 219 points.
Senior captain Kaylee Martinez (155) and freshman captain Emily Mendez (105) brought home individual championships. Nikki Velazquez (135) and Rose Gutierrez (125) finished in second.
“Things that I liked was our freshman class stepped up making the high school debut and competing in their first tournament,” head coach JJ Martinez said. “They fed off of our two senior captains though in Kaylee Martinez and Nikki Velazquez. Although Nikki fell short, I am really confident in those two as they will be contenders for state title runs.
“Our focus this year is simple: I don’t care about wins and losses right now; our goal is the state tournament.”
Estephania Vargas, Beverlyn Garza and Victoria Mendoza finished in third place; Elizabeth Giles and Leslie Rodriguez took fourth.
Warden had 14 placers, with Angelica Vela (110), Alexis Mendoza (120) and Monica Canales (130) as champions.
It was an all-Warden final in the 110-pound C division as Vela faced off against teammate Felicia Alvarez; Vela won by fall in the first round. Andrea Hernandez and Bianca Urias joined Alvarez as runner-ups.
Aaliyah Escamilla (100), Kasandra Ozuna (110) and Mariah Garza (120) took third place for the Cougars.
“It was a tough tournament,” Martinez said. “39 teams — three teams from the east side showed up and to have Warden and Othello finish in the top three shows a lot about our little community and goals we set. The rivalry between Othello and Warden since girls wrestling started and both had a program has made both teams stronger.
“I think I can talk from both myself and Warden coaches is when the two teams see each other the motivation of beating each other just makes both teams step up their game to outdo each other.”
Warden will host a girls wrestling invitational Dec. 10 at 10 a.m. Othello and Quincy will be at that tournament as well.