Ephrata erases big deficit to beat Quincy
Rodney Harwood/Columbia Basin Herald Ephrata’s Cade Cox flips Quincy’s Mario Mercado during Thursday’s dual at Quincy High School.
QUINCY — The Ephrata Tigers found a way to put the breaks on a runaway freight train and turn things around in Thursday’s Central Washington Athletic Conference wrestling dual in Quincy.
The Jacks jumped out to a 25-3 lead, but the Tigers won six straight matches to erase a 22-point deficit and win 44-25, closing with a near pin by Damian Garcia in the 126-pound match. Garcia had near-fall points with 37.1 seconds left in the 126-pound match and the night ended with Miguel Ramirez on his back.
Quincy’s Victor Tafoya held off Oliver Rodriguez 9-7 in the 170-pound match, one of the closest contests of the night, to give the Jacks a 25-3 lead and all the momentum. But back came the Tigers, one match at a time.
Cole Spencer won the 182-pound contest with a 11-2 major decision over Ray Robinson. Drew Anderson won a major decision at 195 and the Tigers closed to 25-13 with a flash of hope on the horizon.
“We gave them the momentum. The middle of the lineup is the heart of our team right now,” Quincy coach Greg Martinez. “Up top and down low we’re young. In the 106 match, I thought they did a great job. That’s what happens when you have numbers, you can move guys around.”
Ephrata won at 220 When Elias Guevara turned Ruben Vargas for the fall. Ephrata heavyweight Efrain Bedolla tied the match at 225 when he pinned Miguel German with 34 seconds remaining in the second period.
Tiger coach PJ Anderson made a lineup switch that proved to be nails in an intense night when he took Sammy Flores out of the 113 slot and had him wrestle Quincy’s Jose Buenrostro in the 106 match. Flores had near fall points in the second period, controlling the match from start-to-finish. The Tiger sophomore also had near fall points in the third to finish with a 12-0 major decision.
“I worked hard and hard work pays off,” Flores said. “When Efrain tied it after the heavyweight match, I said to myself, ‘you need to beat this guy.’
“I wrestled my heart out. I stayed aggressive with it. You have to move him and put him in your spots. We feel good with this match tonight, being able to come back and beat these guys at their place is huge and something we can build on.”