Strong contingent of Basin 2A wrestlers headed to regionals

SPOKANE — State berths will be up for grabs this weekend at the Class 2A regional in Spokane held at West Valley.

No. 1-ranked Toppenish should be the favorite to win the team title, along with Clarkston.

Othello, runner-up to Toppenish at the CWAC district tournament, sends 13 wrestlers to Spokane. Alejandro Cardenas, Abel Gomez and Anthony Ruiz are No. 1 seeds after claiming district championships.

Ruiz, ranked No. 2 at 195 pounds, will be the top contender in his weight class. The senior finished fourth in the last two state tournaments and trails only Olympic’s Geordyn Shinard in the rankings.

Cardenas has one of the toughest routes to a ticket to the state tournament as six other wrestlers in his region are ranked in the top 10.

Quincy takes seven wrestlers and one alternate to Spokane. Iche Ramirez and Rey Rubio are No. 2 seeds after finishing second at districts. Devon Salcedo, Raul Barajas, Victor Tafoya, Tanner Wallace and Andy Reynolds also make the trip for the Jacks. Ray Robinson is the alternate.

Ramirez is ranked No. 4 at 182 pounds and looks to secure his first trip to the Tacoma Dome.

Ephrata advanced seven wrestlers and two alternates. Rey Hernandez, Cade Cox, Cole Spencer, Drew Anderson, Rolo Reyes, Raul Pelayo and Eli Guevara stayed in the postseason hunt. Jared Durfee and Landon Davis are alternates.

Matches begin Saturday at 11 a.m.