Warden posts seven pins in rout of Ki-Be

WARDEN — Out of the many maneuvers in the annals of wrestling, one stands apart in Brent Cox’s mind.

The pin.

After all, a win by fall earns a team three more points than a normal decision.

So, on senior night, Cox’s wrestlers made their head coach extra happy with seven pins in a 60-18 rout of Kiona-Benton.

“We chose Ki-Be tonight because they’re such a good program, but they had some of their studs out of the lineup so they had to plug in some of their younger guys,” he said. “That’s what our guys like to do. They like to pin since it’s my favorite move.”

Warden jumped ahead 12-0 after Tyrone Mendez (182) won by fall in the second round and Kiona-Benton forfeited at 195 pounds.

However, the Bears rallied to tie the dual at 12-all after the Cougars were forced to forfeit at 220 pounds and — in a match-up of No. 1 ranked wrestlers — Tanner Cook got the better of Mikey Hernandez (285).

Hernandez beat Cook in December, but it was the visitor’s night this go-around as Hernandez was pinned in the second round.

In a match between two top-ranked wrestlers in different classifications, Cox figured it would be a toss-up.

“He’s a tough kid,” he said. “It could go either way with those two. They’re both great competitors and he (Cook) got him this time.”

That was the last time Ki-Be threatened to overtake Warden as the Cougars rattled off six wins in a row, five by fall.

Anthony Martinez (106), Osvaldo Dominguez (113), Johnny Martinez (120), Tyson Yamane (126) and Josiah Guerra (132) all pinned their opponents.

In a night mostly devoid of drama, Connor Massa (138) injected some life into the crowd with a come-from-behind 8-6 win against Flavio Sandoval. Sandoval, ranked fifth at 138 pounds in 1A, led early before Massa was able to turn Sandoval twice for near-fall points in the second round.

Trailing 7-6 with time winding down, Sandoval elected to cut Massa and try for a match-tying take down.

Time ran out and Warden notched its sixth win in a row.

“That was a great match for Connor,” Cox said. “That is one of their studs on their team and for Connor to wrestle him that well was pretty good. That was a good win for Connor. It was a good win for him and a good win for the team.”

Kiona-Benton’s Garrett Mitchell won by fall over Adrian Hernandez (145) to draw the Bears within 27 points.

Warden responded with wins by Peter Manville (152) and Raul Martinez (160).

Kiona-Benton forfeited 170 pounds.

With a week to go in the regular season, Warden is poised to defend its state championship.

“We’re almost there,” Cox said. “Of course this is a great group and I love coaching these guys, but we’ve still got a couple little things to work on. But yeah, we’re right there. We’re ready for postseason.”

Toppenish 45, Quincy 21

QUINCY — CWAC power Toppenish outlasted Quincy 45-21.

The Jacks took a brief 3-0 lead when Raul Barajas (132) beat Alexis Rubio 7-2. However, the Wildcats would open up a 24-3 advantage with wins in the next five matches.

Iche Ramirez earned Quincy’s second win, beating Salvador Osorio, 4-3. Damion (106) Casillas also posted a win for Quincy.

The Jacks received forfeits at 113 and 120 pounds.

Ephrata 46, Selah 28

SELAH — In a battle of 3-3 teams, Ephrata edged Selah 46-28 on the road.

Drew Anderson (182), Jared Durfee (195) and Eli Guevara (22) all won by fall. Clay Johns (106) earned a 16-5 decision over Selah’s Andy Pimentel.

Othello 51, Grandview 22

GRANDVIEW — Othello won seven matches and received two forfeits to ease comfortably past Grandview 51-22.

Chris Melo (106), Jeremy Mendez (120), Alejandro Cardenas (132), Reese Jones (160), Allen Rosales (170) and TJ Martinez (195) won by fall. Also, Collin Freeman (152) won a key 15-11 decision over JoJo Valdez.