Moses Lake's longevity achieves unique stat

Moses Lake's Chandler Fluaitt celebrates a win against Sunnyside earlier in the season.

by CONNOR VANDERWEYST & Sports Editor
Staff Writer | January 26, 2016 12:45 PM

The history of Moses Lake wrestling isn’t difficult to find.

Boards that detail the state champions and state placers line one wall, while team pictures of the 18 state championship teams line the opposite wall. Inside the coaches office, tiles of each state placer fit together like a mosaic.

Moses Lake’s success on the mat has been expansive and it has to do with one thing: the standard.

“I think it’s just the commitment that these wrestlers have along with the coaches,” head coach Jaime Garza said.” That standard has been raised from coach to coach and from wrestler to wrestler and with such a rich history that bar is set so much higher than it is at other locations.

“So it’s kind of hard when you look up and you grew up with a kid and maybe he was a few years older than you and you saw that he placed third. One of those if he can do it than why can’t I do it? And when your amongst the same family, is what I consider us, those expectations and those standards have been set already.”

Founded in 1952 by Eric Beardsley, the Chiefs accomplished a pretty unique stat after winning their 18th team championship in 2015. Out of 62 years of existence, Moses Lake has placed either first or second at the state tournament 50 percent of the time: 18 times a champion and 13 times a runner-up.

It didn’t take long for Moses Lake to start contending for state titles. After just four years as a program, Moses Lake finished second to Pullman in 1957 and second to Burlington-Edison the following year.

Beardsley coached Moses Lake to its first state championship in 1959 before leaving to launch the wrestling program at Central Washington University. Beardsley passed away in December 2014 in Lynden at the age of 89.

One legendary coach led to the next as Gary Frey succeeded Beardsley in 1960. Frey coached the Chiefs to three state championships in just five years on the job before leaving to helm the Grays Harbor College program.

A true testament to the deep wrestling roots of the Columbia Basin, Dick Deane took over for Frey in 1961, compiling 281 wins, four state championships and three seconds.

Ron Seibel, the most successful coach in Moses Lake history, started with the Chiefs in 1976 and racked up nine state championships before retiring in 2004.

“Obviously we’ve had some great coaches,” Garza said. “From Beardsley, to Frey, to Dick Deane, Seibel and Jamie Wise and myself. I think that helps. Over a 60 or 70-year span we’ve had six coaches, five coaches, something like that so I think that helps out. To be honest with you, when I say the community those are the clubs. A lot of people support our clubs and that’s what allows us to be exposed to wrestling at a young age.

“There aren’t too many places in the nation where kids are wrestling at a young age. Yeah, you can get it in the Midwest, you probably get it back east a bit, certain parts of California, but in Moses Lake it’s fair to say the majority of boys probably tried wrestling at some point in their life.”

One of those boys who had wrestling ingrained in him at an early age was Hudson Mauseth.

Mauseth became a third-generation state champion after claiming the 160-pound crown last season.

“I’ve always wanted to be up there (on the wall) since I was little,” he said. “Just like how my dad and grandpa were state champions ... I always want to push myself to be the best so if I want to be the best I’ve got to be on the wall and just keep pushing myself, but I am really glad to be on there.”

After being a part of three championship teams as a student-athlete from 1998-2000, Garza helped end a 12-year title drought last season. It was the longest gap between championships since a stretch from 1969-1978.

“It was a much different feeling as a coach than it was as a student-athlete. To be honest with you, it’s just as much work,” Garza said with a laugh. “I think at that point everything, in a sense, came full circle. Winning one as an individual, winning one as a team and then winning one as a coach. It was an amazing experience and every one you have to work hard at.

“Success does not come easy and that’s what I gathered from it.”

Mauseth and the rest of his teammates are looking forward to carving out another piece of Moses Lake history with the postseason set to begin at the district tournament Feb. 5.

“We have a big drive to be the best,” he said. “Most of our other wrestlers, including me, Dylan (Morris), Joel (Torres), Cooper (McCullough), we hate losing. It’s one of our big pet peeves. Do not get pinned. If you do lose you lose by one point in overtime or something because we want to give them a fight. We don’t give anything up

“So it’s hard work, you fight until the end, you die trying and so we always have that drive in here to push yourself to the max.”