Othello wins second consecutive Leonard Schutte Invitational
Rodney Harwood/Columbia Basin Herald - Othello senior Chris Melo, right, works against Andy Pimentel of Selah during the 113-pound championship match Saturday at the Leonard Schutte Invitational. Melo won his second consecutive Schutte championship, 7-5, and remains undefeated on the season.
Third-year Othello wrestling coach Rudy Ochoa II took his time in answering whether the 2017-18 Huskies were a better dual team or a tournament team.
He just smiled, “We have a lot of guys in the middle of our lineup battling to get out of the room,” he said. “So I guess we’ll see.”
It’s a good problem to have and the Huskies are proving to be both, winning the 11-team Leonard Schutte Invitational in PJ Taggares Gymnasium on Saturday.
In the past seven days, they’ve won the Bob Mars Invitational, dissected East Valley 75-3 and now added the Schutte tournament to an impressive start.
“Winning this tournament means a lot. The Schutte family is a wrestling family here in our community and boys always want to protect the house, and they did a good job tonight,” Ochoa II said. “I felt like we wrestled pretty tough. Obviously it’s still early and we’re still making a lot of mistakes. But it’s back to the drawing board Monday to clean up those mistakes and see how we can be a better team.”
Othello (257.5 points) put nine in the finals and crowned six champions and held off Reardon (210), who had eight wrestling for championships. Selah (158) was a distant third. Moses Lake was ninth.
Othello senior Chris Melo won his second consecutive Leonard Schutte championship at 113 pounds. Melo fractured a collarbone at the regional tournament a year ago and missed the Mat Classic. Right now, he’s wrestling like a man on a mission, taking out Andy Pimentel of Selah 7-5 in the championship in a prelude to what the Central Washington Athletic Conference might expect down the road.
“Winning this tournament is a big deal. It means we’re tough and wrestling well,” said Melo, who took a 7-5 lead in the final with 1:28 remaining for the margin of victory. “Winning a state title is the goal and winning this tournament is another step toward that goal.”
Huskies senior DJ Guzman came through the 220-pound bracket with a couple of pins, including a first-period pin in the final when he turned Cole Davis of Chewelah at 1:17.
“I’ll be cutting weight to 195 next week, but going at 220 was good. It’s about technique and using speed against them,” Guzman said. “I try to use my athleticism. Tonight, I needed to stay patient and wait for my opportunity.”
The heavyweight final had a bit of a scary moment when Othello sophomore Isaiah Perez came down hard on his right shoulder and the match was stopped for an injury timeout in the second period. When the match resumed, Perez, who was the CWAC North Defensive Player of the Year in football, went immediately to work, turning Hunter Dawley of Reardon at 2:38 in what proved to be a pivotal match in the team standings.
“I had something going with my shoulder and I just wanted to finish it,” Perez said. “Wrestling at heavyweight is a lot harder and is about dealing with a lot more weight. I wrestled at 220 last year, so I’m faster and most of them are a lot slower.
“I was second here last year, so it feels good to wrestle well and win this tournament. My goal is to be a state champion and this is a good step.”
Othello wrestled extremely well with the top half of its lineup with champions at 106, 113 and 120. Josiah Barrera had an extremely competitive match in the semifinals with Evan Anderson of Selah (5-4), then won by major decision for the championship. Isaiah Munguia pinned Abraham Silva of Riverside to win at 120. Jeremy Mendez pinned his way to the finals, then handled AJ Au of Selah for the 132-pound championship, 14-7.
Roberto Ramirez (138), Easton Roylance (160) and Bernie Garza Jr. (170) contributed to the team title, finishing as runners-up.
Moses Lake 220-pounder Jose Salazar had a nice tournament, coming back through the consolation bracket to finish third for the Chiefs with a pin over Cotter Colton of Reardon.
The Huskies are at Prosser Thursday, and then travel to Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, Friday to participate in the Tri-State Tournament, which is one of the longest standing high school tournaments in the Pacific Northwest.
Team scores: 1. Othello, 57.5. 2. Reardon, 210. 3. Selah, 158. 4. Clarkston, 147. 5, Chewelah, 132. 6. Klahowya, 97. 7. Riverside, 83. 8. Naches, 76. 9. Moses Lake, 75. 10. KiBe, 33. 11. Richland, 17.
Championship matches
106 - Josiah Barrera, O, md. Cory Perryman, Re, 13-1.
113 - Chris Melo, O, d. Andy Pimentel, S, 7-5
120 - Isaiah Munguia, O, p. Abraham Silva, Riv, 5:30
126 - Daniel Callahan, S, md. Ethan Hull, Re, 9-0
132 - Jeremy Mendez, O, d. AJ Au, S, 14-7
138 - Caleb Cole, Re, p. Roberto Ramirez, O, 3:55
145 - Rylan Anderson, Re, d. Daden Mackowiak, Che, 8-5
152 - Jake Freeman, Cla., d. Thomas Perryman, Re, 6-1
160 - Flores Pimentel, S, d. Easton Roylance, O, 5-4
170 - Kaden Krouse, Che, d. Bernie Garza Jr., O, 7-3
182 - Ethan Landt, Re, p. Mason Payne, Re, 3:25
195 - Hunter Gangle, Nac, d. JW Merriott, Re, 12-9
220 - DJ Guzman, O, p. Cole Davis, Che, 1:17
285 - Isaiah Perez, O, p. Hunter Dawley, Re, 2:38
Othello 75
East Valley 3
The Huskies Chis Melo (113), Isaiah Munguia (120), Nick Alvarez (195), DJ Guzman (220), and Isaiah Perez (285) pinned their Red Devil opponents in the lopsided contest at Home Thursday that also saw five East Valley forfeits because of injuries.