Moses Lake pins eight, runs away from Eastmont 56-12
Connor Vanderweyst/Columbia Basin Herald Moses Lake senior Nick Hara takes down Eastmont’s Adrian Vivanco. Hara won the 132-pound match 24-7.
Connor Vanderweyst/Columbia Basin Herald Moses Lake’s Chandler Fluaitt (right) looks for a shot against Jared Penfold.
Connor Vanderweyst/Columbia Basin Herald Spencer Humphreys gets tied up with Cesar Sitio of Eastmont.
Connor Vanderweyst/Columbia Basin Herald Adrian Suarez tries to get Cesar Mendoza onto his back for a pin.
Connor Vanderweyst/Columbia Basin Herald Moses Lake senior Adrian Suarez sizes up opponent Cesar Mendoza.
Connor Vanderweyst/Columbia Basin Herald Moses Lake’s Beau Mauseth dodges a shot from Trey Lopez.
Connor Vanderweyst/Columbia Basin Herald Bailey Sanchez (maroon) lifts Camryn Bowling into the air.
Connor Vanderweyst/Columbia Basin Herald Daiman Vasquez tries to hang on to Isaiah Johnston of Eastmont.
MOSES LAKE — Nick Hara, wrestling his final match on the Moses Lake mat, said the goal for senior night was to just have fun and stay relaxed.
Hara certainly made his own fun, using a bevy of moves to record a 24-7 technical fall against Adrian Vivanco. Behind eight pins and Hara’s tech, Moses Lake routed Eastmont 56-12.
“It was kind of intense because obviously you don’t want to lose, but I think it was just mostly about having fun,” Hara said. “We were all kind of relaxed about it.”
Due to schedule changes forced by inclement weather, it was the Chiefs’ first time wrestling at home in over a month. The crowd showed its appreciation with shouts of encouragement and cheers as six seniors wrestled for the final time inside the friendly confines of Moses Lake High School.
“We’ve been really waiting to get out there and wrestle,” head coach Jaime Garza said. “We get to go to some tournaments and those are fun, but there’s nothing better than wrestling in front of your home crowd and this environment... It’s just nice. It’s quite the experience for them.”
Chandler Fluaitt, the top-ranked 285-pound wrestler, set the tone for the evening with a second-round pin. Fluaitt led Jared Penfold by as much as 10 points before securing the fall.
“I felt like the team stemmed a lot off that big win,” Fluaitt said. “Putting up a tech pin against a kid was like a big deal. Usually you don’t see that from heavyweights. I feel like it kind of motivated us as a team to go out there and get as many pins as we got.”
Riley Burgess (106) picked up a first-round pin to open up a 12-0 lead. The Wildcats answered with three wins in a row to draw within three points, 12-9.
However, eight of the next night matches went the Chiefs’ way.
Seniors Adrian Suarez (145) and Cyrus Knoll (152) both win by fall.
Suarez held a narrow lead over Cesar Mendoza in the third round. Mendoza, trailing late in the match, elected to cut Suarez for an opportunity at another take-down. The strategy backfired as Suarez was able to use his length to cradle Mendoza for a pin with 44 seconds left.
“Adrian showed quite a bit of fight not giving up there,” Garza said. “There was a point where he could’ve let that match slip out of his hands, but he was able to settle back in.”
Suarez’s pin began a run of five in a row for the Chiefs.
Moses Lake finishes its Columbia Basin Big Nine dual schedule at Sunnyside on Thursday. The postseason begins with the district tournament at Wenatchee on Feb. 3
“We’re looking to get in some shape and really beat on some people,” Fluaitt said.
Box score
285: Chandler Fluaitt (ML) p. Jared Penfold 3:05
106: Riley Burgess (ML) p. Hunter Samuels 1:56
113: Louis Arellano (E) d. Caleb Alvarado 9-3
120: Jesus Salamanca (E) d. Thomas Hamm 7-2
126: Cesar Sitio (E) d. Spencer Humphreys 6-0
132: Nick Hara (ML) d. Adrian Vivanco 24-7
138: Christien Knopp (ML) d. Alejandro Hernandez 10-3
145: Adrian Suarez (ML) p. Cesar Mendoza 5:16
152: Cyrus Knoll (ML) p. Mason McEvoy 3:39
160: Hunter Cruz (ML) p. Josh Hill 1:37
170: Beau Mauseth (ML) p. Trey Lopez 3:59
182: Bailey Sanchez (ML) p. Camryn Bowling 1:41
195: Isaiah Johnston (E) d. Daiman Vasquez 13-11 OT
220: Payton Castro (ML) p. Elijah Scott 2:35