Warden mat men runner-up to Tonasket

WARDEN — Warden head coach Brent Cox referred to it as “Hell week.”

But a week’s worth of time would have been nice.

Warden began its three-day stretch of grueling wrestling with a double dual against Wahluke and Royal on Thursday, a home dual with reigning B champion Tonasket on Friday, and then its annual Jeremiah Schmunk Invitational on Saturday.

The Cougars put eight wrestlers in the finals, crowned three champions and finished second to Tonasket in the team race with 205 points. Tonasket had 10 in the finals and eight champions, totaling 234.50 points.

“That’s hard to ask that for a kid — to really, really put everything he’s got into it for three days in a row,” Cox said. “But here, mid-season, it’s perfect. This is exactly what we needed. Now the kids got a good dipstick of where they need to be and we just need to get there.”

Warden only had three less placers than Tonasket (17-14), but the difference came in the championship matches.

A Cougar wrestler was a runner-up to a Tiger in four matches.

“Our kids are tough and they did the best they could,” Cox said. “Tonasket’s a tough team to beat. We saw that last night and saw it today in the finals. I’m proud of them. I’m proud of our guys. They did a great job. They did what they could... I’m glad they’re (Class) B.”

Anthony Martinez denied a fifth consecutive Tonasket champion with a first-round pin of Austin Brock in the 132-pound title match. Martinez, who is ranked fourth in state, pinned his way to the championship.

In the 170-pound final, Elijah Gonsalez implemented solid defense to grind out a 6-3 decision against familiar foe Jekoby Tuttle of Connell. Gonsalez scored two takedowns in the first period and slipped out of multiple single-leg shots from Tuttle.

“I didn’t want to give anything,” Gonsalez said.

Martin Dominguez also met a league opponent in his 220-pound championship match. River View’s Devin Roberts used his height advantage to mitigate Dominguez’s attack. However, Roberts was unable to score himself and elected to start in the neutral position in the third period, conceding one point. Dominguez stayed aggressive and was eventually rewarded with one stall point for the 2-0 decision.

“I’ve seen this guy three times already so I’ve kind of gotten to know what he wants to do,” he said. “These guys at 220 (pounds) — they’re a lot taller, stronger, and longer, like you say. I’m a short guy, you know?

“I’m patient, I’m always trying to move, trying to find my open spots, and tonight I found them. I didn’t finish them. I’ve got to commit to them next time and finish on them.”