Cougars get set for Mat Classic
Casey McCarthy/Columbia Basin Herald Warden’s Alexia Hernandez secured her place at the Mat Classic, taking fourth at 135 pounds in the Region IV tournament at Othello High School over the weekend.
Casey McCarthy/Columbia Basin Herald Warden’s Cael Cox works to force his brother, Cason, to the mat in the SCAC district finals at Warden High School.
Casey McCarthy/Columbia Basin Herald Warden senior Aaliyah Escamilla will make her fourth-straight trip to the Mat Classic after placing second at regionals over the weekend.
Warden junior Brenton Cole picked up the final berth at regionals in the 132-pound weight class to secure his place at the Tacoma Dome this weekend.
Casey McCarthy/The Sun Tribune
Casey McCarthy/Columbia Basin Herald Warden’s Holden Haworth works toward the pin in the SCAC district finals against Royal’s Dominic Martinez at Warden High School this season.
WARDEN — Warden will have six representatives in Tacoma over the weekend for the Mat Classic.
For the boys, Brenton Cole, Cael Cox, Holden Haworth and Eduardo Suarez all qualified over the weekend. On the girls’ side, senior Aaliyah Escamilla will make her fourth trip to the Tacoma Dome, while teammate Alexia Hernandez will join her after securing the berth on Saturday.
Senior Holden Haworth will make his third trip to the Tacoma Dome after taking the top place at the Region III tournament on Saturday. Haworth comes in as the fifth-ranked wrestler at 152 pounds, according to Washington Wrestling Report.
The senior defeated Zillah’s Jared Garcia in the title match over the weekend. After a sixth-place finish in 2019, Haworth will have his eyes set on the semifinals and beyond this year.
Sophomore Austin Mattson awaits the Warden senior in his first bout on Friday. A potential matchup against top-ranked Christopher Hamblin of Seton Catholic awaits Haworth in the semifinals.
Cael Cox nabbed the first-place finish over the weekend at 113 to secure his second trip to the Mat Classic as a sophomore. Cox will have his eyes on reaching the podium in year two.
The sophomore Cougar took down Zillah’s Jorge Espinoza in the title match on Saturday, picking up the pin midway through the third round. A fellow sophomore awaits Cox in his first matchup in Tacoma, Dominic Anderson. A potential matchup against third-ranked Ty Friedman of Lakeside awaits Cox in the second round.
Twelfth-ranked Eduardo Suarez grabbed the final spot at 195 on Saturday, falling to Jorge Villafan of Highland in the third place match. The Warden junior will return to Tacoma for the second time this season.
Cascade Christian’s top-ranked Toretto Metzger awaits Suarez in his first matchup on Friday.
Junior Brenton Cole finished fourth in the 132 weight class on Saturday to secure his spot at the Tacoma Dome. Cole fell to Granger’s Ramiro Jimenez in the bout for third over the weekend.
Cole will face off against Deer Park’s Levi Miller in the opening bout on Friday. Miller comes in as the second-ranked wrestler in the class, with a fifth-place finish in 2019.
Escamilla makes her fourth trip to the Mat Classic, placing all three years so far. With a fifth-place finish in 2019, Escamilla will look to cement her Cougar legacy with a title as a senior.
Warden Head coach Valerie Hernandez expects the time and work her senior has put in these past four years paired with a string of tough matchups have Escamilla ready to make a run.
“It’s been weekend after weekend of just beating on each other on this side that we feel confident it will be our region in the finals in state,” Hernandez said.
Ranked second in the state at 105, Escamilla chose to forfeit the title match on Saturday with eyes on being full strength heading into Friday, Hernandez said.
Craydi Moen will be the first bout for Escamilla on Friday. Top-ranked Isabella Morales of Toppenish awaits on the opposite side of the bracket.
Junior Alexia Hernandez grabbed the final spot in the 135 weight class on Saturday, taking fourth over the weekend to advance to Tacoma. Hernandez fell to Goldendale’s Kali Watson in the third-place match in the second round, but did what she needed to secure the berth in the Mat Classic.
Hernandez will have a daunting matchup to kick off the tournament. Top-ranked Allison Blaine of Hudson’s Bay, state champion the past two seasons in the weight class, awaits.
