Late reversal the difference in Tanguma’s state championship win
Connor Vanderweyst/Columbia Basin Herald Moses Lake's Cruz Vasquez (left) grapples with Camas' Gideon Malychewski during the 160-pound state semifinals.
Casey McCarthy/Columbia Basin Herald Royal's Dominic Martinez takes a moment before getting up from the mat after falling in the championship round at 132 pounds at Mat Classic XXXII on Saturday.
Casey McCarthy/Columbia Basin Herald Quincy's Ruben Vargas tries to keep up with Selah's Amadeo Flores-Pimentel in the championship round at 220 in 2A at the Mat Classic Saturday evening. Flores-Pime
Casey McCarthy/Columbia Basin Herald Othello's Isaiah Perez looks to take down his friend and opponent Eduardo Mendez of Wapato as he moved toward claiming his third title at the Mat Classic on Satur
Casey McCarthy/Columbia Basin Herald Moses Lake's Lerenz Thomas grabbed the eighth place finish in the 4A 138-pound division at the Mat Classic in Tacoma over the weekend.
Casey McCarthy/Columbia Basin Herald Othello's Arturo Solorio faced off against Orting's Seth Dawkins in the finals at 145 in the Tacoma Dome on Saturday.
Casey McCarthy/Columbia Basin Herald Othello's Emily Mendez maintains control of her opponent, Salyna Shotwell as she went on to claim her first state title in her senior season on Saturday.
Casey McCarthy/Columbia Basin Herald Isaiah Perez and his Othello coaching staff hold up the "threes" to celebrate the senior becoming the first three-time state champion in school history with his w
Casey McCarthy/Columbia Basin Herald Ephrata's Kevin Pelayo fights to take his opponent, Isaac Reavis, to the ground in the third-place match at 195 at the Mat Classic last weekend.
Casey McCarthy/Columbia Basin Herald Moses Lake's Maximus Zamora defeated Sumner's Elijah Gandert to grab the third place finish at 145 on Saturday in the Tacoma Dome.
Casey McCarthy/Columbia Basin Herald Ephrata's Mac Laird grounds himself against North Kitsap's Nouh Hammou as the senior Tiger went on to claim his first title after finishing second in 2019.
Casey McCarthy/Columbia Basin Herald Isaiah Perez and Othello head coach Rudy Ochoa II embrace after the senior claimed his third title on Saturday evening in the Tacoma Dome.
Casey McCarthy/Columbia Basin Herald Moses Lake's Cruz Vasquez and Heritage's Alex Newberry get tangled up as Vasquez takes his opponent to the ground in the third-place match at 160 pounds in 4A on
Casey McCarthy/Columbia Basin Herald Othello's Emily Mendez fights on the mat against her opponent, Salyna Shotwell, in her final shot at a title as a Huskie on Saturday in the Tacoma Dome.
Casey McCarthy/Columbia Basin Herald Othello's Arturo Solorio tries to prevent the slam by his opponent in his championship bout at the Mat Classic in Tacoma on Saturday.
Casey McCarthy/Columbia Basin Herald Emily Mendez overpowers her opponent as she moves on to claim the title at 110 pounds on Saturday in Tacoma.
Casey McCarthy/Columbia Basin Herald Ephrata senior Mac Laird jumped into the arms of his dad and assistant coach, David Laird, after claiming the elusive title roughly a year since finishing second
Casey McCarthy/Columbia Basin Herald Royal senior Lorenzo Myrick moves to take his opponent to the mat in the championship bout at 160 in 1A.
Casey McCarthy/Columbia Basin Herald Royal senior Lorenzo Myrick is comforted by his head coach, Ben Orth, after falling in the championship round to Granger's Diego Isordia on Saturday at the Mat Cl
Casey McCarthy/Columbia Basin Herald Warden senior Aaliyah Escamilla fought a familiar opponent in Toppenish's Isabella Morales in the first-place bout at 105 on Saturday in Tacoma.
Casey McCarthy/Columbia Basin Herald Othello's Emily Mendez (top of podium) took first at 110, while fellow Huskie Alexis Monday (second from right) placed fourth in the same division.
Casey McCarthy/Columbia Basin Herald Royal head coach Ben Orth watches his senior, Lorenzo Myrick, in the finals on Saturday in the Mat Classic.
Casey McCarthy/Columbia Basin Herald Ephrata head coach Patrick Mitchell smiles as he hugs his senior and state champion, Mac Laird, after his match on Saturday in Tacoma.
Casey McCarthy/Columbia Basin Herald Moses Lake's Cruz Vasquez hangs midair before taking his opponent to the mat in the third-place bout on Saturday at the Mat Classic XXXII.
Casey McCarthy/Columbia Basin Herald Royal's Dominic Martinez works to overpower his opponent from Deer Park, Levi Miller, in the finals at 132 in 1A on Saturday.
Casey McCarthy/Columbia Basin Herald Othello's Isaiah Perez was dominant in his final bout on the mat for the Huskies, walking away the first three-time state champion in the program's history.
Casey McCarthy/Columbia Basin Herald Ephrata assistant coach David Laird holds his son, senior Mac Laird, up after he claimed his first state title in his final bout for the Tigers, capping off the u
Casey McCarthy/Columbia Basin Herald Royal's Dominic Martinez holds on to his opponent's leg as he works to take him to the ground in their finals bout on Saturday in Tacoma.
Casey McCarthy/Columbia Basin Herald Mac Laird of Ephrata holds both arms high in celebration after claiming the state championship he's been inching closer to each season.
Casey McCarthy/Columbia Basin Herald Quincy's Shannon Workinger works to take her opponent from Kennewick to the mat in a rematch from the finals at regionals a week before in Tacoma on Saturday.
Casey McCarthy/Columbia Basin Herald Othello's Isaiah Perez embraces head coach Rudy Ochoa II after claiming his third title in his final bout on the mat on Saturday in Tacoma.
Casey McCarthy/Columbia Basin Herald Moses Lake freshman Bianca Johnson finished fourth at 115 in her first trip to the Tacoma Dome for the Mat Classic.
Casey McCarthy/Columbia Basin Herald Warden's Aaliyah Escamilla and Isabella Morales embrace after their final matchup on Saturday for the title at 105 at the Mat Classic.
Casey McCarthy/Columbia Basin Herald Othello's Emily Mendez zones in before going for the title, a year after falling just short in the Tacoma Dome.
Casey McCarthy/Columbia Basin Herald Othello's Iyazely Barraza (second from left) and Moses Lake's Bianca Johnson (right) both found the podium on Saturday in Tacoma in the 115 pound division.
Casey McCarthy/Columbia Basin Herald Ephrata's Mac Laird works to overpower his opponent in the finals matchup at 195 in 2A on Saturday.
Casey McCarthy/Columbia Basin Herald Royal's Benji Bustos grabbed the fourth-place finish at 170 in 1A, falling to Forks' Hayden Baker in the third-place match.
Casey McCarthy/Columbia Basin Herald Moses Lake's Hunter White accepts his fifth-place medal on Saturday at the Mat Classic in Tacoma.
Connor Vanderweyst/Columbia Basin Herald Moses Lake junior Jonathan Tanguma celebrates after winning a 4A 113-pound state championship.
Connor Vanderweyst/Columbia Basin Herald Moses Lake junior Max Zamora (right) eyes Kennedy Catholic's Mateo De La Pena during the 145-pound state semifinals.
Connor Vanderweyst/Columbia Basin Herald Royal's Dominic Martinez takes down Forks' Jake Weakley during the 132-pound state semifinals.
Connor Vanderweyst/Columbia Basin Herald Warden senior Aaliyah Escamilla smiles after beating Orting's Ava Fritz in the 105-pound state semifinals.
Connor Vanderweyst/Columbia Basin Herald Warden's Aaliyah Escamilla (right) grapples with Orting's Ava Fritz during a semifinals match at Mat Classic XXXII.
Connor Vanderweyst/Columbia Basin Herald Warden's Aaliyah Escamilla waits to receive her second-place medal.
Connor Vanderweyst/Columbia Basin Herald Quincy's Ruben Vargas (front) had his hands full with returning state champion Amadeo Flores-Pimentel of Selah in the 220-pound finals.
Connor Vanderweyst/Columbia Basin Herald Moses Lake's Jonathan Tanguma (right) tries to free his leg from Sunnyside's Alejandro Fernandez during the 113-pound state semifinals.
Connor Vanderweyst/Columbia Basin Herald Quincy's Ruben Vargas grapples with White River's Cyrus Wheeler during the 220-pound state semifinals.
Connor Vanderweyst/Columbia Basin Herald Othello's Emily Mendez has her arm raised after winning the 110-pound state championship.
Connor Vanderweyst/Columbia Basin Herald Moses Lake's Jonathan Tanguma (right) looks to free himself from the grasp of Davis' Jaden Sanchez during the 113-pound state finals.
Connor Vanderweyst/Columbia Basin Herald Ephrata's Kevin Pelayo looks to pin his opponent during a consolation round at Mat Classic XXXII.
Connor Vanderweyst/Columbia Basin Herald Quincy's Shannon Workinger grins after advancing to the 155-pound state finals.
Connor Vanderweyst/Columbia Basin Herald Quincy's Shannon Workinger pins Oak Harbor's Maria Dailey during the 155-pound state semifinals.
Connor Vanderweyst/Columbia Basin Herald Othello's Arturo Solorio takes Cheney's Dylan Straley to the mat in the 145-pound state semifinals.
Laird, Perez, Mendez take home first-place trophies
TACOMA — Bloodied and bruised, Jonathan Tanguma spread his arms and let out a yell that betrayed his 113-pound frame.
A lifelong goal had been achieved.
State champion.
Tanguma scored a reversal late in the third round of his 4A championship final against Davis’ Jaden Sanchez to win 7-5.
“I just knew I had to get out (from the bottom) and when we were both up and he was behind me I hooked that leg and I just put all my weight on him,” Tanguma said. “I knew if I just kept the pressure on that I’d get my points and I’d win my match.”
Sanchez had won the previous two match-ups at districts and regionals, the first ending Tanguma’s bid for a perfect season. And, for a moment, it looked like Sanchez would win for a third Saturday in a row. The Davis sophomore took Tanguma down with less than a minute to wrestle in the third round to gain a 5-4 lead.
Tanguma stayed aggressive from the bottom position and earned a stall point after the final reset to even the match. On their feet in a tied match, Tanguma was able to hook his opponent’s leg and wind up on top after the subsequent tumble.
“He changed things up,” head coach Jaime Garza said. “We were really attacking the guy’s opposite hand. Chopping, chopping, chopping, getting him away from his tie, which was controlling Jon that entire match last week... I talked to him on Wednesday and said we’ve got to chop that hand and circle, chop, circle. Don’t let that guy get comfortable hanging on your head and I think he did a great job of that.”
Tanguma hardly breezed to the finals. The three-time state placer had to outlast freshman Mitchell Neiner of South Kitsap in the quarterfinals 8-6 in sudden victory and grind out a 5-2 decision against Alejandro Fernandez of Sunnyside in the semifinals. Tanguma fell behind 2-0 in the semis before scoring four points in the third round to advance to his first state finals.
He would not be denied.
“This is what I’ve dreamt about since middle school,” Tanguma said. “I wanted to be a state champ and I finally did it and just having my friends, my teammates, my family right behind me the whole way it meant a lot.”
Moses Lake placed fifth as a team. A respectable improvement from a season ago, but still not what the coaching staff had in mind, especially with just a single point the difference between fifth and fourth place. The Chiefs pushed three wrestlers into the semifinals; Max Zamora and Cruz Vasquez joined Tanguma in the semifinals, but could not overtake the wrestlers ahead of them in their respective weight classes. Zamora lost to second-ranked Mateo De La Pena of Kennedy Catholic in the 152-pound semifinals 8-5. Vasquez lost 5-2 to No. 2 Gideon Malychewski of Camas. Both wrestlers rallied to place third. Hunter White finished fifth and Lerenz Thomas was eighth.
“Fifth place is not what we came here for, I’ll be honest,” Garza said. “Am I satisfied? No. It’s better than last year, but still I’m not happy. I thought we should’ve placed fourth... All we can do is learn from this and move forward so that we can capitalize on it for next year.”
With only one senior graduating from the group of 13 that reached the Tacoma Dome, the Chiefs should be perceived as a team title contender next season. Chiawana, which won it’s second consecutive team championship Saturday, Tahoma, and Sunnyside will be right there contending as well, however.
“It’s gonna be another dogfight,” Garza said.
4A team scores: 1. Chiawana 143, 2. Sunnyside 132, 3. Tahoma 126.5, 4. Mead 89, 5. Moses Lake 88.5.
Moses Lake placers: 113, Jonathan Tanguma, 1st; 132, Hunter White, 5th; 138, Lerenz Thomas, 8th; 145, Max Zamora, 3rd; 160, Cruz Vasquez, 3rd.
Outside of the 4A bouts, the Columbia Basin crowned three other champions.
Isaiah Perez capped his Othello career with a third consecutive state championship. Perez didn’t see the second round until his finals match with Eduardo Mendez of Wapato. Perez, in no danger of losing, won by major decision 16-3 for a third title.
“Just feels unreal that its all over and everything,” he said. “It’s just nice to be able to wrestle one of my friends in the finals, too. It was a good match.”
Ephrata’s Mac Laird bounced back from a loss in the state finals a season ago to finish his senior year undefeated with a 2A state championship. Like Perez, Laird recorded three pins in a row to reach the state finals where he beat Nouh Hammou of North Kitsap by major decision 14-6.
“It feels amazing knowing that this will most likely be the last match I will ever wrestle and I left it all out there, held nothing back,” Laird said.
Mendez also won her first championship after a loss in the state finals last season. She advanced to the semifinals relatively unscathed before having to outlast Diana Cantini of Kamiak by sudden victory, 5-3. Mendez won a methodical finals match against Rogers of Puyallup’s Salyna Shotwell 7-3.
“It’s amazing,” she said. “It feels great to see how this long road of hard work pays off in the end. It’s really heartwarming. You get to see how much time and dedication is actually worth it in the end.”
Warden’s Aaliyah Escamilla finished her career as a four-time state placer after losing in the 105-pound finals to Toppenish’s Isabella Morales, 6-1. Othello’s Arturo Solorio, Royal’s Dominic Martinez, Lind-Ritzville’s Johnny Ryan, Quincy’s Shannon Workinger and Othello’s Iyazely Barraza were all state runners-up.
3A team scores: 1. Mt. Spokane 141, 2. Edmonds-Woodway 103.
2A team scores: 1. Toppenish 247.5, 2. Orting 179, 5. Othello 69, 12. Ephrata 47, 14. Quincy 44.
Ephrata placers: 195, Kevin Pelayo, 4th; 195, Mac Laird, 1st.
Othello placers: 138, Jaxon Rocha, 7th; 145, Arturo Solorio, 2nd; 220, Elijah Roylance, 7th; 285, Isaiah Perez, 1st.
Quincy placers: 152, Oswaldo Perez, 5th; 170, Mykenzi Realme, 8th; 220, Ruben Vargas, 2nd.
1A team scores: 1. Granger 178, 2. Zillah 148.5, 8. Royal 77.5, 26. Warden 24.5.
Royal placers: 132, Dominic Martinez, 2nd; 145, Kaleb Hernandez, 8th; 152, Mark Martinez, 7th; 160, Lorenzo Myrick, 2nd; 170, Benji Bustos, 4th; 220, Kevin Dominguez, 7th.
Warden placers: 113, Cael Cox, 6th; 132, Brenton Cole, 7th; 152, Holden Haworth, 8th.
1B/2B team scores: 1. Tonasket 294.5, 2. Liberty (Spangle) 123, 14. Lind-Ritzville 36, 17. Almira/Coulee-Hartline 33.
ACH placers: 285, Will Hahn, 3rd.
LRS placers: 113, Johnny Ryan, 2nd; 195, Douglas Morris, 4th.
Girls team scores: 1. White River 95, 2. Kennewick 86.5, 5. Othello 64, 29. Quincy 24, 35. Warden 20, 39. Moses Lake 18.5
Girls placers: 105, Aaliyah Escamilla, Warden, 2nd; 110, Emily Mendez, Othello, 1st; 110, Alexis Monday, Othello, 4th; 115, Bianco Johnson, Moses Lake 4th; 115, Iyazely Barraza, Othello, 2nd; 155, Shannon Workinger, Quincy, 2nd.
