Wrestlers take to the mat outdoors in Royal triple dual

ROYAL CITY — The Royal High School boys wrestling program took advantage of spring weather and sunshine while the high school gym is under repair to host a triple dual under the lights of the football field Tuesday evening.

The Royal Knights hosted Othello High School, Ephrata High School and Warden High School. Each team faced off against all three opponents. Royal head wrestling coach Ben Orth said the first event this season for his team was more of an informal dual, intended to get mat time for as many wrestlers as possible.

“We tried to add every kid we could match up into the varsity lineup,” Orth said. “You may have had two 162-pound matchups; it was just more about mat time and wasn’t necessarily about points.”

Orth said Tuesday night was an awesome experience and he got great feedback from both coaches and wrestlers. In COVID times, he said, it’s important to make things special for the kids and the fans, and Orth said he feels like the school accomplished that.

“It was a riot watching these kids battle and scrapping up and just have that open atmosphere scenario,” Orth said.

He said most of his wrestlers got to go at least three times, gaining experience early on in the compacted season. Orth said his four seniors, Yahir Morales, Dominic Martinez, Mark Martinez and Benji Bustos, are all returning state placers and all four finished Tuesday evening undefeated.

Orth said taking away the opportunity for a state championship from elite wrestlers like his senior group is tough on them, removing a major incentive athletes train for. But he said that just means making every opportunity as meaningful and memorable as possible.

With the final home meet scheduled, Orth said he isn’t sure if there will be another wrestling event outside, but would love to add one if possible. He said the issue with wrestling outdoors is finding teams that can come later, as the afternoon sun will “cook the mats” if they’re out too early.

Warden High School head wrestling coach Brent Cox said it was pretty cool watching from the sidelines. Cox said there are a lot of elements that have to align to make an event like that possible and was glad Royal had the courage to put it on.

With a young team this year – only three seniors on the roster – Cox said he expects some growing pains, especially with him implementing some new schemes to the practice plan.

Practice times have been limited already and Cox said he’s ready to take some early lumps. But, he said, he likes the vibe he gets from his young group.

“I’ve never had a team like this. I’ve got 17 guys on this team and none of them miss practice. You don’t get that type of dedication right off the bat,” Cox said. “These guys are dedicated to work hard. We’ve obviously got some things to work on, but it’s a very unique group of kids and I like their attitude and the effort they’re putting in.”

Cox said even some of the upperclassmen made mistakes Tuesday as wrestlers regain their groove on the mat.

Othello High School boys wrestling coach Rudy Ochoa II said Tuesday was a lot of fun and added it’s something everyone will remember from this short season. Ochoa said he was excited to see how some of his younger wrestlers did.

“What stood out to me was our young team rising up to the challenge and not backing down,” Ochoa said. “We were mixing up the line up a lot to give guys a chance; we were mixing in up to 9 or 10 freshman and sophomores, so it’ll be good experience for them down the road.”

Terrill Freeman, Josue Solorio and Isaac Campos were three wrestlers whose performance stood out to Ochoa.

With Senior Night at home, Ochoa said he feels like his team is ready for a little rest before a tough lineup of competition in the coming week.

Casey McCarthy can be reached via email at cmccarthy@columbiabasinherald.com.