Mavs, Huskies place second at weekend tournaments
MOSES LAKE — Both the Moses Lake and Othello girls wrestling teams placed second at separate tournaments over the weekend, kickstarting the early season.
The Moses Lake girls wrestling team began its season with a second-place finish at the Lady Cat Invite hosted at Eastmont High School on Saturday, guided by four first-place finishes by wrestlers in the 100, 120, 130 and 135 weight classes.
Maverick senior Jhaile De Guzman finished first in the 100, junior Ashley Dayana Naranjo in the 120, freshman Reese Prescott in the 130 and senior Bianca Johnson in the 135.
“Everyone felt like they were going to contribute to the team and the team’s success, which they did,” Moses Lake Head Coach David Peralez said. “The team seems super supportive – there were times I had to go and tell the team to go back into the stands because they were really supportive of their teammates. They wanted to come down in the corner, which I love (to see). That’s so much fun.”
Peralez said that the Mavs’ strong support of their teammates helped guide them to their second-place finish in the first tournament of the year.
“A lot of (wrestling) is the mental confidence on the mat, especially in those three rounds when you’re just physically exhausted,” Peralez said. “I noticed a lot of those matches we were able to come out on top, and I feel like sometimes the notion that your teammates are there in your corner and you can hear them, that's what uplifts us.”
Moses Lake senior Kathryn Pugh stood out to the coaching staff after her second-place finish in the 145 weight class.
“I want to say this was her first finals match, she came out and man, she looked different than last year,” Peralez said. “She took a huge step forward as far as how she wrestled on her feet, and just came out super aggressive.”
Toppenish placed first in the tournament with 376 points, with Moses Lake behind in second with 211.5.
“I’m super glad that we saw those girls who experienced last year coming in with a lot more confidence because I think that was something that held them back last year,” Peralez said. “I’m hoping to see this in the beginning of the year, then we’re going to continue to build on that.”
Down in Kennewick, the Othello Huskies finished in second place of the Kennewick Lioness Invite – for the second year in a row – with a score of 179 points. This was the first tournament of the season for the Huskies, who had a mix-and-match meet last Wednesday.
“It just kind of prepared the girls to know what’s expected,” Othello Head Coach Rafael Ruiz said. ‘Especially going into our first tournament, where they wrestle multiple times a day. Getting them ready to compete, and just getting them mentally ready.”
Ruiz said that the team had 58 wrestlers sign up this year, a new high for the program.
“As a team we expect to always be in the top three, and this year we have a lot of girls that came out to wrestle,” Ruiz said.
Junior Ollonie Gonzalez and sophomore Bella Garza both placed second in the 100 and 105 weight classes, respectively, and Othello had 15 wrestlers place at the tournament.
“What really stood out was the way the girls wrestled,” Ruiz said. “They were going after their opponent, and trying to score and they didn’t give up. I think that really goes a long ways as far as expecting great things from themselves.”
The Huskies had a strong turnout from parents of wrestlers on the team, according to Ruiz.
“We appreciate the parents’ support, going to that tournament,” Ruiz said. “It’s something that we really haven’t seen much of, so that was really great to have the parents there and supporting their kids.”
Ian Bivona may be reached at ibivona@columbiabasinherald.com.
Other local results from Saturday’s Lady Cat Invite:
Warden - fifth place (125 points)
Ephrata - sixth place (124 points)
Quincy - ninth place (88 points)
Local results from Friday’s Kennewick Lioness Invite:
Othello - second place (179 points)
Royal - 13th place (45.5 points)
Wahluke - 14th place (44 points)
Quincy - 17th place (36.5 points)
