Royal girls wrestler wins state title, Othello boys team takes third at Mat Classic
State champion Alondra Morales of Royal High School (right, in black) tries to take down her opponent, Monica Kaiser of South Kitsap High School, during Mat Classic XXXIII on Feb. 19.
Rebecca Pettingill/Columbia Basin Herald
0223 State wrestling results 2: Rebecca Pettingill/Columbia Basin Herald Kevin Dominguez, Royal High School, has the advantage over opponent Donovan Bishop, Elma, in a state tournament match Feb. 18. Dominguez finished fifth in the 285-pound class.
Othello wrestler Lexi Monday (left) eyes her opponent, Ashley Dayana Naranjo of Moses Lake, in the state championship match at Mat Classic XXXIII on Feb. 19. Monday finished second in the 115-pound class.
Othello wrestler Lexi Monday (in white) tries to escape the hold of Ashley Dayana Naranjo of Moses Lake during the state championship match in the 115-pound class at Mat Classic 2022 on Feb. 19.
TACOMA — Alondra Morales of Royal High School brought home a state championship and the Othello boys wrestling team placed third in Class 2A at Mat Classic XXXIII in Tacoma on Feb. 18 and 19.
Two Othello wrestlers placed second at the Mat Classic and another finished third. Royal’s Emma Villa also came home with a second-place finish.
Royal girls head coach Jesus Carlos Villa predicted Morales would win a state title and Emma Villa would be contending for one, and he was right. Morales won a close 8-7 match over Delaney Graves of Chief Sealth International High School out of Seattle to take the title in the 140-pound class.
Emma Villa was pinned by Ruby Rodriguez-Rios of Toppenish in the title match at 155 pounds.
Othello wrestler Lexi Monday finished second in the 115-pound class, losing a 6-0 decision to Ashley Dayana Naranjo of Moses Lake.
Othello girls head coach Rafael Ruiz said he was glad to see Monday, a senior, making the finals. Monday’s goal for the season was to make the state championship final, Ruiz said.
“And she did that. It was pretty awesome,” Ruiz said.
Othello wrestler Mason Perez took second in the 2A 285-pound class, losing by a pin to Logan Lisherness of White River High School out of Buckley. Othello’s Isaac Campos finished third at 106 pounds, winning a 6-0 decision over Talatheon Warness of Aberdeen.
Huskie boys wrestling coach Rudy Ochoa II said his projections showing his team finishing in the top four, and finishing anywhere in the top 10 was something to be proud of.
“At the end of the day, they all had great seasons,” Ochoa said of his team.
Three Othello wrestlers finished fourth, Ethan Perez-Medina at 170 pounds, Terrill Freeman at 195 pounds and Josue Solorio at 220 pounds. Othello’s Victorino De La Cruz was fifth at 106 pounds, and his teammate Marcos Zuniga finished fifth at 113 pounds. Kevin Dominguez of Royal was fifth at 285 pounds in Class 1A, and his teammate Kaleb Hernandez was sixth at 170 pounds.
Forrest Roylance of Othello finished seventh at 132 pounds, and Alexis Espindola of Othello finished seventh at 182 pounds.
Ochoa said the support the team and the coaches get from the community was a big contributor to their success. He expressed gratitude to OHS administrators, wrestling parents, the families of the coaches and residents of Othello for their support of the team.
“We have a great support system in our community that I’m thankful for,” Ochoa said.
Cheryl Schweizer can be reached via email at cschweizer@columbiabasinherald.com.
