Busy weekend on the mats

MOSES LAKE — It was a busy weekend for the Moses Lake wrestling program, having hosted both the Chasing Gold wrestling camp and the Duals in the Desert, which brought in wrestlers from across the Basin and beyond. 

The Chasing Gold camp featured instruction from two Moses Lake High School alumni in Jonathan Tanguma and Maximus Zamora. 

“They did a great job,” MLHS wrestling Head Coach Jose Tanguma said. “They showed a lot of techniques, a lot of good conditioning exercises for the wrestlers. They really brought the Moses Lake wrestlers and the Burlington-Edison (wrestlers) together and it was nice team bonding to show what teamwork can do when everyone works together.” 

Jonathan and Zamora brought plenty of experience on the mat to the camp; the former is a conference champion, conference all-American and a two-time finalist in the National Collegiate Wrestling Association wrestling for the University of Washington, while the latter is a 2024 NAIA All-American and two-time NAIA National qualifier who wrestles for Menlo College. 

Attending the camp were “20-plus" wrestlers in the MLHS program, as well as a group of 22 wrestlers from Burlington-Edison. A handful of local middle school wrestlers attended the three-day camp as well. 

“A lot of the older kids really took control in being a role model for those young kids,” Tanguma said. “Explaining to them what it’s like to wrestle in high school and what it takes — the seniors really took the middle school kids in, and it was nice that we got to show the kids what it’s like at the high school level.” 

The camp concluded Saturday with a dual meet, splitting the campers into Team Max and Team Jonathan. 

“Those middle school kids have never wrestled in a dual like that, and having a background like that at Zamora Park, and the kids wrestling outside, made it really special,” Tanguma said.  

The camp was held at Zamora Park and the MLHS wrestling room when temperatures rose. The campers, quite literally, camped at Zamora Park. 

“There were good, early-morning wakeups, going out for a run,” Tanguma said.

Following the camp, the Duals in the Desert was hosted at Zamora Park on Saturday night. Along with Moses Lake wrestlers in attendance, wrestlers from Post Falls, Idaho traveled across the border to compete in the dual. To fill out the roster, wrestlers from Ephrata and Othello were placed on the Post Falls team.

“We also brought in some little young ones to go out there and wrestle,” Tanguma said. “My son got to wrestle in it — it was pretty exciting.” 

    Campers wrestle under the sunset at Zamora Park on Saturday. The camp was held at both Zamora Park and Moses Lake High School over the weekend.