BASIN WRESTLING REPORT: Royal takes second at home tourney

ROYAL CITY — Eight local boys wrestling teams took the mat at Saturday’s Royal Christmas Tournament, with the Royal Knights having the highest finish of the Basin squads (second place, 169 points).  

“It’s always a great opportunity to show off in your own gym,” Royal head coach Darrin Miller said. “There was a lot of excitement; it takes the whole community to put on.” 

Following the Knights was Ephrata (third, 148.5 points), Othello (fourth, 122), Quincy (eighth, 98), Warden (ninth, 72), Almira-Coulee-Hartline (14th, 53.5), Moses Lake (17th, 49.5) and Wahluke (21st, 20). Cashmere won the tournament, scoring 178 points as a team. 

Royal had eight wrestlers place at Saturday’s tournament; freshman Andy Calderon (106 pounds, second), junior Dennis Hernandez (120, first), junior Angel Carrasco (120, second), junior Thomas Antonio (132, third), freshman Scout Stevenson (138, third), sophomore Cael Orth (157, second), junior Shea Stevenson (165, third) and sophomore Willians Mendoza (285, third). 

“It came down to every single guy wrestling hard, even if they weren’t one of the top three placers,” Miller said. “Every single match counts when we’re talking about team points. Our younger guys, guys who aren’t as developed yet, worked really hard and they secured a lot of wins.” 

Scout Stevenson and Mendoza both placed for the first time, Miller said. 

“I think that was the most medals we’ve had a tournament this year so far, so there was a lot of excitement,” Miller said. “There was some new faces that placed this week that we haven’t seen place so far this season.” 

Royal returns to the mat Saturday at the Bavarian Wrestling Tournament at Cascade (Leavenworth).  

“We just keep telling them we’re not at the peak yet, so we have to continue to put in a lot of work and time,” Miller said.  

Local Results 

Royal – 2nd place 

Placers: Calderon (106 pounds, second), Hernandez (120, first), Carrasco (120, second), Antonio (132, third), Scout Stevenson (138, third), Orth (157, second), Shea Stevenson (165, third) and Mendoza (285, third). 

Ephrata – 3rd place 

Placers: sophomore Nathan Sandoval (126, fourth), senior Dominic Furman (132, fourth), senior CJ Schultz (144, third), junior Jonathan Ramirez (165, fourth), junior Peyton Woods (215, second) and junior Micah Sandberg (285, first). 

Othello – 4th place 

Placers: senior Christopher Garcia (106, first), freshman Jayden Gonzalez (113, fourth), senior Nathaniel Montemayor (138, second) and sophomore Armoni Zuniga-Mendoza (150, third). 

Quincy – 8th place 

Placers: senior Saidt Alvarez (113, first), sophomore Johnny Blancas (120, fourth), senior Julian Silvas (175, fourth) and junior Alejandro Barajas (190, third). 

Warden – 9th place 

Placers: sophomore Raylen Heredia (113, second), sophomore Samuel Aquilar (113, third) and junior Erik Camacho (120, third). 

ACH – 14th place 

Placers: sophomore Noah Butler (190, second). 

Other Local Results 

Orting Invite – Orting 

Othello was the lone eastern Washington team at Saturday’s Orting Invite. The Huskies had seven wrestlers reach the podium at the tournament.  

Othello placers: freshman Xavier Mendez (106, second), junior Daniel Gonzalez (120, second), junior Mason Russell (132, second), junior Camilo Mendez III (150, second), senior Parker Freeman (165, third), senior Anthony Solorio (215, first) and senior Mason Perez (285, first). 

Paul Reaser Cat Classic – East Wenatchee 

Moses Lake came out on top of Saturday’s Paul Reaser Cat Classic at Eastmont High School, scoring 240 points as a team for a convincing win at the tournament. The Mavericks had 14 wrestlers reach the podium, including six champions. 

Maverick placers: junior Ian Garza (113, first), freshman Jose Villafana (113, second), sophomore Bryan Naranjo (120, first), senior Cruz Hernandez (126, first), freshman Ryan Martinez (126, fifth), sophomore Duane Zamora (132, first), senior Drayden Gaither (138, first), sophomore Trenton Vasquez (144, second), junior Ian Anderson (150, third), sophomore Conner Brosnahan (157, fourth), sophomore Ruben Novoa (175, second), senior Malaki Town (190, third), sophomore Eli Anderson (215, first) and sophomore Cristian Ramos (285, fifth). 

Pomeroy Christmas Tournament – Pomeroy 

The Lind-Ritzville/Sprague Broncos placed seventh as a team at Saturday’s Pomeroy Christmas Tournament, seeing six wrestlers reach the podium and scoring 87.5 points as a team.  

Potlatch (Idaho) won the tournament with 170 points, followed by Colfax (149 points) and Enterprise/Wallowa (Oregon) (127 points). 

LRS placers: junior Cooper Ramos (120, fourth), sophomore Wyatt Gibler (126, fourth), senior Wyatt Rosman (138, fifth), senior Carson Kubik (150, first), freshman Gabriel Muniga (165, third) and senior Brock Tracy (285, third). 

Winter Cup – Richland 

Local girls wrestling teams from Quincy, Ephrata and Warden took to the mats at Saturday’s Winter Cup at Hanford High School, with the Jacks finishing 13th (54 points), the Tigers taking 14th (53 points) and the Cougars finishing 25th (13 points). 

Chiawana (170.5 points) edged out Richland (170 points) to win the tournament. Kennewick finished third with 123 points. 

Results: 

Quincy – 13th place 

Placers: senior Harlie Torgeson (115, sixth), senior Alondra Cordova (125, first) and freshman Abigail Garcia (235, sixth). 

Ephrata – 14th place 

Placers: junior Adylene Sanchez (155, second) and junior Carolina Monico (235, second). 

Warden – 25th place 

Placer: junior Ashley Cruz (135, sixth). 

    Quincy senior Alondra Cordova, right, placed first in the 125-pound bracket at Saturday’s Winter Cup tournament in Richland.
  

    Moses Lake senior Drayden Gaither, top, wrestles at last season’s state tournament. Gaither was one of six Mavericks who finished on top of their weight class at last weekend’s Paul Reaser Cat Classic at Eastmont. Moses Lake won the tournament with 240 team points.