Huskies win second straight CWAC title

OTHELLO — The Othello Huskies clinched their second straight Central Washington Athletic Conference title with last week’s win over Ephrata, defeating the Tigers 70-6 in the final dual meet of the season.

It’s Othello’s third title in the last four years; the Huskies won the Greater Spokane League during the 2020-21 season.

“It feels good to see consistency,” Othello head coach Rudy Ochoa II said. “Hopefully every year they come in with the expectation of improving and performing, and I think it’s proof of them putting in the work and a testament to all the things that they’re doing and it paying off.”

Othello entered Thursday’s dual with a 5-0 mark in duals this season, sweeping through the remainder of the CWAC. The Huskies recorded pins in nine of the 14 bouts Thursday night.

“When their teammates are out there and performing, I think they want a part of it also,” Ochoa said. “It motivates them and encourages them to dig a little deeper. It kind of gets contagious, and it builds some momentum.”

Pinning their opponents were Othello sophomore Daniel Gonzalez (113), sophomore Mason Russell (126), senior Anthony Abundiz (132), senior Marcos Zuniga (138), junior Jeremiah Flores (150), sophomore Camilo Mendez III (157), senior Jesus Bonilla (165), junior Jaxon Gomez (175) and junior Anthony Solorio (215). Also earning wins were junior Chris Garcia (106) in a 9-5 decision, senior Isaac Campos (120) in a 13-0 major decision and junior Ismael Torres (144) in a 3-1 decision.

The Tigers earned six points off a first-round pin by senior Ramon Alcantar-Reyes.

“Hopefully they weren’t putting too much pressure on themselves, and just going out and competing,” Ochoa said of the team wrestling with the CWAC title on the line. “That’s the type of atmosphere we tried to help create with them; it’s just another match, no matter the platform or the setting.”

The Huskies honored the program’s seniors ahead of the dual against Ephrata; all four that wrestled Thursday night won their matches.

“It was really cool, I heard them talk about it after the dual that they all won their match,” Ochoa said. “I’m happy that they can go out with a bang in our gym because the five seniors that we had are all four-year seniors. They all stuck it out from day one to now.”

With the regular season now in the rearview mirror, Othello brings a roster of nine state veterans into the postseason. That experience can go a long way; the Huskies also have returning state placers in Campos, Russell, Abundiz, Zuniga and junior Mason Perez.

“I hope it brings some confidence that they’ve been there and they’ve performed,” Ochoa said. “We’re big on trying to make it as simple as possible, so hopefully it just feels like going out and wrestling another match, not making it more than it needs to be.”

Othello travels to Yakima Friday for the 2A District 5 Boys Wrestling Championships at the Yakima Valley SunDome. 

Friday’s district tournament will also be the site of 1A District 5 and the girls District 5 tournaments.

“I think it’ll help, just like some of the tournaments we go to and they wrestle in bigger arenas with more mats,” Ochoa said. “I think all of that helps expose our kids to that state tournament (environment). It’s a real thing where kids kind of get shellshocked and they see the big dome, so hopefully this’ll be the start of postseason and they can iron out some of those wrinkles.”

Wrestling begins at 9 a.m. 

“I’m happy with our league championship, but we need to not be content and relaxed,” Ochoa said. “We have other goals that we have, and we need to work towards accomplishing those goals.”

Ian Bivona may be reached at ibivona@columbiabasinherald.com.

    Othello senior Jesus Bonilla, background, works to flip his opponent during Othello’s dual against Prosser. The Huskies swept the CWAC in duals this season.
  

    Othello senior Anthony Abundiz, left, is one of five returning state placers for the Huskies this season. The postseason begins Friday at the 2A District 5 Boys Wrestling Championships in Yakima.