Late wins push Mavs to 35-32 win over Sunnyside

MOSES LAKE — With the Mavericks holding a 35-32 lead entering the final match of Tuesday’s dual against Sunnyside, Moses Lake sophomore Cristian Ramos knew was on the line as he took the mat for the 285-pound bout; a win meant Moses Lake would win its first Big 9 title since 2018. 

“I glanced at (the score) one time, but after that, I just wrestled my match,” Ramos said. “I know how many points I have, and I know what I need to do to score.” 

Trailing 2-1 entering the third period of the match, Ramos tied the match with an escape before recording a takedown and a near fall against Sunnyside’s Aiden Nonato with less than a minute left in the round, eventually earning the 9-3 decision. 

“My nerves were going crazy, but I knew Cristian could get out from the bottom,” Moses Lake head coach Jose Tanguma said. “He’s a very tough kid to hold down. I just knew if he kept getting that motion, Sunnyside’s heavyweight was going to slow down, and that’s exactly what happened. Cristian started taking more shots, adding more fakes, and he got in deep on that low ankle.” 

“‘Don’t do anything crazy, don’t do anything stupid,’” Ramos said of what he was thinking during the final stretch of the match. “I was just trying to maintain where I was at and stay in the lead for the win.” 

Fans in the stands erupted in cheers following the buzzer, as the win by Ramos gave Moses Lake a 38-32 win over the Grizzlies and helped Moses Lake seal its first league title in seven seasons. 

“Everybody was cheering — through my headgear, it was full blast. I couldn’t hear anything,” Ramos said. “I just praised God for it, raised my finger up to the sky.” 

Both Moses Lake and Sunnyside entered Tuesday’s dual with 5-0 marks in league matchups this winter.

“We knew this match was going to be tough, Sunnyside’s always been a tough opponent for us,” Tanguma said. “It just feels good right now — the guys have been training so hard for this, and they showed that on the mat. It came down to the last match.”

Moses Lake won the first two bouts, as freshman Jose Villafana won by fall at 106 pounds and junior Ian Garza won in a 15-6 major decision at 113 pounds. After a Moses Lake forfeit at 120 pounds, Sunnyside earned major decisions at 126 and 132 pounds to take a 14-10 lead in the dual.

Maverick senior Drayden Gaither’s 14-6 major decision at 138 pounds and sophomore Trenton Vasquez’s 5-1 decision at 144 pounds gave Moses Lake back the lead, 17-14, with both teams trading pins over the next two bouts; first Sunnyside at 150 pounds, followed by Moses Lake sophomore Conner Brosnahan at 157 pounds.  

“I knew all the Sunnyside guys matched up well with our guys, and some of these matches were very close. They could have gone either way,” Tanguma said. “I’m excited to see what districts are going to be like.”

Sunnyside took a 32-23 lead with back-to-back pins at 165 and 175 pounds before Moses Lake captured the lead again with back-to-back pins of its own; first senior Malaki Town at 190 pounds, followed by sophomore Eli Anderson in the 215-pound matchup, putting Moses Lake back up 35-32. Ramos won the next match to seal the win.

“It got the crowd fired up, got our guys fired up too,” Tanguma said. “We needed those pins; those pins helped us get that final win at the end. Cristian knew what was on the line at the end, and he stayed composed out there and in good position the whole time.” 

Moses Lake finished the regular season unbeaten in Big 9 duals; Tanguma credited the team’s camaraderie for their success during the regular season. 

“They came together and pushed each other in the room,” he said. “I’ve been noticing it in warm-ups, that they’ve really come together and understand that this is a team effort. In order to win a league title, everyone needs to participate and put in the work for it.” 

The Mavericks travel to West Valley (Yakima) for the district championship meet on Saturday, where the top three in each weight class will advance to the 4A Boys Mat Classic in Tacoma. Wrestling begins at 11 a.m. 

“It’s been a while since we’ve won league, so it’s showing everybody in the state of Washington that Moses Lake’s coming back up,” Tanguma said. “We want to get that 19th state title, and it starts here.”

CORRECTION: Moses Lake sophomore Eli Anderson wrestled in the 215-pound match.

    Moses Lake junior Ian Garza, background, wrestles in the 113-pound bout of Tuesday’s dual. Garza won in a 15-6 major decision.
  

    Moses Lake senior Malaki Town, top, pins his opponent in the 190-pound match of Tuesday’s dual against Sunnyside.
  

    Moses Lake sophomore Eli Anderson’s pin at 215 pounds gave Moses Lake a late lead in the dual.