BASIN WRESTLING REPORT: LRS hosts Bronco Invite

RITZVILLE — With the regular season quickly nearing its end, teams across the Columbia Basin attended numerous tournaments over the weekend — including the Lind-Ritzville/Sprague Broncos, who hosted the Bronco Invite on Saturday in Ritzville.

“I thought we wrestled pretty well on Saturday,” LRS head coach Jason Hilzer said. “I only had seven kids (wrestling) because of injuries and ineligibility — every one of the guys that entered the tournament won at least one match, which was good for us. There’s some kids that are brand new and it’s their first year wrestling. They’re getting better, it’s just taking them a while.” 

The home Broncos took ninth at the tournament with 79 points, with four of the seven wrestlers reaching the podium; freshman Carter Brierly took third in the 106-pound class, senior Carson Kubik placed second in the 150-pound class, sophomore Aydon Morgan finished third in the 165-pound junior varsity class and senior Brock Tracy won the 285-pound class. 

“Wrestling in front of their home crowd helped; they had a lot of fans there that were supporting them, and I think that helped,” Hilzer said. “They’re working hard in practice, and I’m hoping that as the next couple weeks go by, we continue to get better.” 

Rounding out the local finishes was Almira/Coulee-Hartline, which finished fourth as a team with 104 points and saw five wrestlers medal. Okanogan won the tournament with 252 points, followed by Hanford (158.5 points) and Liberty (Spangle) (119 points) in second and third, respectively. 

Both Kubik and Tracy reached the finals of their respective weight classes. Kubik fell to Liberty’s Maddex Strobel, while Tracy claimed a win over Kettle Falls’ Kaden Hippler — a rematch of last season’s consolation semifinals at the 1B/2B Mat Classic. 

“Both of them have a little more experience than the others, and I think that’s helped them,” Hilzer said. “Brock (Tracy) really wanted to wrestle the Kettle Falls kid, because that’s the kid who beat him last year to get in the third and fourth (place match at state) ... Carson knew that he had a couple of tough kids to get through before he got to the finals. He was up to that challenge.” 

Tracy pinned Hippler in the third round of the championship bout. 

“(Tracy) ended up getting the takedown so it was 5-0, and just rode him and rode him – he was starting to get tired, and Brock had a little more stamina,” Hilzer said. “I’m sure he knew once he put him on his back, it was over.” 

The Broncos continue their league schedule with a road dual against Colfax on Tuesday at 6 p.m. 

“I think that we competed every match, even our younger kids,” Hilzer said. “Everybody found some success, and I think that’s really going to help us going forward. I think we need to work on finishing our shots; we had a couple times where we shot in, had the leg and couldn’t finish it.” 

Bronco Invite Results 

ACH – 4th place 

Placers: senior Jack Molitor (120 pounds, second place), freshman Aaden Baergen (138, third), sophomore Porter Wood (144, second), senior Grayson Beal (175, fourth) and sophomore Noah Butler (215, first). 

LRS: - 9th place 

Placers: Brierly (106, third), Kubik (150, second), Morgan (165 JV, third) and Tracy (285, first). 

Other Regional Results 

Apple Pie Invite (Boys) – Tonasket 

Warden – 4th place 

Placers: sophomore Raylen Heredia (113, first), junior Erik Camacho (120, first), senior Junior Santiago (144, third), sophomore Jaden Hernandez (190, fourth), junior Gabriel Serna (215, second) and junior Valentin Juarez (285, fourth). 

Apple Pie Invite (Girls) - Tonasket 

ACH – 4th place 

Placers: eighth-grader Macijean Hodgin (125, second), eighth-grader Karis Butler (140, second) and sophomore Jayden Hubbard (170, third). 

Davis Girls Invite - Yakima 

Quincy – 4th place 

Placers: sophomore Crystal Perez (110, second), senior Crystal Vargas (120, fifth), senior Alondra Cordova (125, third), junior Thalia Castro (135, sixth), junior Jourdan Ferguson (140, fifth) and junior Diana Trujilo (170, sixth). 

Othello – 6th place 

Placers: senior Bella Garza (105, first), freshman Mili Flores (105, fifth), sophomore Grayce Mendez (110, first), sophomore Brooklyn Hillman (110, fifth), senior Grace Rocha (115, fourth) and junior Angie Monday (140, sixth). 

Ephrata – 8th place 

Placers: sophomore Jasmine Hernandez (100, fourth), junior Alexandra Estrada Rangel (130, third), junior Kallee Rayn Castillo (145, second), junior Adylene Sanchez (155, fourth) and junior Carolina Monico (235, fifth). 

Royal – 9th place 

Placers: junior Sharon Arroyo (100, second), senior Lauren Jenks (135, second), freshman Hali Christensen (135, third), senior Jade Flores (155, fifth) and senior Madisen Christensen (170, third). 

Warden – 22nd place 

Placers: junior Ashley Cruz (125, fifth) and sophomore Sara Lino (190, sixth). 

Moses Lake – 25th place 

Placers: junior Hayden Morris (120, third). 

Wahluke – 29th place 

Rumble in the Valley – Prosser 

Othello – 3rd place 

Placers: freshman Xavier Mendez (106, third), junior Mason Russell (132, second), senior Jeremiah Flores (138, fourth), junior Camilo Mendez III (157, fifth), junior Miguel Zuniga (190, fifth), senior Anthony Solorio (215, sixth) and senior Mason Perez (285, second). 

Moses Lake – 11th place 

Placers: junior Ian Garza (113, fourth), senior Cruz Hernandez (126, fifth), senior Drayden Gaither (138, fifth) and sophomore Eli Anderson (215, second). 

Royal – 19th place 

Placers: junior Dennis Hernandez (120, sixth). 

    Almira/Coulee-Hartline freshman Aaden Baergen, left, placed third in the 138-pound weight class at Saturday’s Bronco Invite.
  

    LRS freshman Carter Brierly, background, earned a third-place finish in the 106-pound weight class at the Bronco Invite in Ritzville on Saturday.
  

    ACH sophomore Noah Butler, top, placed first in the 215-pound weight class of the Bronco Invite.