‘They know the job’s not done’

OTHELLO — No matter what the sport, it’s important to be performing at your best late in the season. With district wrestling beginning early next month, the Othello boys wrestling team is aiming to end the regular season on a high note. 

The Huskies defeated Selah in a Central Washington Athletic Conference dual 63-16 on Wednesday night, moving to 6-0 in league matchups this winter.  

“We were excited; we had some matchups that we wanted to see and were anxious about, and we also got to put some new kids in our lineup to give them a chance,” Head Coach Rudy Ochoa II said.  

Othello opened the dual with a pin by senior Christopher Garcia at 106 pounds, winning by fall in the second round to put the Huskies up 6-0. After a Selah pin at 113 pounds, Othello freshman Xavier Guzman won in a 4-0 decision at 120 pounds; the Huskies then six consecutive matches, all by pin. Sophomore Jeremiah Vargas (126 pounds), senior David Salmeron (132), junior Mason Russell (138), senior Jeremiah Flores (138), sophomore Armoni Zuniga-Flores (150) and junior Camilo Mendez III (157) all won their bouts by pinning their opponents. 

Following two Selah wins at 165 and 175 points, and two Viking forfeits at 190 and 215 pounds, Othello senior Mason Perez closed out the dual with a second-round pin at 285 pounds. 

“It was contagious – first match we had a pin. We’re always trying to push to chase pins,” Ochoa said. “If you were there, you saw we had a couple of kids who were losing matches, and then for them to go from losing to getting a pin to win was really exciting, to see that they were able to overcome the score and end up on top.” 

Wednesday’s dual came off the heels of last weekend’s Rumble in the Valley tournament in Prosser, where the Huskies placed third at the two-day tournament, half a point back of Chiawana for second place. Toppenish won the tournament with 287.5 points, followed by the Riverhawks in second with 163.5 points and Othello in third with 163 points. 

“That tournament’s always a tough tournament,” Ochoa said. “It really showcases top teams from all classifications, and we were right up there ... Being able to go out there and work on the things we had been working on, it was fun to see. We had some kids that have beat us earlier in the year, and we kind of got our redemption on some of those.” 

Seven Huskies placed at the tournament: freshman Xavier Mendez (106 pounds, third), Russell (132, second), senior Jeremiah Flores (138, fourth), Mendez III (157, fifth), junior Miguel Zuniga (190, fifth), senior Anthony Solorio (215, sixth) and Perez (285, second). 

“It’s just staying focused each match, trying to take it one match at a time,” Ochoa said. “Even the kids that didn’t place, they were all right there, really close to placing.” 

The Huskies, 6-0 in league duals, defeated Ellensburg 41-24 on Dec. 5, Grandview 62-9 on Dec. 11, Ephrata 62-9 on Jan. 2, East Valley (Yakima) 68-12 and the Vikings 63-16 on Wednesday. 

Ochoa credited the team’s 6-0 start to “staying the course.” 

“I think they’re bought in to that it is a process, and it’s something that we’re constantly working on to improve,” Ochoa said. “It seems like they have a growth mindset, and they’re trying to work on those specific needs. It’s helping them as individuals, and if we work on individuals, the team stuff takes care of itself.” 

Othello has two CWAC duals remaining this season, both of which are at home; against Toppenish on Monday and against Prosser on Feb. 6.  

“Just focusing on what we can control; we’ll talk to them about, ‘We’re going to work on us and bettering the things we do, and really that’s all we can do,’” Ochoa said. “Hopefully, at the end of the day, we win more than we lose.” 

Othello travels to the Mat Animal Invitational Saturday at Quincy. Wrestling begins at 9 a.m. 

“I’m proud of these guys and the hard work they’ve done, but they know the job’s not done,” Ochoa said. “We’ve still got a lot of work to do.” 

    Othello junior Dallin Hammond, top, works to flip his opponent onto his back.
  

    Othello’s Angel DeLeon III, in black, lifts his opponent during Wednesday’s dual against Selah.
  

    Othello senior Mason Perez, left, won by a second-round pin at Wednesday’s dual against Selah. Perez was one of eight Huskies who pinned their opponents at the dual.