Moses Lake wrestlers compete at Redneck Duals in Pasco

MOSES LAKE — Wrestlers from Moses Lake High School have kept themselves busy with competitions this offseason with the most recent coming with the Redneck Duals in Pasco held July 6-8. Mavericks Head Coach Jose Tanguma said he felt the competition was a success for Moses Lake’s team. 

“It was a good time,” said Tanguma. “The kids got a lot of matches, some of them got over 16 plus matches and I was impressed by the performance.” 

The Mavs had 16 boys and girls wrestlers travel to Pasco to compete throughout the week. This group consisted mostly of sophomores, which was a younger class, but each of the young wrestlers found success by going 11-5 as a team at the Redneck Duals. 

Duane Zamora, who wrestled at 157 pounds and covered the 165-pound weight class, was one of the standouts for the team throughout the week. The coach said Zamora had over 25 matches throughout the week and has been putting in hard work to fight for a state championship ahead of his senior season. 

“I’m just proud of him,” said Tanguma. “Duane Zamora showed that he’s put in the work this summer and I’m really excited to see him compete in his senior year. He’s going to be a dark horse. He’s going come out and be competitive to fight for that state title.” 

Another standout was sophomore Vincent Hunt who wrestled at 120-126 pounds at the Redneck Duals. During the week Hunt remained undefeated, going 19-0 against opponents which included a few state placers.  

“That showed me that Vinny’s one of the sophomore kids to watch out for next year,” said Tanguma. 

On Friday, the Mavs also had two wrestlers competing at the national level with Eli Anderson and Cooper Duvall heading to North Dakota to compete in the Fargo Nationals.  

The most important aspect of the dual for Tanguma was the fact that it gave these wrestlers another opportunity for more mat time. He said the wrestlers took just two weeks off at the end of the 2025/2026 wrestling season before competing in freestyle tournaments on their own. 

This dedication resulted in further success as the Mavericks had 10 wrestlers head to the freestyle state tournament in May, said the coach. 

Work put in during the offseason is something the coach said will directly translate into further success when the wrestling season starts in the winter.  

“I’m just excited that our post season, freestyle program, a lot of kids are starting to turn out and starting to train in wrestling all year long,” said Tanguma. “I really like that the kids want to change and get better.” 

An area of significant growth the coach said he has seen in the offseason is in the wrestlers’ mentality, especially for those who didn’t end the season the way they wanted. 

“They have that grind in them now where they know what competing in high school is about,” he said. “They’re making that change where they’re maturing enough, they’re getting that confidence in them and that’s the point of this wrestling camp that we just did. It builds character for them.” 

The Mavs are going to continue signing up for other wrestling camps around the state and training wherever they can. For those who are unable to travel to these different events, Tanguma said he and the other coaches are still doing open mats so the wrestlers can have the opportunity train all summer.

    Owen Martel, 126 pounds, and Vincent Hunt, 120 pounds, stand together on the mat in Pasco.
  

    Duane Zamora stands proud at the center of all his teammates while the group jokes around at the Redneck Duals.
  

    Mavs Head Coach Jose Tanguma keeps an eye on things on the mat with Owen Martel following behind him in the background.
  

    Moses Lake’s Vincent Hunt grapples his opponent while other wrestlers spectate the match at the Redneck Duals in Pasco.