CONNOR VANDERWEYST
Staff Writer
Recent Stories
Hunter Cruz eyes third state berth, first title
MOSES LAKE — Hunter Cruz has never been one to back down from a challenge.
Columbia Basin roundup: Moses Lake rallies to win at West Valley
YAKIMA — Moses Lake made up a one-point deficit after the first quarter, outscoring West Valley 18-7 in the second quarter, and won 52-40.
Area wrestlers litter podium at girls sub-regional
WARDEN — Quincy’s Cynthia Diaz (110) danced up the podium, all the way to the top spot.
Warden lets double-digit lead slip against Wahluke
WARDEN — JR Delgado pulled his jersey over his face in an attempt to hide his frustration.
Columbia Basin roundup: Runnin' Vikes use late surge to beat Wenatchee Valley
MOSES LAKE — Wenatchee Valley, like most scrappy teams, hung around and kept the game close.
Auston Downs inks with EOU
MOSES LAKE — Moses Lake’s bread and butter this season was bludgeoning defenses with running back Draven Nevarez up the middle.
Prep roundup: Warden outlasts Wahluke on the road 70-64
MATTAWA — Warden outlasted a late Wahluke rally and won 70-64.
Chiefs hand No. 2 Grizzlies first loss
MOSES LAKE — Moses Lake head coach Matt Strophy had not missed a practice in his 20-year career.
Moses Lake clamps down defensively, routs Sunnyside
MOSES LAKE — Moses Lake limited the guard-play of Sunnyside and pulled away in the second half to win 74-49.
Prep roundup: Quincy wrestling edges Ellensburg 30-29
QUINCY — Quincy saw its 17-point lead evaporate over the final three matches, but still hung on to beat Ellensburg 30-29.
Warden loses one match, routs Connell 64-12
WARDEN — When one of Warden’s wrestlers gets his opponent onto his back the bench erupts in a chant of, “Pin! Pin! Pin! Pin!”
Columbia Basin roundup: Ephrata lets late lead slip at Grandview
GRANDVIEW — Ephrata held a narrow lead in the fourth quarter before Grandview surged ahead and won 72-61.
Moses Lake pins eight, runs away from Eastmont 56-12
MOSES LAKE — Nick Hara, wrestling his final match on the Moses Lake mat, said the goal for senior night was to just have fun and stay relaxed.
Prep roundup: Moses Lake girls bowling qualifies two for state tournament
EAST WENATCHEE — Moses Lake girls bowling had two individual state qualifiers advance from the District 6 4A Championship at Eastmont Lanes.
Moses Lake stuns fourth-ranked Bothell 55-43
MOSES LAKE — Morgan Yamane, using the entirety of her 5-foot-7 frame, seeled Bothell's 6-foot-2 post Taya Corosdale for an offensive rebound that also drew Corosdale's third foul.
Chiefs win big over Cadets to break second place tie
MOSES LAKE — Moses Lake's student section, known affectionately as the Tribe, turned its attention to the sideline and began chanting the names of statistician Brandon Stevens, inactive player Jordan Rios and head coach John Hohman.
Columbia Basin roundup: Moses Lake wrestling finishes third at Dream Duals
SPOKANE — Moses Lake finished 3-1 at Dream Duals to take third place.
Moses Lake beats Wenatchee in OT
MOSES LAKE — Ryan Karstetter fouled out late in overtime against Wenatchee.
Sports roundup: Moses Lake wrestling second at Matman Classic
PORT ORCHARD — Moses Lake captured three individual championships and finished second in the team race at the Matman Classic.
Chiefs blitz Panthers in lopsided win
MOSES LAKE — Moses Lake's modus operandi has always been to run — run fast and run hard.
BBCC pulls away from Spokane, 105-92
MOSES LAKE — Zach Shepard and Leo Behrend raced in tandem down the court.
Vikings force OT, but fall to No. 4 Sasquatch
MOSES LAKE — Free throws and a last-second heave kept Big Bend from completing a major upset.
Younger siblings keep Moses Lake in contention
Jessica Olson and Taylor Stevens, both freshman at the time, found their respective seats at the Tacoma Dome for the 2014 state tournament.
Sports roundup: Moses Lake boys split weekend games
MOSES LAKE — Moses Lake overcame poor efficiency from the free throw line and on the defensive end to beat Eastmont 72-62.
Moses Lake slogs past Eastmont 42-25
MOSES LAKE — On an Eastmont baseline drive, Jamie Loera recovered to block the shot, saved the ball from going out of bounds and fired an outlet pass to Alexya Sandmann for two points.
Prep roundup: Quincy wrestling rolls over Wapato
QUINCY — Quincy won eight matches in a row to rally from an early deficit, routing Wapato 43-18.
Outside shooting pushes Warden past Okanogan
WARDEN — After the game, Warden head coach Wes Richins said Okanogan did not scout his team much.
Warden girls overpowered by Okanogan at home
WARDEN — Okanogan had the pedigree — two straight state championships at the 2B level and 65 wins in its last 66 games.
Dylan Morris wins state in lone appearance
TACOMA — Dylan Morris made the most of his lone trip to the state wrestling tournament, winning the 182-pound championship.
Sports roundup: Moses Lake succumbs to No. 1 Central Valley
MOSES LAKE — To beat the best, it’s going to take more than one quarter.
Sports roundup: Othello girls take Hanford Winter Cup
HANFORD — Othello had seven finalists, three champions and ran away with the Hanford Winter Cup.
Moses Lake hangs on to beat Othello 32-31
MOSES LAKE — It had been three years since Moses Lake and Othello wrestling linked up.
Prep roundup: Moses Lake crashes boards, beats Meadowdale
WENATCHEE — Moses Lake controlled the rebounds and beat Meadowdale 63-51 at the Town Toyota Center in Wenatchee.
Prep roundup: Josh Benthem's buzzer beater lifts Ephrata over Ellensburg
EPHRATA — It wasn't quite how head coach Brandon Evenson drew up the final play in the huddle, but Cameron Clark made it work.
Third-ranked Othello dispatches Warden 57-12
OTHELLO — Had the first round been one second longer, Iyalhye Barraza (120) would have been pinned by Warden’s Alexis Mendoza.
Sports roundup: Moses Lake crowns two Tri-State champs, finishes seventh
COEUR D’ALENE — Hunter Cruz (152) and Chandler Fluaitt (285) remained perfect on the season, finishing atop the Tri-State podium in their respective weight classes.
Big Bend stays in control, beats Olympic 51-42
MOSES LAKE — Nursing a nine-point lead in the fourth quarter, Big Bend head coach Preston Wilks called for an out-of-bounds play — with a slight change.
Prep roundup: 3 Chiefs into Tri-State semis
COEUR D’ALENE, Idaho — Nick Hara (132), Hunter Cruz (152) and Chandler Fluaitt are into the semifinals of the Tri-State Tournament.
Prep roundup: Ephrata drops close dual to Wapato
EPHRATA — Ephrata staged a furious comeback, but ultimately fell to Wapato 40-33.
Big Bend overcomes turnovers, poor shooting to beat Highline
MOSES LAKE — Big Bend didn’t win so much as it survived.
Warden to rely on youth in return to SCAC East
WARDEN — Turnovers — the mark of a young team that has not quite found its cohesiveness.
Moses Lake notches seven straight first-round pins, steamrolls Davis 62-16
MOSES LAKE — There’s a colloquialism in baseball that hitting is contagious.
Prep roundup: Strong second half not enough for Othello against East Valley
OTHELLO — Othello was unable to overcome a six-point first half and lost to East Valley 57-27.
Huskies, Cougars top field at Warden Invitational
WARDEN — Othello and Warden were the class of the field at the Warden Invitational.
Sports roundup: Phillips scores 36 in Moses Lake's loss to Eisenhower
YAKIMA — Zach Phillips scored 30-plus points for the third straight game, however, Moses Lake let a halftime lead get away in a 78-73 loss at Eisenhower.
Moses Lake wins 12 matches, routs West Valley 57-6
MOSES LAKE — Adrian Suarez’s (145) return to the Moses Lake home mat was brief, yet rewarding.
Warden back in Class 1A SCAC East after two-year absence
WARDEN — It’s the same goal, just a different destination.
Phillips scores 32, Moses Lake beats Chiawana 70-61
MOSES LAKE — Surely the opposition has to take a look at Zach Phillips and say, “Him?”
Prep roundup: MLCA beats CCA behind fourth-quarter surge 49-30
WENATCHEE — Moses Lake Christian Academy turned a five-point lead into a 19-point win after an exceptional fourth quarter.
Warden, Othello place high at Lady Jags Kickoff Invite
PUYALLUP — Warden and Othello placed high at the Lady Jags Kickoff Invite and Emerald Ridge High School in Puyallup.