
Coyotes take second at Winter Classic
MOSES LAKE – The 18U Moses Lake Coyotes took second place at their home Winter Classic two weekends ago, falling 6-3 to Vancouver Minor C5 in the tournament’s championship game on Feb. 2. “We had twice as many shots as them, they just had an absolutely phenomenal goalie that we couldn’t quite get enough pucks past,” Davies said. “The kids played excellent. Second place, but in our eyes, it was such a good game that could have gone either way.”
BASIN HOOPS ROUNDUP: District playoffs begin
MOSES LAKE – District playoff action for boys and girls basketball across the Basin is in full swing. Read along for a breakdown of where local teams finished in their league standings, as well as a recap of recent district playoff games.
Knights defeat Warriors in SCAC tourney
ROYAL CITY – Royal and Wahluke opened the South Central Athletic Conference district tournament against each other Tuesday night, with the Knights advancing to the district semifinals with a 74-40 win over the Warriors. “The boys put in a lot of work, and we know that this is the really exciting time of the year,” Royal Head Coach Greg Jenks said.

Mavs swimmers qualify for several events at state
MOSES LAKE – The Moses Lake Mavericks finished second as a team at Saturday’s Columbia Basin Big 9 district championship meet finals, scoring 478.5 points to finish second to the Wenatchee Panthers. Moses Lake qualified for nine events at next week’s 4A State Swimming and Diving Championships.
Lions claim CW1B league title, prep for districts
MOSES LAKE – MLCA/CCS’ six-game win streak helped the Lions seal their fourth consecutive Central Washington 1B league championship, posting a 17-2 overall record and an 11-0 mark in league games during the regular season.
Basin sports schedule Feb. 12-18
MOSES LAKE – Check out this week’s sports schedule for high school athletics across the Columbia Basin, including basketball, swim and dive and wrestling events. This schedule will be updated online at columbiabasinherald.com as teams progress through their brackets.
Cougars take bronze at EWAC league tourney
WARDEN – The postseason in wrestling began for teams across the state last week, including for the Warden Cougars, who finished third as a team at the Eastern Washington Athletic Conference league tournament on Friday. Warden hosted the tournament, scoring 296.5 points as a team. Goldendale won the tournament with 374 points while Granger finished slightly ahead of the Cougars with 304 points.
Regional wrestling results for Feb. 7
MOSES LAKE – Basin wrestling teams remained busy last weekend, traveling to various district, sub-district and league tournaments on Saturday. Read along for full local results.
Warden hosts EWAC league tournament
WARDEN – The Cougars hosted the Eastern Washington Athletic Conference league tournament Friday, bringing in teams from across the league. Full coverage of the competition will be in Tuesday’s edition of the Columbia Basin Herald.
Huskies girls squad defeats Prosser 71-12
OTHELLO – The Huskies closed out the regular season with a dominant dual win Thursday night, defeating Prosser 71-12 on their home mat. “We’re starting to see us improve – even today we were seeing moves that we were practicing for weeks, and we’re finally starting to see them come into fruition,” Othello Head Coach Sammy Rocha said. “They’re starting to believe, and I think that’s why we’re getting this energy as far as confidence is concerned.”
Mavs’ Koziol signs with Dordt University
MOSES LAKE – Baseball season in the Columbia Basin is still about a month away from beginning, but there’s already one Moses Lake baseball player making waves – senior Holden Koziol, who had his signing ceremony Thursday to play baseball at Dordt University. “I’m full of excitement,” Koziol said. “Ready to move on and go to the next thing, go play college ball. A little bit nervous, going to be far from home, but it’s a new adventure. Get to learn about a different part of the country.”
Othello takes down Prosser 51-20
OTHELLO – Thursday's dual win over Prosser closed out the regular season for the Othello boys wrestling team, defeating the Mustangs 51-20 to finish 7-1 in league duals this winter. “I know the kids were excited, they got a fresh set of singlets and were excited to show them off,” Othello Head Coach Rudy Ochoa II said. “Prosser’s tough – we've seen Prosser all year, so we were excited to see some matchups. Thankfully, we came out on top of a couple of them.”
Wrestling with confidence
Quincy’s Alvarez sets win record
QUINCY – Quincy senior Saidt Alvarez entered the 2024-25 season 23 wins shy of etching his name into the Jackrabbit wrestling history books – well, another mark for the three-time state placer. Alvarez was seeking to become Quincy’s all-time winning wrestler.

Barkley a key difference in Super Bowl rematch
MOSES LAKE – Philadelphia running back Saquon Barkley has captured the headlines for the Eagles this season, and for good reason; he’s a key reason why the Eagles are in a Super Bowl rematch against the Kansas City Chiefs this Sunday.
Late wins push Mavs to 35-32 win over Sunnyside
Moses Lake wins Big 9
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.
Mavs fall to Sunnyside in regular season finale
MOSES LAKE – Sunnyside captured momentum early in Tuesday’s dual meet between the Grizzlies and Mavericks, as Sunnyside led 40-6 before eventually winning the dual 44-30 over Moses Lake.

Vikings continue to stack wins, improve to 17-5
MOSES LAKE – After an 11-4 start to the season, Big Bend women’s basketball Head Coach Preston Wilks took the time to notice trends in the Vikings’ game on the court.

Maverick swimmers prep for district meet
MOSES LAKE – The postseason begins later this week for the Moses Lake boys swim team, who recently competed in the Columbia Basin Big 9 Championships last week.
Jacks take fifth hosting Bring Home da Beef tournament
QUINCY – Girls wrestling teams from the Columbia Basin and beyond gathered in Quincy for the Bring Home da Beef tournament on Saturday, with five local teams closing out the final Saturday of the regular season with top 10 finishes at the 30-plus team tournament.
Warriors host Wapato
MATTAWA – Wahluke's girls basketball team hosted Wapato Friday night in Mattawa, falling 64-27 to the Wolves in the penultimate home game of the regular season. The Warriors host College Place Tuesday at 5:45 p.m.
ACH avenges lone loss, defeats Wellpinit 68-41
COULEE CITY – A fast start surged the Warriors in their 68-41 win over Wellpinit on Thursday night, holding a double-digit lead in the first quarter before winning the game by nearly 30 points.
Warriors fall late to Wellpinit
COULEE CITY – Thursday's regular-season finale between Almira/Coulee-Hartline and Wellpinit came down to the wire, as a late Warrior turnover allowed the Redskins to survive with a 47-45 win in Coulee City.
Knights win SCAC girls league championship
ROYAL CITY – Royal's girls wrestling team was crowned South Central Athletic Conference league champions at Wednesday’s league championship meet in Royal City, scoring 210 points as a team to win the tournament.
Second quarter run guides Knights to win over Wahluke
ROYAL CITY – A late second-quarter run helped build separation between the home Knights and visiting Wahluke Warriors on Tuesday night, who led 32-13 at halftime before winning the game 70-39. It’s the first of three games for Royal this week; the Knights host Cashmere on Friday and Naches Valley on Saturday.
Three-point shooting lifts Knights girls squad over Wahluke
ROYAL CITY — After a scoreless first three minutes, Royal senior Mariah Wilhelm set up from behind the three-point arc and buried a basket to put the Knights up 3-0, opening the floodgates in Royal’s 59-14 win over Wahluke Tuesday night.

Othello’s Pruneda signs with Walla Walla CC
OTHELLO — Othello senior Emi Pruneda signed to play both soccer and softball at Walla Walla Community College last Monday, celebrating furthering her athletic career with family, friends and coaches.

Royal to host SCAC girls league tourney Wednesday
ROYAL CITY — As girls wrestling continues to grow across the state, teams in the South Central Athletic Conference will travel to a new tournament on Wednesday.
Quincy hosts Mat Animal Invitational
Huskies, Tigers and Jacks finish in top 10
QUINCY – Saturday's Mat Animal Invitational in Quincy saw five local wrestling teams take the mat, with the hosting Quincy Jackrabbits finishing in 10th place in the tournament.
Othello takes fifth at Lady Huskie Invite
OTHELLO – Nearly 60 teams traveled to Othello for the Lady Huskie Invite over the weekend, with Othello finishing in fifth place of the two-day tournament after scoring 154 points.
Lions win defensive battle against Wilson Creek
MOSES LAKE – With both teams playing strong defense in Thursday night’s Central Washington 1B matchup between the Moses Lake Christian Academy/Covenant Christian School and Wilson Creek, the Lions extended their lead to double-digits early in the fourth quarter to hold off the Devils 31-20. Thursday’s win gave the Lions their sixth consecutive win after a 2-6 start to the season.
MLCA/CCS boys get back in win column, defeat Wilson Creek
MOSES LAKE – Two days after suffering just their second loss of the season, the Lions boys basketball team stepped onto their home floor looking to get back in the win column and wash off Tuesday’s loss to La Salle, defeating Wilson Creek 69-21 to improve to 6-0 in Central Washington 1B games.

‘They know the job’s not done’
Huskies improve to 6-0 in CWAC duals
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.
BASIN HOOPS ROUNDUP: ACH boys, Wilson Creek girls stack wins
MOSES LAKE – With February quickly approaching, district playoffs will soon begin for boys and girls basketball teams across the state. Read along for a look at where local teams are in their respective league standings, as well as an update on recent games.
Knights suffer first loss
ROYAL CITY – Royal suffered its first loss of the 2024-25 season on Friday night, falling 88-82 in overtime on the road against Zillah after allowing 45 first-half points to the Leopards in the game.
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.
Moses Lake boys defeat Wenatchee in home dual
MOSES LAKE – Moses Lake picked up its fourth dual win of the season against Wenatchee Thursday night, besting the Panthers 56-16 after winning seven of the 11 matches wrestled in the dual meet. “They were feeling good; we’ve got a lot of guys recovering from injuries and being sick, the flu bug hit us pretty hard,” Head Coach Jose Tanguma said. “(The dual) went good, I expected us to come out on top just like that. The kids are improving.”
Mavericks take down Panthers
MOSES LAKE – Moses Lake’s girls wrestling team improved to 4-0 in the Columbia Basin Big 9 league standings with Thursday night’s defeat of Wenatchee, taking down the Panthers with a 59-6 win in the dual. “I thought the team felt really good,” Head Coach David Peralez said. “It’s one of our last home duals before the end of the season, so we’re trying to clean up everything that we need to in order to get ready for districts, and it’s one of your last few times to represent Moses Lake here in front of the home crowd.”
LRS hosts Bronco Invite
RITZVILLE – Lind-Ritzville/Sprague wrestling hosted the Bronco Invite on Saturday, welcoming teams from across the region. For full coverage of the tournament, as well as results from other tournaments involving local teams, check out Tuesday’s edition of the Columbia Basin Herald.
Eagles pick up 3 wins in 4 games
SOAP LAKE – The Eagles have won three of their four games since the calendar moved to 2025, picking up wins against Nespelem, Entiat and, most recently, Wilson Creek on Tuesday.
Second quarter run surges ACH in win over Panthers
COULEE CITY — The Warrior boys basketball team won its ninth consecutive game with Tuesday night’s 76-39 defeat of Valley Christian, improving to 12-1 on the year after holding the Panthers to just 12 points in the second half. Both sides were tied at 24 early in the second quarter, but a prolonged scoring run gave ACH a double-digit lead at the half. “We’re trying to keep the one game at a time approach and not get ahead of ourselves,” Head Coach Graham Grindy said. “Second time through league, you get a feeling of who’s going to be tough next time around. Valley (Christian) came out and they started really well, and that kind of rattled us.”
Warrior girls basketball falls to Valley Christian
COULEE CITY — Trailing by four entering the fourth quarter, the Almira/Coulee-Hartline girls basketball team was unable to overcome its deficit to Valley Christian on Tuesday night, falling 50-46 to the visiting Panthers. “We knew it was going to be a tough game,” Head Coach Nikki Strock said. “We go into every game thinking that – we've got to be tough, we’ve got to work to execute the things that we’ve been practicing.” It was the second matchup between both teams this season, with ACH winning the previous game 70-43 on Dec. 20. Tuesday’s game was much closer to start, as ACH held a narrow 15-14 lead early in the second quarter. By the end of the second quarter, Valley Christian had taken a 20-19 lead over the Warriors.
BASIN HOOPS ROUNDUP: Knights remain unbeaten
MOSES LAKE – With most local teams having their slate of non-conference games now in the rearview mirror, boys and girls basketball teams head into the new year aiming to pick up wins against league opponents.
BASIN WRESTLING REPORT: Jeremiah Schmunk Invitational results
WARDEN – A busy weekend for the Warden boys wrestling team concluded with Saturday’s Jeremiah Schmunk Invitational, which followed duals against Okanogan and Tonasket on Thursday and Friday.
Cougars host Jeremiah Schmunk Invitational
WARDEN – Teams from across eastern Washington gathered at Warden High School for Saturday’s Jeremiah Schmunk Invitational, including local squads from Moses Lake and Othello joining the host Cougars.

Lions off to 10-1 start
MOSES LAKE – The Moses Lake Christian Academy/Covenant Christian School boys basketball team has opened the season with a near-perfect mark, improving to 10-1 with Friday night’s road win over Oroville. The Lions have won nine straight games since a Dec. 7 loss to Tonasket and are 4-0 in Central Washington B games this winter. “It’s coming together with team chemistry, and we’re settling into our roles,” Head Coach Emerson Ferguson said. “They’ve changed this year with new players in the lineup. We’ve been playing our brand of basketball that we’ve been playing for the last few years.”
Ephrata’s Dave Johnson inducted into ABCA Hall of Fame
EPHRATA — Dave Johnson has received plenty of recognition at the local and state level for the success his baseball teams had while serving as the head coach at Ephrata High School, but the former Tiger baseball coach received a new honor last week – being inducted into the American Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame.
Moses Lake’s Richardson signs to play for Walla Walla CC
MOSES LAKE – Family, friends, teammates and coaches gathered at the Moses Lake High School commons on Tuesday afternoon to celebrate senior Paige Richardson signing to play softball for Walla Walla Community College. “It’s really exciting; it feels real now, now that all that’s done,” Richardson said. “Overwhelming, but exciting.” Richardson has been a three-year starter for the Maverick fastpitch softball team, earning numerous accolades from the Columbia Basin Big 9. In the 2024 season, Richardson was the Big 9’s Most Valuable Player and a unanimous first-team pitcher.
Thirteen local football players earn all-state recognition
MOSES LAKE – The Washington State Football Coaches Association announced its All-State Football Teams awards on Sunday, with full lists representing each of the state’s six classifications.
BASIN WRESTLING REPORT: ACH hosts Banks Lake Brawl
COULEE CITY – Almira/Coulee-Hartline hosted the Banks Lake Brawl on Saturday in Coulee City, bringing in boys and girls wrestling teams from across the region for a day of competition.
Knights avenge state playoff loss, defeat Riverside 78-39
ROYAL CITY – While the 2023-24 season is in the past, the Royal Knights had a chance to avenge their loss in last season’s state boys basketball tournament with Friday night’s non-league matchup against Riverside, doubling up the Rams in a 78-39 win. Riverside defeated Royal 55-40 in the Round of 12 at the 1A State Boys Basketball Tournament last February in Yakima. Both teams returned three starters from their previous matchup.