Wrestling Roundup: W.F. West Defends Home Mats at Bearcat Invite

The W.F. West boys wrestling team welcomed nine squads to Chehalis on Saturday for the annual Bearcat Invite, and proceeded to grapple its guests out of the gym, taking first as a team in a loaded field.

The get-together included schools that ran from 2A up to 4A, including six other squads that placed in the top-20 of their respective Mat Classics last season. Sending 20 wrestlers out to the mat, W.F. West took first as a team with 212 points, ahead of 3A Yelm in second with 154. 4A Sumner and 2A Enumclaw came in third and fourth, respectively. 

Thirteen Bearcats ended up earning points toward the total, led by five champions.

Blake Ely continued his dominant run at 145 this season with three more pins to race his way to first place in just over five total minutes, beating Sumner’s Hank Herrick by fall in 1:57 for the title.

At the bottom of the card, the most intriguing matchup — and W.F. West victory — came in the finals at 285, where Daniel Matagi took on Enumclaw’s Zeke Luchi in a rematch of the state third-place match in Tacoma last spring. Matagi took that one by minor decision, but did things more convincingly this time around, pinning Luchi for the win.

One slot above Ely, fellow senior Cristo Parriott took first at 138, pinning his first round opponent and then winning two matches by technical fall, the latter of which came against Kellen Soares, who took sixth in the 2A division at last year’s Mat Classic.

Sophomore Tucker Land won his quarterfinal match at 170 by decision but finished his run with two straight pins for the first-place title, and senior Angelo Peters took first at 195, beating Yelm’s Genesis Finch 12-11 in a tightly-contested final.

W.F. West also had a pair of second-place finishes, with Andrew Penland falling to Mount Si’s Frank Kissick — who finished 7th in 4A last year — in the 220 finals, and freshman Lewis Allen placing second at 106. Adrian Jaimes Montenegro took third at 120, winning three straight matches by minor decision after dropping his first similarly, and Damian Hernandez (113), Race Scalici (126), Kallon Homan (160), and Waylen Land (182) all also finished third in their respective divisions.

Case Takes Title in Longview

Five area squads joined in on the action in Longview on Saturday at the Lumberjack Classic, with Onalaska and Rochester’s girls wrestling teams and Rochester, Onalaska, and Mossyrock’s boys all taking part in R.A. Long’s invite.

Rochester’s Kaylie Case earned the area’s lone title from the event, racking up two pins and a major decision to place first in the girls’ 135-pound division. Fellow Warrior Emily Weddle added a second-place finish at 235.

Rounding out the girls’ results, Onlaska’s Delaney Browning finished third at 155, falling to Vernonia’s (Ore.) Charlie Campo before beating Mountain View’s Maria Tomas Mendez. 

For the Mossyrock boys, Marshall Brockway took second at 220, beating two 2A opponents and one 1A foe to get to the finals, before falling to Ayden Denbo out of 3A Mountain View. Kyle Brockway finished third at 170, beating Rochester’s Christopher Tartios in the third-place match.

Logan Smith earned a second-place finish for the Warriors at 132 with a pair of wins, and Cameron Watson took third at 113. Onalaska’s boys were led by fourth-place finishes out of David Locklin (145) and Norman Prazak (106).

Tenino, Rainier Wrestle in Puyallup

The Tenino and Rainier girls wrestling teams headed northeast together Saturday to hit up the Viking Girls Invitational in Puyallup.

Tenino’s Dakota Lees headlined the local results, posting three straight pins to finish first at 155. Trinity Tafoya earned a second-place spot for the Beavers at 190 with a pair of quick pins of her own before falling in the final, and Evalynn Martinez was fourth at 110.

Rainier didn’t have any individual winners, but saw all nine of its wrestlers place, and finished fifth overall as a team. Kiera Anderson led the way with a runner-up spot at 170, falling by one in the first-place match, 5-4, to Stanwood’s Makayla Finch. Elizabeth Kinahan finished third at 235, and Josie Granger (100), Maddie Mounts (120), Annabelle Whiteman (130), and Avigale Scott (140) all finished fourth.

Rainier Boys Compete With 2B Contenders at Bronco Invite

Heading across the mountains for some competition in Ritzville, the Rainier boys wrestlers had a strong day, with seven of 10 boys making the podium in a field loaded with 2B competition. 

The Mountaineers were led by runner-up finishes by Conner Mounts (126), Levi Swann (138), and Ryder Cruse (285), and third place finishers included Jayden Alagarbes (120), Dorien Cano (170), and Matthew Kenney (220). Zander Peck finished fourth in the 160-pound bracket. 

Rodriguez Wins Rubber Chicken

The Toledo boys wrestling team earned some synthetic fowl Saturday, going south to Cowlitz County for the Kalama Rubber Chicken.

Bayron Rodriguez ruled the roost at 170, winning his quarterfinal by major decision before getting back-to-back pins in under a minute to take first. Bomani Birdwell (152), Maddux Ramirez (182), and Chase Meyers (195) all finished second in their respective divisions, and Christopher Eberle was fourth at 220.

Beavers Fourth in Raymond

Tenino took fourth as a team at Raymond’s Doug Makaiwi Memorial Invitational on Saturday, while Adna finished seventh and Pe Ell was 17th.

Randy Marti had the best time on the mat for the Beavers, winning twice by fall and once by major decision to ride to a first-place finish at 182. Kysen Knox made it to the finals at 170 before falling to finish second. Brock Maurer (195), Koy Knox (220), and Andres Capilla-Zamudio (185) all took third.

Adna’s best finish came from Abby McAuley, who finished second in the girls’ 125-130 division. On the boys’ side, the Pirates got third-place finishes from Ryder Calhoun at 106, Cameron Thomas at 113, and Cohen Hartley at 120.

Konnor Pilz and Hunter Harris both took to the mat for Pe Ell, but neither picked up a win.

Tigers, Wolves Earn Wins in Lacey

Black Hills, Centralia, Tumwater, and W.F. West were all in attendance Saturday in Lacey at the River Ridge Rumble, joining 25 other schools.

Centralia earned three wins, with Antonio Campos taking first in the boys’ 126-pound division, Davian Herrera winning at boys’ 170 B, and Jade Hudson winning at girls’ 110. On the girls’ side, Luna Martinez-Arevalo and Willa Phillips finished third at 100 and 130, respectively,

Black Hills’ Kristian Brant won the boys’ 132-pound title with four wins — one by major decision and three straight by fall to wrap the evening up, while Sloane Kruger got a win on the girls’ side at 105, winning all four of her matches by pin. Roberto Rivera-Jesus added a fourth-place finish at 106 for the Wolves’ boys.

Kallee Corey led the W.F. West girls with a runner-up finish at 170, with Lia Hornby (135) taking third place and Shelby Hazlett (130) and Berkeley Varick (115B) taking fourth.

Hernandez Finishes Fourth at Coyote Classic

Just east of the mountains, the Napavine wrestling team headed to Kittitas for the Coyote Classic Friday night, and though competed well, finished with just one placer. Peyton Hernandez took fourth in the 120-pound bracket, winning three of his five matches. Hernandez was the only athlete from a B school to make the podium, with the others coming from Sunnyside and Othello.