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RICHLAND -- The holiday wrestling tournaments that fall between Christmas and New Year's take on different meaning for different folks.
For most, it's a chance to gauge where they're at heading into the final month before the postseason.
For some, it's a time to knock on wood and cherish a healthy season ... so far.
For others -- small-school teams -- it's a chance to test their mettle against the 3A and 4A squads and find out if they're good for their size, or just plain good.
All of that and more was on the line Tuesday at the Hanford Winter Cup.
Sunnyside won the 15-team bracket, taking just one individual title (state champion Steven Romero tech-falling his way through the 112-pound bracket 48-2). But the Grizzlies had four others in the finals, and their 183 1/2 team points heading into the placing matches were enough to take the trophy, let alone the 208 with which they finished.
Othello was a strong second with 174 points and won more individual titles than any other team with Reuben Lopez at 135, Amando Deleon at 152 and Joey Gomez at 215. However, Gomez was wrestling unattached.
Lopez, who finished second in the 2A state meet last year, improved to 14-0. He just recently cut back down to 135 -- his weight last season -- and he said he felt the effects in his first match, a 9-6 decision that was the first time he needed to go past the second period. His other two matches were a pin and a 15-6 decision.
"It'll help (at state) because I'm used to wrestling big guys," he said of starting the season at 140.
Richland finished fourth behind North Central of Spokane. Dustin Utecht at 125 and Nicholas Lee at 189 won titles for the Bombers. Utecht was close to untouchable, with a pair of first-period pins and then a 10-1 decision in the final.
Hanford's duo of Caleb Gifford at 140 and Mike Ruane at 145 provided the hosts with titles. Ruane shot in deep on Grandview's Efren Ramos in the final, picking Ramos up and putting him straight on his back for a second-period pin.
Gifford's 8-0 victory over Sunnyside's Baltazar Avalos turned on two key moments when either wrestler could have gotten a takedown, but both times Gifford's explosive quickness made the difference.
"In a scramble like that, I want to score every time," Gifford said.
Osmar Jaimez at 119 and David Godinez at 171 provided Prosser with double winners. Godinez won on an injury default by Sunnyside's David Huizar, who wrestled for Prosser last season but injured his shoulder in the semifinals.
Santos Guillen of Grandview and Christian Reyes of Sunnyside provided the most entertaining match of the finals. State placers both, Guillen seemed a step ahead of Reyes throughout their 103 bout and took a 23-9 decision.
River View's Chance Watt won the 130 title. Southridge's Grant Robinson capped the night at 285 with a pin of Hanford's RJ Harris.
But no one enjoyed his title more than Kennewick's Saul Soto. At this time last year, Soto was watching his junior season slip away while recovering from a broken collar bone along with a bad shoulder.
This year, the Lions senior didn't wrestle past the first round in winning the 160-pound bracket, a nice follow-up to his title at the SunDome Mat Classic 10 days ago.
"I still think I could be in a little better shape," Soto said. "But I feel a lot leaner this year, stronger."
Hanford Winter Cup
At Hanford, Richland, Wash.
Team scores--Sunnyside 208, Othello 174, North Central 170, Richland 136, Kennewick 1301/2, Grandview 1231/2, Hanford 122, Prosser 1011/2, Southridge 971/2, River View 81, West Valley (Yakima) 80, Hanford JV 58, Wapato 41, Pasco 40, Kamiakin JV 251/2.
Championship, co-third-place matches
103--Santos Guillen (G) m.d. Christian Reyes (SS) 23-9; Nathan Gonzales (SS-UA) m.d. Gilberto Villa (Oth) 10-1; Kyler Mars (R) m.d. Conner Rosane (SR) 10-2. 112--Steven Romero (SS) t.f. Jared Berlinger (NC) 17-2; Corey Morris (Rich) p. Seth Ackley (Ken) 4:11; Irving Jaimez (Pro) t.f. Corey McLean (Kam) 17-0. 119--Osmar Jaimez (Pro) d. Nathan Brown (NC) 8-4; Jake Smith (Oth) p. Daniel Lopez (Pas) 4:06; Jacob Bieber (Rich) p. Kevin Alveraz (SS) 1:30. 125--Dustin Utecht (Rich) m.d. Matt Jordan (Oth) 10-1; Ross Kamimoto (WV) d. Kevin Young (Pas) 4-3; Steven Moreno (Ken) m.d. Robert Rodriguez (SR) 10-1.
130--Chance Watt (RV) d. Mark Schlagel (WV) 4-1; Anthony Melo (Oth) d. Emmanuel Tijeda (SS-UA) 6-4; Nick Martinez (SS) d. Trevor Jones (Rich) 6-4. 135--Reuben Lopez (Oth) m.d. Shawn Olivarez (SS) 15-6; Scott Sullivan (RV) d. Mike Rorie (Han) 10-4; Garrett Walker (Gvw) d. Reece Hunter (WV) 1-0. 140--Caleb Gifford (Han) m.d. Baltazar Avalos (SS) 8-0; Eddie Galindo (Gvw) inj. def. Nate Wood (Ken); Kiki Rebuelta (Oth) d. Terrance Bell (NC) 6-5. 145--Mike Ruane (Han) p. Efren Ramos (Gvw) 3:41; Ryan Funke (NC) p. Sam Cooke (Kam) 4:47; Leroy Rodelo (SS) inj. def. Chase Ratchford (SR).
152--Amando Deleon (Oth) m.d. Chris Strawn (RV) 11-3; Israel Armenta (SR) d. Tamrich Perez (SR-UA) 4-3; Nick Clark (WV) d. Hector Jimenez (Pas) 6-1. 160--Saul Soto (Ken) p. Josh Fischer (SR) 1:01; Ben Carter (NC) p. Lupe Mendoza (SS) :49; Thomas Ruane (Han) p. Levi Loomis (Ken-UA) 2:17. 171--David Godinez (Pro) inj. def. David Huizar (SS); Joe Clements (Han-JV) p. Tyson Alvarez (Oth) 3:58; Jack Loomis (Ken) p. Aaron Fenton (Han) 2:43. 189--Nicholas Lee (Rich) d. David Stratton (NC) 10-6; Miguel Godinez (Pro) d. Randell Burton (SR-UA) 7-2; Adam Morales (Gvw) p. Adrian Ramirez (SS) 3:28. 215--Joey Gomez (Oth-UA) m.d. Tyler Tinney (NC) 9-1; Brian Reil (Ken) p. Brady Simpson (Rich) 1:45; Mitchell Atwell (Rich) inj. def. Lucas Velasquez (Wap). 285--Grant Robinson (SR) p. RJ Harris (Han) 1:54; Steven Taylor (NC) p. Matt Latka (Han JV) 2:13; Jorge Chaviez (SS) inj. def. Isaiah LittleBull (Wap).
