Ben Hoffner provided the visiting Hanford Falcons with a key win at 120 pounds, trailing by three in the final 10 seconds before getting a reversal and near-fall for an 11-9 decision over Christian Hernandez, as the Falcons defeated Eastmont 33-31 in a CBBN 3A wrestling victory on Thursday.
The six-point turnaround came up big in the CBBN 3A match decided by two points.
Hanford's Joe Traverso was handed a rare loss, falling 5-4 to Darren Hardgrove in a reversal of an earlier match between the talented 170-pounders.
"We looked tired," Falcons coach Dom Duncan summed up of his team's performance. "We haven't had an actual team practice in a week and a half -- with the break and tournaments -- and it kind of showed tonight."
106--Fabian Wickham (Emt) p. Blake Llarenas 2:49. 113--James Miller (Han) win by forf. 120--Ben Hoffner (Han) d. Christian Hernandez 11-9. 126--Gordon Gavric (Han) d. Michael Preston 11-6. 132--Michael Parkman (Han) p. Gillermo Alvarado 1:30. 138--Dante Weigel (Emt) d. David Zhai 4-3. 145--Camden Wheatcroft (Emt) p. Brennen Raines 5:20. 152--Ali Valdivinos (Emt) d. Seth Gifford 5-3. *160--Berlie Walker (Emt) m.d. Jeff Anheier 8-0. 170--Darren Hardgrove (Emt) d. Joe Traverso 5-4. 182--Casey Enderlin (Han) d. Kyle Hoffman 5-2. 195--Will Bishop (Han) p. Christian Lockman 1:25. 220--Jason DeKorte (Emt) win by forf. 285--Brian Megaughey (Han) p. Kegan Somers 1:40.
Chiawana at Pac. Coast: The Riverhawks are in fourth place with seven wrestlers in the championship quarterfinals and two more alive in the consolation brackets at the Pacific Coast Wrestling Championships in Vancouver, Wash.
Chris Montelongo (113), Mark McKeown (126), Brandon Gonzalez (132), Boss Garcia (145), Austin Silver (170), C.J. Edrington (182) and Abs Loeza (220) all have hopes of winning a title at the prestigious tournament that draws some of the top competition from Oregon and Washington.
"I think this is the best Day 1 I've ever had, and we've been here since 2003 with Pasco," said Chiawana coach Jack Anderson. "It's was just a great day for us."
Anderson noted both McKeown and Gonzalez won close matches to reach the quarterfinals. Loeza, a sophomore, knocked off a No. 4 seed in his bracket.
The tournament wraps up today.
