YAKIMA -- Rick Bowers, who has led Warden to seven state championships in his 29 seasons, will be inducted into the Washington State Wrestling Coaches Association Hall of Fame on Nov. 7.

FARGO, N.D. -- Hermiston junior Curtis Berger placed second in the 189-pound bracket at the USA Wrestling Cadet Freestyle Nationals in Fargo, N.D., falling to Austin Marsden of Illinois in the final.

In a dream scenario, the Ben Jorgensens of the world would meet the Steven Romeros, and the wrestling would be kept on the mats instead of spilling into the voting booths.

PORTLAND -- It took Hermiston more than three decades to win its first wrestling state title.

PORTLAND -- It took Hermiston more than three decades to win its first wrestling state title.

TACOMA -- Last year, Steven Romero was the little brother winning the 3A 103-pound state title at Mat Classic XX, preceding older brother Isaac's win at 112.

TACOMA -- If this is how Angel Ledezma looks when he loses, maybe Royal's standout senior didn't need to win a state title.

TACOMA -- It gets harder from here.

TACOMA -- The Tacoma Dome may be one of the few places this weekend where an absolute stranger can walk up to a girl, tell her she needs to drop a few pounds and not get slapped.

TACOMA -- Here are the Mid-Columbia qualifiers for the 21st Mat Classic wrestling tournament:

TACOMA -- Derrick Cooley will learn first-hand the pressure that comes with wrestling at Mat Classic.

SPOKANE -- Ely Garza swears this wasn't his grand plan.

ELLENSBURG -- Othello pushed four wrestlers through the quarterfinals and sat in fifth place after the first day of the 2A wrestling regionals Friday in Ellensburg.

College basketball has its bracket busters, but high school wrestling has a bracket that is busting the state expectations of some of the best competitors in Washington.

WENATCHEE -- Moses Lake had five champions and seven finalists to run away with the CBBN 4A district title.

WENATCHEE -- Moses Lake already has a big lead in the CBBN 4A district tournament, scoring 150 1/2 points -- 45 ahead of Wenatchee -- after Friday's first two rounds in the championship bracket.

CONNELL -- Few wrestlers, even defending state champions, can count on their road to Mat Classic glory being without a surprise pothole here or there.

PASCO -- Moses Lake qualified an additional 11 wrestlers to the district tournament via Saturday's CBBN 4A subdistrict tournament at Pasco High School.

KENNEWICK -- Jacob Bieber (125 pounds), Dustin Utecht (130) and Jeremy Knighten (171) each recorded pins, and Kyler Mars picked up a 20-4 technical fall over Adrian Barajas at 112 as Richland topped Kamiakin 44-26 in a CBBN Cascade wrestling dual meet Thursday in Kennewick.

The 2008-09 Mid-Columbia wrestlings standings and match results through Jan. 29, 2009:

More than most sports, wrestling is all about the postseason.

KENNEWICK -- Tamrich Perez sparked Southridge (2-4) with a quick pin at 145 pounds to help the Suns win at Kennewick (1-4) by a 36-21 margin.

HILLSBORO, Ore. -- Joey Delgado (103 pounds) and Brandon Adolf (130) of Hermiston defeated their opponents to earn individual titles, and the Bulldogs finished third overall at the Reser Tournament of Champions in Hillsboro, Ore., on Saturday.

LEWISTON, Idaho -- Saul Soto of Kennewick knocked off the Nos. 1 and 2 seeds to win the 160-pound championship, leading the Lions to a seventh-place finish at the 30-team Clearwater Classic.

REARDAN -- After resting various parts of its lineup in two earlier duals, Hanford went with a full varsity squad and beat Rogers 48-21 at the Reardan Duals.

KENNEWICK -- Jacob Norton's second-round pin off Ryan Johnson at 112 pounds sparked the Southridge wrestling team to a 36-27 CBBN Columbia dual-meet victory over visiting Pasco on Thursday night.

RICHLAND -- Richland fell 42-38 to Eastmont, then came back to beat Hanford 42-33 as the Bombers improved to 4-4 in overall duals, splitting a pair of CBBN Cascade meets at Art Dawald Gym.

POST FALLS, Idaho -- Garrett Whitney (171) won all five of his matchups as Connell earned a 12th-place finish at the River City Duals.

Hermiston lost just one match, and that was by one point, during a 64-3 victory over Crook County in Intermountain Conference wrestling.

RICHLAND -- Hanford's Joe Traverso decisioned Kamiakin's Sam Cooke 6-5 at 152 pounds to lead off the Falcons' 44-24 CBBN Cascade dual meet win over Kamiakin on Thursday in Richland.

When Hanford coach Dom Duncan proclaimed last weekend that his team was wrestling better than ever this season after taking second at the Grandview Winter Classic, he may have been a little premature.

OTHELLO -- They were just 4 years old, these two kids, when they stepped on Ruben Martinez's wrestling mat for the first time, but even then they were hardly uneducated newbies to grappling.

EAST WENATCHEE -- Joe Clements' second-period pin at 171 pounds clinched Hanford's first-ever dual-meet win over Eastmont, 36-32, in CBBN Cascade action.

GRANDVIEW -- Doubling up in a pair of finals and having three more wrestlers vying for championships helped Hanford finish a close second to Washougal on Saturday at the Grandview Winter Classic.

KENNEWICK -- Trey Haines of Walla Walla earned a 4-3 decision in double overtime over Saul Soto of Kennewick at 160 pounds as the Blue Devils beat their host 42-32 in a nonleague wrestling dual Thursday night at the Lions Den.

The coming of the new year means wrestling is nearing its postseason.

SUNNYSIDE -- Southridge freshman Mac Maher (215 pounds) stepped up and earned pins over his Hanford and Walla Walla opponents, and the Suns beat both the Falcons and the Blue Devils at a four-team CBBN crossover meet.

SPOKANE -- Nicco Moreno (130 pounds) and Spencer Fackrell (215) won individual titles to lead Moses Lake to a second-place finish behind host University at the Pacific Northwest Classic.

BENTON CITY -- Kiona-Benton defeated visiting Cle Elum but fell to Granger in SCAC wrestling action.

BEAVERTON, Ore. -- Cody Britt of Hermiston earned a 17-5 major decision over Andy Gaul of Southridge in the 152-pound weight class as the Bulldogs beat the Suns 64-18 on Tuesday in the first round of the Northwest Duals championship bracket.

ROYAL CITY -- Robert Pruneda won the title at 135 and three more Warden wrestlers reached the finals to lead the Cougars to the team title at the Royal Christmas Tournament.

RICHLAND -- The holiday wrestling tournaments that fall between Christmas and New Year's take on different meaning for different folks.

BEAVERTON, Ore. -- Hermiston's wrestling team dominated Clackamas, Sunset, Wilsonville and Hood River during matches at the Northwest Duals at Westview High School in Beaverton.

MOXEE -- Prosser brothers Miguel Godinez (189) and David Godinez (171) defeated their East Valley and Selah rivals to highlight the Mustangs' efforts on the wrestling mat at a CWAC 2A dual meet at East Valley High School.

Bad weather may have kept the Hermiston wrestling team from making its annual trip to Coeur d'Alene for the Tri-State Tournament.

PASCO -- It is a work in progress, this Best of the West wrestling tournament, even though it is in its ninth edition.

The Walla Walla-Hanford-Southridge double dual match slated for Thursday in Sunnyside was postponed and has been rescheduled for 6 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 6.

PASCO -- The ninth annual Best of the West wrestling tournament takes place Friday and Saturday at the TRAC Arena in Pasco.

MOSES LAKE -- Moses Lake won 11 of 12 contested matches, with only Saul Soto's 13-7 decision at 160 pounds staving off a sweep, as the Chiefs won a CBBN Columbia dual meet by a 71-9 margin.

MOSES LAKE -- Moses Lake won 11 of 12 contested matches, with only Saul Soto's 13-7 decision at 160 pounds staving off a sweep, as the Chiefs won a CBBN Columbia dual meet by a 71-9 margin.