Chiawana, Hermiston boys dominate wrestling tournaments. Both advance to regionals

Chiawana was dominant last weekend in the 4A Mid-Columbia Conference district wrestling tournament at Richland High School.

The Riverhawks — who won 4A state team titles in 2019 and 2020 (there was no state tournament in 2021 — took seven of the 14 weight classification championships.

Leading the way were former state champions Isaiah Anderson and Darion Johnson.

Anderson, who has missed most of the season recovering from shoulder surgery, pinned Kamiakin’s Ethan Buroker in 1:07 to win the 195-pound title and raise his season record to 8-0.

Johnson improved to 32-0 by winning the 182-pound crown. He beat Richland’s Samuel Lemieux by technical fall in the title match.

Other Chiawana champs were:

▪ Junior Judah Bishop raised his season record to 24-2 by pinning Hanford’s Tremayne Johnson in 1:42 to win the 172-pound title.

▪ Junior Isaiah Medina (25-2), who defeated teammate Daeton Johnson (28-3) 3-1 for the 113-pound crown.

▪ Anthony Pina at 106, who pinned Kamiakin’s Clayton Young in 42 seconds in the title match.

▪ Sophomore Jordan Tobias beat Pasco senior Jesus Manzo in a major decision, 11-2, to earn the 132-pound crown.

▪ And at 152 pounds, Hunter Taylor pinned Riverhawks teammate Mason Tovar in 1:25 for the title.

Hanford came away with three individual champions.

Junior Jake Hubby pinned Kamiakin’s Antonio Nicacio for the 138-pound crown; senior Liam Lucas pinned Chiawana’s Kaden Beck for the 160-pound championship; and sophomore Caden Wilson beat Chiawana’s Lance Stover 8-5 for the 145-pound title.

Pasco and Kamiakin each had two individual champs.

For the Bulldogs, 220-pounder Eduardo B. Aguilar beat Richland’s Melvin Kreitzer 4-2 for one title; while Victor Godinez beat Chiawana’s Davian Martinez 9-5 for the 126-pound crown.

Sophomore Juan Hoffman won the 120-pound title for Kamiakin, beating Pasco’s Andre Rodriguez 3-1 in the championship. And 285-pounder Jaxin McCallum (14-1) gave the Braves another title when he pinned Braves teammate Andon Castillo in 3:04.

The top three placers in each weight class now advance to the 4A regionals in Moses Lake, where the best in the MCC meet the top wrestlers in the Big Nine Conference.

The tournament starts at noon Saturday, and the top four placers, plus an alternate, in each weight class will advance to the Mat Classic, set for Feb. 18-19 in the Tacoma Dome.

▪ 3A BOYS: Host Hermiston easily dominated the four-school 3A Mid-Columbia Conference tournament Saturday, scoring 414.5 team points and having nine champions out of the 14 weight classes.

Sam Cadenas (285 pounds), Eddie Cervantes (113), Hunter Dyer (138), Aiden Favorite (120), Daniel Garza (132), Jaxson Gribskov (182), Benjamin Larson (160), Jaysen Rodriguez (126), and Jesse Vassey (220) all were champions for the Bulldogs.

Cadenas improved to 26-3 on the season, while Larson goes to 27-5.

Walla Walla added three individual champions, led by senior Jake Humphrey, who pinned Hermiston’s Javier Garcia in 1:17 to win at 170 pounds. Humphrey improves to 28-2.

Teammate and brother, Drew Humphrey (152), and Mateo Caso (145) were also champs for the Blue Devils.

Southridge and Kennewick each had one champion.

Sophomore Jacob Chapa (106) won for Southridge, while senior Caleb Gragg was a champion at 195 for the Lions.

The top MCC placers will return to Hermiston this Saturday at noon for the 3A regionals. The field will also include seven teams from the Greater Spokane League, and seven more from the KingCo.

The top five placers (plus an alternate) in each weight class will advance to Mat Classic, set for Feb. 18-19.

▪ GIRLS: Chiawana and Richland each had three individual champions this past Saturday at the girls district wrestling tournament at Richland High School.

The top seven placers in each weight class will advance to the east regional tournament, which starts at 10 a.m. on Saturday, Feb. 12, at Ephrata High School.

The top five placers in each weight class (plus an alternate) at regionals will advance to Mat Classic, which is Feb. 18-19 in the Tacoma Dome.

Toppenish easily won the team title Saturday in Richland, with 285 points. Kennewick was a distant second at 187 points.

Individually, Chiawana junior Alexa Fabian took the 105-pound title to raise her season record to 22-1. Teammate Alanna Haney, a junior with a 34-1 record, won the 135-pound title; while Riverhawks senior Mariah Hinojosa (28-1) beat Pasco’s Justice Sanchez (25-4) for the 115-pound crown.

For Richland, Hailey Ahsmuhs pinned Kennewick’s Ayanna Asselin in the 170-pound championship. Ahsmuhs raises her record to 24-3.

Bombers teammate Edna Fuentes took the 125-pound title, while Richland junior Erin Kremer pinned Pasco’s Mirella Morfin in the 190-pound title match.

Other district champs included Pasco senior Sofia Correa (28-4), who defeated Prosser’s Cami Anderson 6-4 in the 120-pound title match; while Kennewick senior Sara Correa Cambindo, now 24-1, won the 145-pound championship.

Other worthy mentions include second-place finishes by Sunnyside junior Alexxus Ramos at 110; Hanford senior Selena Reyna at 155, and Hermiston senior Eseta Sepeni at 235.

▪ 2A BOYS: Othello had four individual champions at the Central Washington Athletic Conference’s district tournament last Saturday at Grandview High School.

Isaac Campos earned the 106-pound crown for the Huskies. Teammate and senior Kyler Freeman defeated Grandview’s Julian Sanchez 9-6 to win the 138-pound crown.

Junior Forrest Roylance (132 pounds) and Josue Solorio (220) also won titles for Othello.

Other Othello highlights included second-place finishes by Adriel Flores at 120 pounds, Terrill Freeman at 195, Mason Perez at 285, Ethan Perez-Medina at 170, and Marcos Zuniga at 113.

Other local champions includes Grandview sophomore Evan Benitez, who pinned Prosser’s Abel Acosta at 4:18 in the 126-pound title match; and Prosser junior Nehemiah Michael Medrano, who pinned Selah’s Gerald Schmidt in 2:22 at 182.

The qualifiers all advance to regionals, which is Saturday in Ellensburg — where wrestlers from the CWAC and Greater Spokane League will compete for four state berths in each weight class.

▪ 1A BOYS: The area had one individual champion at last weekend’s South Central Athletic Conference district tournament at Toppenish on Saturday.

Connell junior Adrian Magana maintained his undefeated record by winning the 182-pound division. He pinned Zillah’s Aiden Ford at 2:32.

Magana raises his record to 19-0.

Other worthy mentions include Royal senior Kevin Dominguez, placing second at 285 pounds; Connell sophomore Jackson Forsyth finishing second at 220; and Royal’s Kaleb Hernandez, taking second at 170.

Everyone now advances to 1A regionals this coming Saturday in Royal City. The top six placers in each weight class will advance to the state tournament.

▪ 2B/1B BOYS: River View’s Hans Miles (220 pounds) and Birch Verduno (195) won titles at last Sarturday’s district tournament in Warden.

Warden’s Cason Cox (132 pounds), Omar Pruneda (195) and Dahani Trupp (145) all earned second-place finishes; as did Mabton’s Antonio Urbina at 220 and Marcos Velazquez at 285; and Columbia-Burbank’s Carter Kutz at 113.

2B/1B regionals are set for 10 a.m. Saturday at Warden High School, with the top five (plus one alternate) in each weight class advancing to the state tournament.