District wrestling tournaments hit the mats in Richland + The latest college signings
Post-season high school wrestling gets going this coming weekend with district tournaments everywhere.
The Mid-Columbia Conference 4A boys district tournament will be at Richland High School on Saturday.
In addition, so will the 4A-3A girls district tournament.
Both tournaments are to begin around 9 a.m.
Bombers athletic director Mike Edwards said the championship matches should start in Dawald Gym about 6 p.m. Saturday, with two mats on the floor, side by side. One mat will be for the boys, and the other for the girls.
The top wrestlers in both tournaments will advance to regionals, which are scheduled to be held next weekend at Hanford High School.
The MCC’s 3A boys teams will gather this coming Saturday in Walla Walla for their tournament. Top wrestlers will advance to regionals, set for Feb. 11, at Juanita High School in Kirkland.
The 2A boys district tournament will be Feb. 4 at Ellensburg, while the small-school girls head to Quincy.
In 1A, the South Central Athletic Conference East boys will compete in Royal, while the girls all head to Selah.
▪ Kamiakin’s Juan Hoffman and Chiawana’s Jordan Tobias were among the two Mid-Columbia wrestlers to earn titles at the Rumble in the Valley boys tournament in Prosser on Jan. 21.
Hoffman rolled to victory at 120 pounds, while Tobias won his title at 138.
Other tourney champs were Walla Walla’s Mateo Case at 152 pounds, and Grandview’s Evan Benitez — who improved to 25-0 when he beat Chiawana’s Daeton Johnson 4-1 in the 126-pound title match.
Other area wrestlers who finished second in the 28-team tournament were Chiawana’s Judah Bishop (170), Southridge’s Jacob Chapa (113), Chiawana’s Lane Hedrick (220), Prosser’s Neo Medrano (182), and Kamiakin’s Antonio Nicacio (145).
Third-place finishers were Othello’s Brandon Garza (182) and Mason Russell (120), and Grandview’s Julian Sanchez (138).
Toppenish rolled away with the team title with 426 points, while Chiawana was second at 352.
▪ Chiawana senior Alanna Haney continued her outstanding season Jan. 21 by winning another tournament title, this one being the Othello Lady Huskie Invite.
Haney easily handled the 140-pound classification, and according to Trackwrestling.com, she’s 20-1 so far.
Other individual champions in Othello were Warden’s Jada Martinez (115), Royal’s Alondra Morales (145), Sunnyside’s Alexxus Ramos (110), and Royal’s Emma Villa (170).
Pasco’s Justice Sanchez earned a second-place finish at 120 pounds.
Third-place finishers were Hermiston’s Elena Flores (135 pounds), Othello’s Thalia Gallegos (170), Warden’s Brianalee Martinez (110), Grandview’s Ihana Perez (190), Pasco’s Elisa Sanchez (105), and Hermiston’s Tutaituga Sepeni (235).
The Toppenish girls took the team title with 292 points. Host Othello was a distant second with 152.5 points.
College signings
Last week I mentioned the large number of Mid-Columbia athletes who have been committing to play football for Montana Western University.
Those included Richland WR/athlete Landon Charlton, Kamiakin DL Devin Crow, Chiawana OL Joshua Doig, Southridge OL Bryer Hughes, and Kennewick DL Carlos Orozco.
Now add the following Chiawana players, who all made announcement in the last few days: linebacker Judah Bishop, WR-DB Kade Smith, and offensive lineman Cyrus Pardini.
And on Tuesday night, Southridge defensive lineman Trevor Hoopes also announced he was heading to Montana Western
Hoopes was the Co-Lineman of the Year in the MCC last fall.
▪ Walla Walla’s Jaden Flippo announced earlier this week that he was committing to play football for Pacific University in Forest Grove, Ore.
Flippo was the Blue Devils’ offensive MVP at running back this past season, and he also plays linebacker.
College update
I thought Oumou Toure (Kamiakin) had given up the game of women’s college basketball.
The former MCC MVP had spent three years at Butler University, but injuries and the pandemic had cost her a few seasons.
In fact, Toure had gotten one good season in at Butler, as a freshman. She averaged 9.1 points and was named to the Big East Conference’s All-Freshman team.
I checked Butler’s roster this season, but her name wasn’t on it.
But then I recently found out that last summer she transferred to Cal Poly, where she’s a graduate student and a member of the team there.
The Mustangs are 5-11 overall, and 2-6 in the Big West Conference (through games of Jan. 25).
Toure comes off of the bench, where she’s the fourth-leading scorer on the team at 6.4 points a game. She’s also averaging 3.9 rebounds per game. Her 13 steals lead the Mustangs in that category.
True to her game in high school, Toure leads Cal Poly in free throw opportunities, sinking 34 of 54 attempts. That has always been her game, slashing to the basket and picking up fouls.
In a 49-47 win over Big West rival UC Riverside on Jan. 16, Toure scored the game-winning basket on a driving layup as time expired.
Prep basketball
Hermiston junior Grant Olsen had a monster game Tuesday night, scoring 42 points in a 75-60 win over visiting Hanford. Olsen also scored his 1,000th career point in the victory.
▪ Congratulations to Othello’s Briana Andrade, who surpassed the career 1,000-point mark Tuesday night in a 47-44 Huskies girls basketball victory over East Valley of Yakima.
Andrade’s points mark includes her years playing at Touchet High School before transferring to Othello.
Andrade’s Othello teammate, Annalee Coronado, surpassed the 1,000-point mark earlier this season.