Kamiakin knocks off the rust, beats Walla Walla in MCC dual

The Kamiakin and Walla Walla wrestling teams were a bit rusty from lack of practice this week, but they still put on an entertaining show Thursday night at Kamiakin High School.

The Braves (2-0 MCC) got points from four forfeits and got key pins from Tanner Bushman (113 pounds), Austin Almaguer (126) and Joey Chavez (138) to pull out a 49-21 Mid-Columbia Conference win over the Blue Devils (1-3).

“They came out and put it to us in a few of those matches,” Kamiakin coach Jordan Anderson said. “They showed up. We have a lot of room for growth.”

The Blue Devils, who got a pin from Jahmal Mangarero (170), a big win from Ely Kimball at 195, and a sudden death overtime victory from heavyweight Tristan Larkins, had a 9-7 lead over the Braves through the first four matches.

“We are a little banged up and have some holes in our lineup,” Wa-Hi coach Dallas Jones said. “Kamiakin is a top three team in 3A. They are tough competition. I was happy with the way our kids came out and competed.”

The Braves held a 19-12 lead going into the 285-pound match between Larkins and Brock McCue. The two big men did not disappoint when it came to the action on the mat.

Scoreless after the first round, McCue maneuvered an escape to open the second, while Larkins did the same in the third, sending the match to overtime.

Neither man scored in the 1-minute extra session, bringing about a 30-second, second overtime in which Larkins earned an escape for a 2-1 lead.

McCue followed suit in the third overtime to make it 2-2, forcing a rare sudden death overtime.

Since McCue scored the first point of the match he got his choice of up or down, and took the down position. An escape would give him the win, while if Larkins kept control for the 30-second round, he would win. McCue had a couple of chances to get free, but Larkins held tight for the win and three big team points.

“Both were exhausted,” Jones said. “Not a lot of guys would still be going strong at the end. That was an exciting match.”

Anderson agreed.

“Brock did a great job of hustling and moving the entire match,” Anderson said. “He’s a first-year wrestler and has so much potential. It was the sixth match of his career. The more matches he gets, the more he will learn.”

Wa-Hi’s Edwin Romero opened the match with a 10-5 decision over Rece Quintana at 145, and Kamiakin’s Liam Walker followed with a 12-4 major decision over Salvador Gutierrez at 152.

Kamiakin’s Sione Halo got a scare at 160. He had a 4-1 lead over Wa-Hi’s Simon Derby in the second round, and led 6-4 in the waning seconds of the third. Derby registered a takedown with 1 second left in regulation to force overtime.

Halo needed just 10 seconds to take down Derby for the win.

Braves 170-pounder Colten Chelin did not fare as well.

Chelin had a 5-1 lead over Mangarero late in the second round. Mangarero managed an escape with 39 seconds left in the round, then the wrestlers got tied up. Mangarero caught Chelin in a head-and-arm and got the pin at 3:44.

“That was a frustrating match,” Anderson said.

This story was originally published January 12, 2017 at 10:47 PM with the headline "Kamiakin knocks off the rust, beats Walla Walla in MCC dual."