No shortage of entertainment in Kamiakin-Southridge dual

It was the feature match of the night, and Sione Halo and Mikael Failor did not disappoint the fans.

Kamiakin’s Halo led the 160-pound match from the start, but Failor was never far behind. The Southridge junior trailed 8-4 after the second round, but made up ground before losing to his good friend 9-7.

It was one of 10 wins by the Braves in their 51-15 Mid-Columbia Conference win Wednesday over the host Suns.

“There were some great individual matches,” Kamiakin coach Jordan Anderson said. “Halo and Failor was a great match. I would pay to watch that one again. Those are two of the elite in the state squaring off for their teams.”

Southridge coach Steve Isley agreed.

“I saw this match coming in July,” he said. “Two great kids. It was everything I thought it would be. It was worth the price of admission.”

In fact, almost every match from 145 on up was on-the-edge-of-your-seat entertainment.

Ryan Nett picked up the Suns’ first win at 145, beating Rece Quintana 3-1, and Steven Saltz followed with a 7-2 win over Kevin Cornejo at 152.

Following the Halo-Failor match, Southridge’s Mark Meier had his way with Gibby Martinez to the tune of a 16-2 major decision at 170 pounds.

That brought up Kamiakin’s Jacob Olson against Southridge newcomer Jevon Johnson, a transfer from California, at 182.

Olson may look unassuming, but it didn’t take long for him to catch Johnson in a head-and-arm, get him on his back and pinned in 58 seconds.

“Olson caught us, but he does that to everyone,” Isley said. “Almost everyone gets caught the first time they wrestle him, no matter what you tell them, or if they have seen him wrestle.”

Southridge got the six points back in the 285-pound match — though neither man came within 50 pounds of the upper limit of the weight class.

Southridge’s Yuriy Slutskiy pinned Kamiakin’s Brock McCue in just 29 seconds.

A big boost on the night for Kamiakin was the return of Austin Almaguer to the lineup after an elbow injury kept him out of last week’s match with Pasco.

Almaguer posted an 18-3 technical all fall over Breyden Baratone at 138 to give the Braves a 26-0 lead.

“Just getting Austin back in the practice room and on the mat is great for everyone,” Anderson said. “We need that intensity and leadership.”

This story was originally published December 13, 2017 at 10:22 PM with the headline "No shortage of entertainment in Kamiakin-Southridge dual."