Pasco is the top dog in MCC wrestling

The Pasco wrestling team is off to one of its best starts in recent memory.

The Bulldogs (5-0) put together a string of five consecutive pins, and registered two technical falls Thursday night en route to a 58-11 Mid-Columbia Conference victory over the visiting Hanford Falcons.

“We knew this would be a tough dual,” Pasco coach Jay Covington said. “Even the kids who came up short went down fighting. They were down a couple of their big guns. They had to have some young guys step in, and that’s tough.”

Pasco sophomore Isaiah Gonzalez ran his record to 28-0 on the year with a 24-5 technical fall over Carter Murphey at 138 pounds, and David Tobias finished the night with a first-round pin of Hanford’s Cley Green at 145.

“I was just trying to have a good match, and wrestle my match,” Gonzalez said. “I wanted to do what I could for the team. Our team is good. We are 5-0 in duals, but we can’t let it get to our heads. We have to stay hungry and keep fighting.”

Hanford was without 220-pounder Jonathan Burt and Hayden Henry (182), who are both out with staph infections on their face. Josh Say (138) also was out of the lineup with a concussion.

“We were missing a few guys with injuries and skin issues, but we still have to battle,” Falcons coach Dom Duncan said. “Pasco is tough. They are going to fight no matter what.”

The Falcons (3-2) got off to a good start with Louis Werner earning an 11-6 decision over Armando Suarez at 152. David Bates followed with a second-round pin of Nathaniel Torres at 160 for a 9-0 lead.

“Werner and Bates are our older, more experienced kids,” Duncan said. “They are tough kids and put in a lot of time on the mat.”

It was all Pasco from there.

Avery Burrows (170), Jose Elijah Tovar (182), Dominic Almaguer (195), Anthony Cortez (220) and Davion Pruitt (285) posted consecutive pins to take a 30-9 lead.

Almaguer pinned Jakob Hanson in 34 seconds, while Pruitt needed just 39 second to pin Angel Campos.

After receiving a forfeit at 106, Pasco’s Nate Tovar posted an 8-2 win over Austin Patton at 113.

Hunter Murphey ended the Bulldogs reign of terror with an 11-4 decision over Daniel Jimenez at 120.

The Bulldogs will compete in the River City Duals on Friday and Saturday in Post Falls.

“We are tough, but there are some schools from Idaho that are salty,” Covington said. “It’s always good to wrestle good competition.”

KAMIAKIN 50, WALLA WALLA 16: The Braves were missing four key men from their lineup, but others stepped in and got the job done in an MCC road win over the Blue Devils.

Brock McCue had the big win of the night for Kamiakin at 285. The undersized heavyweight, who is ranked No. 5 in the Class 3A division, knocked off Wa-Hi’s Tristan Larkins 4-1.

The Blue Devils (1-4 MCC) had an upset of their own at 138, where Andrew Kemp beat Austin Almaguer 5-3.

“Austin got put on his back in the first round and wasn’t able to come back,” Kamiakin coach Jordan Anderson said.

The Braves (2-1) were without Sione Halo (152, concussion), Jacob Olson (182, concussion) and Joey Chavez (145) and Austin Hayward (113), who are nursing minor injuries.

“We are going to the River City Duals,” Anderson said. “It will be rough without all of those guys.”

OTHELLO 42, ELLENSBURG 19: Juan Martinez won by 4-2 decision over Dustee Burvee in the 152-pound bout, and No. 7-ranked Bernie Garza Jr. topped Lorenzo Gonzalez 4-0 at 170 in the key matches of the night to lead the host Huskies to a CWAC victory.

At 195, Ellensburg’s Cade Stevenson upset third-ranked DJ Guzman 3-2.

PROSSER 40, QUINCY 34: Logan Candanoza (160 pounds), Andrew Showman (182) and Dalton Hudson (220) pinned their opponents to help the visiting Mustangs win the CWAC dual.

COLUMBIA (BURBANK) LOSES 2: Zac Foote pinned Wahluke’s Hector Cruz in a 120-pound bout to score the Coyotes boys’ only non-forfeit victory of the night, as they fell to Royal 60-18 and Wahluke 44-24 in Burbank.

The Burbank and Wahluke girls also wrestled, with CB’s Savannah Towle (170 pounds), Renee Williams (120) and Ana Scott (130) sweeping the three matches.

BOWLING

HANFORD 3, KENNEWICK 1: Sara Harris rolled scratch games of 233 and 215 to lead the host Falcons past the Lions.

Freshman Skye Wheatley had a 188 for Kennewick.

This story was originally published January 11, 2018 at 11:07 PM with the headline "Pasco is the top dog in MCC wrestling."