Chiawana denies Pasco MCC wrestling title

The only thing that stood between Pasco and the Mid-Columbia Conference regular-season title Saturday night was cross-town rival Chiawana.

The Bulldogs had a 22-9 lead midway through the match, but the Riverhawks rallied for an electrifying 33-25 victory before a packed house at Pasco High School.

“I knew we were getting to the part of our lineup that was strong,” Riverhawks coach Jack Anderson said of the deficit. “I was confident from 126 up. I knew we could get the job done.”

Pasco’s only hope of sharing the league title rests with Kamiakin. The Bulldogs (6-1) beat the Braves (4-1) earlier in the season, so if Kamiakin should beat Chiawana (6-0) on Wednesday, the three schools would share the title.

“It was a good dual,” Pasco coach Jay Covington said. “They came out swinging and ready to go. It’s not just one match, but 14. You have to be ready to wrestle. We didn’t bring our ‘A’ game with some guys. We have to keep getting better. It comes back on my shoulders. I need to get them better prepared for matches like this.”

The Riverhawks held a 30-25 lead with one match remaining —170 pounds.

Chiawana sent sophomore Tyson Stover to the mat against junior Avery Burrows, who needed a pin for Pasco to win the match. Stover was having no part of that plan.

Stover, who was seventh at state last year at 138, struck first, taking Burrows down 21 seconds into the first round. Stover led 4-1 after the first round and 7-2 after the second.

Burrows earned a late escape and a takedown in the third, but Stover came away with the 9-5 victory.

“I loved it,” Stover said of the pressure. “When I heard ‘82 (182) was the first match, I was excited to have that moment to seal the deal. My mindset was not to not get pinned, but to win the match no matter the score.”

Late in the third round, the Pasco fans were chanting Burrows’ name, which brought about a “Tyson, Tyson, Tyson,” chant from the Chiawana crowd. Stover said that gave him a boost.

“I love that,” he said. “I know wrestling isn’t the most popular sport, but I love it when the the fans get behind you and start yelling. Pasco brought the heat tonight, but we felt confident that we would go out and do what needed to be done.”

The Riverhawks opened the match with wins by Victor Silva (182) and Trent Black (195) for a 9-0 lead, only to see the Bulldogs win the next five for that 22-9 lead.

“Trent and Victor stepped up for those wins,” Anderson said. “We needed those in the end.”

Pasco’s Anthony Cortez earned a 15-7 major decision over Ian Campbell at 220 to get the Bulldogs on the board, and heavyweight Davion Pruitt got the better of Josh Alvarez, 5-2.

Eric Correa’s pin of Jayson Delamora at 106 gave the Bulldogs the lead, and wins by Nate Tovar (113) and Daniel Jimenez (120) stretched the lead to 22-9.

Chiawana won six of the next seven matches for the win.

The lone Pasco win in the middle weights belonged to Isaiah Gonzalez, who remained undefeated on the season with an 8-1 victory over Morgan McFee.

Gonzalez held a 2-1 lead with just 17 seconds left in the match. He got a quick escape, a takedown and a 3-point nearfall to finish it off.

“I knew we were going to have some tight matches, and I didn’t know which way things would go,” Covington said. “The kids are down, but they will bounce back and get better.”

This story was originally published January 20, 2018 at 9:48 PM with the headline "Chiawana denies Pasco MCC wrestling title."