Chiawana shuffles lineup to secure MCC wrestling title

If something is worth having, it’s worth fighting for.

With the Mid-Columbia Conference regular-season title on the line Wednesday night, the Chiawana Riverhawks got the big points when they needed them, and stayed off their backs with the match on the line en route to a 34-31 victory over the host Kamiakin Braves.

“I am very proud of them,” Chiawana coach Jack Anderson said of his team. “They have worked hard all season. A great win and a league for these guys.”

The match also marked the sixth annual Battle of the Bridge between Chiawana’s Anderson, and his younger brother Jordan, the Kamiakin coach. After Wednesday, Jack’s Riverhawks lead the series 5-1.

“I’m proud of them,” Jordan Anderson said of his group. “(Chiawana) did a great job of not giving up pins, and we did. But the effort was there. It sucks. We have to get better.”

The Braves (4-2) will finish their MCC season Thursday at Hanford.

The Riverhawks (7-0) had an early of 16-3, only to see the Braves come back with a wins by Joey Chavez at 152 and Sione Halo at 160 for a 16-12 match.

From there, Chiawana’s Victor Silva posted a 12-5 win over Gibby Marquez.

“Gibby is a tough kid, and Victor had a good match against him,” Jack Anderson said. “He put up a heck of a fight.”

Then, in a strategic move, the Riverhawks bumped Tyson Stover from 170 to 182 to take on Jacob Olson, who is No. 6 in the Class 3A rankings.

Stover, who weighed in at 168, got out to a 2-1 lead, but late takedown in the first period put Olson on top 3-2.

Olson earned an escape 25 seconds into the second round, but 30 seconds later, Stover used his quickness to take Olson down. Another escape gave Olson a 5-4 lead with one round remaining.

Stover chose the down position to start the third, and with 43 seconds left in the match, maneuvered a reversal and held on for the win.

“They didn’t know I was going to bump up,” Stover said. “It was a better match for our team, and it showed. I wasn’t nervous. I just go out and wrestle my best and give 100 percent. I just try to keep calm and think I am going to win. That has helped me through a lot of matches.”

Stover a good job of avoiding Olson’s signature head-and-arm, and Olson in turn, was wary of Stover’s propensity to shoot low.

“That won them the match,” Jordan Anderson said of the 182-pound match. “It was a style mismatch for us.”

Trent Black took care of business at 195 for Chiawana with a pin of Ben Hollenberg, while Kamiakin’s Luke Eskelsen posted a 14-3 major decision over Ian Campbell at 220.

After Chiawana’s Josh Alvarez pinned Brock McCue at 285, the Braves need to post pins in the final three matches to forge a tie.

They got two.

Freshman Ryan Plumb pinned Jayson Delamora at 106, and Xavier Zavala needed just 12 seconds to pin Devin Perdue at 120.

Kamiakin picked up a 9-2 win at 113 by sophomore Guillermo Ramirez, and even though the decision left them short, Jordan Anderson could not have been more proud of Ramirez.

“He has wrestled JV all season,” Anderson said. “He wrestled a tough kid and put him on his back. I thought he had him a couple of times. What a match from him.”

Before the Chiawana match, the Braves beat Kennewick 69-9.

The marquee bout of the match was at 160, where Kennewick’s Emilio Ramos beat Halo 3-1in overtime at 160 pounds.

This story was originally published January 24, 2018 at 11:22 PM with the headline "Chiawana shuffles lineup to secure MCC wrestling title."