Only one regional title for MCC schools, but still plenty to celebrate

Mid-Columbia Conference schools had 24 wrestlers in Saturday’s semifinals at the 4A Region 4 Tournament, but in the end, just one man walked away with a regional title at Pasco High School.

Hanford’s Hunter Murphey won the 113-pound title, beating Tim Westbrook of University 7-2, to become the Falcons’ first regional champion since Caleb Gifford won the 135-pound title in 2010.

While the individual titles were not plentiful, the Pasco Bulldogs got the most out of their team, earning 205.5 points to finish second behind Mead (267), which crowned three champions and will take eight to state.

Pasco will take seven to the state tournament Feb. 16-17 at the Tacoma Dome.

“It wasn’t as planned, but it was a total team effort,” Pasco coach Jay Covington said. “We had kids wrestle their butts off and make it to state. These kids know the importance of having a solid team.”

Chiawana, which will take nine to state, finished fifth in the team standings with 191 points, just a half point behind Camas and University, which tied for third with 191.5.

“Nine is the most in school history,” Riverhawks coach Jack Anderson said. “We are in a position to make a run at a team title.”

Hanford was eighth in the team standings with 124 points. The Falcons will take three to state.

Walla Walla was 10th with 49 points, and will send McKinley Hudiburg (106) and Edwin Romero (152) to state.

Richland’s Patrick Workman, who finished second at 152, earned all of his team’s 21 points.

Murphey (25-8) led 4-1 after the first round with a takedown and 2-point near fall. He picked up a point off an illegal hold by Westbrook, and added another takedown in the third.

“I have worked so hard for this,” Murphey said. “I didn’t get to go to state as a freshman, and the last two years I was an alternate. This year I am a district and regional champion. My parents keep saying how much this means to them. That makes me proud to be their son.”

The two points scored by Westbrook — off two escapes — are the points Murphey has allowed in the postseason. Murphey pinned his first opponent in 38 seconds, and the next guy in 1:46. He also pinned Brandon Esperto of Union in the semifinals.

Hanford’s Hayden Henry finished second at 182, dropping a 7-3 match to Mead’s Ben Voightleander.

Also headed to state for Hanford is Jonathan Burt, who finished fourth at 220.

Pasco got a second-place finish from Nate Tovar at 106, who dropped a 5-4 match to Chase Randall of Mead.

Tovar had leads of 4-2 and 4-3 in the second round, but a reversal by Randall in the third period ended up being the difference.

Pasco’s Isaiah Gonzalez (43-1), the top-ranked man at 132 pounds, lost his semifinal match to Tanner Craig of Camas, 7-0. He then rebounded to place third with a 16-0 technical fall over Chiawana’s Morgan McFee.

“When it comes down to it, I’d rather learn a lesson now than at state,” said Gonzalez, who won the 113-pound state title last year. “It was not my day. It was not my match. It gives me more motivation for next week.”

Covington agreed: “If we are going to lose, I want to lose today, not next week when it counts,” he said. “Sometimes it’s good to be a little humble and say ‘I need to get back to work.’ ”

Chiawana had heartbreak in three championship matches.

Robby Vaughn, in a repeat of last year’s 106-pound state title match with Mead’s Chase Tebbets, lost 4-2 in overtime. Tebbets won last year’s state final 2-0.

While Tebbets had a takedown in the first period, Vaughn earned escape points in the first and second to tie the score.

In the third, Tebbets chose the down position, and Vaughn did his part in not allowing him to earn a point.

In overtime, the official awarded Vaughn a takedown 33 seconds in, but after a conference with the second official, the points were taken away and the match resumed. Tebbets then took Vaughn down with 4 seconds left on the clock.

“I knew I had it, but I left it in the ref’s hands,” Vaughn said. “I can’t let it go to overtime, I have to beat him. I don’t like losing. I gained on him, I know that.”

At 145, Chiawana’s Riley Cissne, who was nursing a shoulder injury, injury defaulted the title match to Brad Wiggs of Central Valley.

The final blow came at 160, where Tyson Stover lost the championship match 5-2 to Gideon Malychewski of Camas.

After a scoreless first period, Stover led 1-0 in the second, but an escape and two takedowns by Malychewski proved to be the difference.

Mid-Columbia fans wanting a title showdown between Pasco’s Davion Pruitt and Chiawana’s Josh Alvarez at 285, had to settle for the matchup deciding third and fourth place.

Both big men lost in the semifinals, then came back to win a match to punch their ticket to state.

After a scoreless first period, Pruitt chose the down position to start the second. Alvarez, who lost his past two matches to his Pasco nemesis, got Pruitt turned and pinned.

“I just listen to my coaches and do what I’m told,” Alvarez said. “He’s a big kid and we had to do something different. We put in a new move, a spiral ride, and I was able to turn him.”

Also headed to state for the Bulldogs are David Tobias (138), Jose Tovar (182), Dominick Almaguer (195) and Anthony Cortez (220).

Rounding out the Riverhawks’ state roster are Kevin Llamas (106), Kobe Santoyo (126), Israel Romero (138) and Victor Silva (170).

This story was originally published February 10, 2018 at 7:21 PM with the headline "Only one regional title for MCC schools, but still plenty to celebrate."