Kamiakin pushes through 4 to semifinals at Mat Classic

Chiawana’s Robby Vaughn was the first Mid-Columbia wrestler to punch his ticket to the semifinals Friday afternoon, and was soon joined by teammates Kobe Santoyo and Tyson Stover at the 30th Mat Classic at the Tacoma Dome.

The Kamiakin Braves, who are third in the 3A team standings with 63 points, will have four in the semifinals, while Southridge will have three, and Pasco two.

Southridge, fourth in the team standings, just one point back of Kamiakin, advanced Steven Saltz (152), Eric Stayrook (195) and Yuriy Slutskiy (285) to the semis.

Richland senior Patrick Workman won both of his matches to advance.

Pasco’s Isaiah Gonzalez (132) won a 6-5 triple overtime thriller over Austin Cleland of Sumner in the quarterfinals to advance.

Joining Gonzalez in the semis will be Dominick Almaguer at 195.

Vaughn, who placed second at 106 pounds last year as a freshman, won by technical fall and a 3-1 decision to earn a date with Devin Gentz of South Kitsap in the 120-pound semis.

Stover (160) posted wins of 8-2 and 12-3 on Friday to advance. He will face Nathan Marin of South Kitsap on Saturday.

Santoyo (126) posted decisions of 10-4 and 10-8, and will face Terrell Sanders of University in the semis.

Kamiakin put through Austin Almaguer (132), Joey Chavez (145), Sione Halo (152) and Jacob Olson (170).

The Suns got off to a good start, winning four of their first seven matches. At 182, Jevon Johnson, who held an 11-point lead in the third period, suffered a knee injury and is done for the season.

“He has a torn LCL and dislocated his knee cap,” Southridge coach Steve Isley said of Johnson. “He is going to have to have surgery and there will be a long rehab. That hurts for him and the team. We are fourth in the standings, but we know Bonney Lake (60 points) is coming up on us tomorrow. It will be difficult for us to hold them off. They have five in the semis.”

Kennewick’s Emilio Ramos (160), who was fifth last year at 152, is in the 160-pound semifinals, where he will face Josh Johnson of North Central.

Girls

Of the 23 Mid-Columbia girls at the Tacoma Dome, six moved on to the semifinals, and 10 are still alive for placing.

Hanford’s Taylor Wilson (100) and Taylor Robbins (120) reached Saturday’s semifinals with a pair of wins.

Wilson, a freshman, pinned her first opponent, then beat Faith Cardenas of Aberdeen 8-0 in the quarterfinals to advance.

Robbins, competing at her second Mat Classic, beat Marina Montanez of Redmond 12-9 in her opening match, then won by disqualification over Brooklyn Cutler of Yelm to reach the semis.

The Falcons, who are fifth in the team standings, got some key points from Grace Nelson at 190. Nelson, who is 2-1 and working her way through the consolation bracket, got in as an alternate.

“We are in the team hunt, but we need a couple of big wins tomorrow,” Hanford coach Dom Duncan said. “We got our alternate in and she got a couple of pins for us and picked up some points. If everything goes well, we are right there.”

Grandview has senior Maria Reyes (105) and Jasel Perez (130) still alive in the upper half the bracket.

Reyes pinned both of her opponents, while Perez opened with a pin, then posted a 6-1 decision over Makenna Speed of Kalama.

Kennewick freshman Allexia Asselin is in the 155-pound semifinals. She pinned Autumn Ortega of Stanwood in the first round of her opening match, then posted an 11-3 major decision over Mackayla Waltee of Aberdeen.

Asselin will face Lourdes Torres of Sunnyside in the semifinals.

Also reaching the semis was Othello’s Emily Mendez at 105 pounds. She posted wins of 6-3 and 5-3, and will face Alina Collins of Bellermine Prep on Saturday morning.

1A/2A Boys

After placing second last year at 285 pounds, Connell’s Seer Deines is looking to right the ship in his last year at the Dome.

He got off to a good start Friday, pinning his first opponent in 3:25, before needing just 45 seconds to beat Deer Park’s Tytan Duncan.

Deines will face Braeden Shannon of Mt. Baker in the semifinals.

Also joining Deines in the semis are Johnathan Magana at 106, and Branden Chavez at 160.

Royal has Dominic Martinez (113) and Eduardo Rodriguez (132) in the semis, and still have seven of their nine wrestlers still alive.

In the 2A tournament, Othello’s Chris Melo advanced at 106 pounds, as did DJ Guzman (195) and Isaiah Perez (285).

This story was originally published February 16, 2018 at 10:10 PM with the headline "Kamiakin pushes through 4 to semifinals at Mat Classic."