Mid-Columbia wrestlers earn 45 medals, and they haven’t even wrestled the finals yet
As Mat Classic 30 at the Tacoma Dome winds down, the Mid-Columbia will have 11 wrestlers going after state titles Saturday night.
The Kamiakin Braves, who are in line for a team trophy in the 3A division, has three in the finals — Austin Almaguer at 132 pounds, Sione Halo at 152 and Jacob Olson at 170.
Kennewick has Emilio Ramos in the 160-pound finals. The senior is the only four-time state placer for the Lions. A title by Ramos would be the first for the Lions since Josh Williams won the 4A 103-pound title in 2000.
At the 4A level, Chiawana will send Robby Vaughn to the mat in the 120-pound finals against Chase Tebbets of Mead, who beat Vaughn 2-0 in the 106-pound championship match last year, and who beat him in the regionals finals last week.
For the girls, Hanford freshman Taylor Wilson is in the 100-pound title match against Nizhoni Tallman of Granger, who she has beaten previously this season.
Grandview’s Maria Reyes will wrestle for the 105-pound title.
In the 2A tournament, Othello’s Chris Melo is in the 106-pound championship match against Uriel Garcia of Wapato, while teammate Isaiah Perez is in the 285 title match. Perez has pinned all three of his opponents, with no match reaching the third round.
At the 1A level, Connell’s Seer Deines will go after the 285-pound title. He has pinned all three of his opponents, with the quickest win coming in 45 seconds in quarterfinals.
Royal’s Dominic Martinez will wrestle Jeff Friedman of Lakeside in the 113-pound championship match.
With just the finals left to go, here is how the Mid-Columbia stacked up this weekend.
4A
Chiawana: Kobe Santoyo (126), 5th; Riley Cissne (145), 8th; Tyson Stover (160), 5th; Josh Alvarez (285), 4th.
Pasco: Nate Tovar (106), 5th; Isaiah Gonzalez (132), 3rd; David Tobias (138), 8th; Jose Tovar (182), 7th; Dominick Almaguer (195), 6th; Anthony Cortez (220), 6th.
Hanford: Hunter Murphey (113), 7th.
Richland: Patrick Workman (152), 6th.
Walla Walla: Edwin Romero (152), 4th.
3A
Southridge: Gio Penaloza (126), 4th; Breyden Baratone (138), 6th; Steven Saltz (152), 6th; Mikael Failor (160), 3rd; Eric Stayrook (195), 6th; Atsamaz Pliev (220), 8th; Yuriy Slutskiy (285), 5th.
Kamiakin: Guillermo Ramirez (113), 8th; Xavier Zavala (113), 7th; Joey Chavez (145), 3rd; Luke Eskelsen (220), 7th.
2A
Othello: DJ Guzman (195), 5th.
Prosser: Logan Candanoza (160), 4th.
1A
Connell: Johnathan Magana (106), 3rd; Branden Chavez (160), 4th; Jonathan Andrewjeski (285), 3rd.
Kiona-Benton: Angel Del Angel (120), 4th; Jose Mendoza (195), 7th.
Royal: Eduardo Rodriguez (132), 6th; Kevin Pastor (138), 6th; Daniel Bonilla (145), 7th, Lorenzo Myrick (152), 7th; Ryder Eilers (285), 8th.
River View: Devin Roberts (220), 6th.
Girls
Hanford: Taylor Robbins (120), 5th; Grace Nelson (190), 7th.
Kennewick: Alexia Asselin (155), 4th.
Kiona-Benton: Maloree Calzadillas (155), 6th.
Grandview: Jasel Perez (130), 5th.
River View: Dempsi Talkington (135), 7th.
Othello: Emily Mendez (105), 4th; Victoria Mendoza (190), 8th.
This story was originally published February 17, 2018 at 4:52 PM with the headline "Mid-Columbia wrestlers earn 45 medals, and they haven’t even wrestled the finals yet."