Chiawana boys wrestlers sweep team and 2 individual titles

By Jeff Morrow Special to the Herald

January 2, 2020 5:00 AM

Chiawana’s Tyson Stover won an individual title last week. Here he tries to shoot on Camas’ Gideon Malychewski in their 160-pound championship match at the 4A Region 4 Tournament last season. Noelle Haro-Gomez Tri-City Herald

While most of the area’s high school basketball shut down for the last 10 days, local high school wrestling teams have continued to compete.

That of course means wrestlers for the most part have to watch what they eat to stay in their weight class.

I could never be a wrestler. I do not have that wasting discipline.

But here is what’s been going on with some of the bigger tournaments in recent weeks:

Hanford Winter Cup

The Chiawana boys rolled to a team title last Saturday by scoring 221.5 points.

Sunnyside was third at 187.5 points.

The Riverhawks got individual titles from Isaiah Anderson at 195 pounds, and Tyson Stover at 182.

Anderson beat Kamiakin’s Gilbert Marquez 5-3 in the championship, raising his season record to 21-0. Stover sits with a 20-1 record.

Robby Vaughn (145 pounds), Riley Cissne (160) and Colby Blaisdel (285) had second-place finishes for the Riverhawks.

Sunnyside had two champs: Elijah Barajas at 106, and Andrew Macias at 132.Second-place finishes by Alejandro Fernandez (113 pounds) and Edward Villanueva (126); and third-place finishes by Austin Villanueva (145) and Moises Zesate (152) helped the Grizzlies with points.

Other top performances included Pasco’s Isaiah Gonzalez, who beat Cissne 6-0 in the 160-pound title match; and Hanford’s Austin Patton, who pinned Grandview’s Damian Monreal in 4:30 to win the 120-pound title match.

Mabton’s Jesus Mata placed third at 285.

Best of the West

Two weeks ago at the Best of the West tournament at Pasco High, Newburg, Ore., took the team title by beating Flathead, Mont., 39-32 in the dual team competitions championship.

In the individual portion of the tournament the next day, Pasco’s Nathaniel Tovar (120 pounds) and Isaiah Gonzalez (160), and Hanford’s Jakobie Reynolds (220) were weight class champions.

Kennewick’s Saw Thee (113), Pasco’s Victor Godinez (120) and Damian Silva (285), and Chiawana’s Deonte Muse (220) placed second in their weight classes.Pasco’s Miguel Hinojosa (138) and Kiona-Benton’s AJ Stewart (160) finished third, and Pasco’s Devin Fromm (145) placed fourth.

Tri-State Invitational

The same weekend of Best of the Best was the prestigious Tri-State Invitational in Coeur d’Alene.

Chiawana’s Isaiah Anderson (195 pounds), Kamiakin’s Joey Chavez (152) and Othello’s Isaiah Perez (285) were champions in their weight class.

Chiawana’s Robby Vaughn finished second at 145, while teammates Riley Cissne (160) and Tyson Stover (182) were third.

Chiawana’s Colby Blaisdel placed fourth at 285, while Othello’s Elijah Roylance was fourth at 220.

Hanford Girls Winter Cup

The Hanford girls won their own invitational tournament last Friday, scoring 180 points.

Sunnyside placed third as a team with 169.Taylor Wilson, at 105 pounds, was the lone weight class champ for the Falcons.

But teammates Grace Nelson (second at 155), Hailey Say (second at 140), and Mia Klein (third at 130) also contributed points for the Falcons’ cause.

Kennewick had two champions. Aubreyanna Asselin pinned her sister, Ayanna Asselin, at the 4-minute mark to win the 170-pound title.

Then sister Alexia Asselin won the 190-pound title.

Other tournament champions include Othello’s Emily Mendez at 110, Walla Walla’s Annelisa Whitaker at 140, and Kamiakin’s Aliyah Draisey at 235.

Second-place finishes came from Walla Walla’s Nayeli Flores (110) and Sunnyside’s Cheyann Rendon (145).

Sunnyside’s Eliza Rodriguez (105), Othello’s Alexis Monday (110) and Roxsana Cisneros (115) each placed third.

Southridge’s Samantha Kirby (110) and Connell’s Nilayo Coronado (155) each finished fourth.

Lynden Girls Invitational

On the weekend before at Lynden, Pasco and Kennewick dominated the tournament, with the Bulldogs placing first with 183 points, and the Lions finishing second with 166.

For Pasco, Mariah Hinojosa (100 pounds), Justice Sanchez (115), Sofia Correa (120) and Jazmin Mercado (130) each won their respective weight class title.

Kennewick’s Sara Correa-Gambindo (140), Aubreyanna Asselin (170) and Alexia Asselin (190) each finished second, while Ayanna Asselin (170) was third.

▪ Sunnyside’s Alexxus Ramos won her 110-pound division title the same weekend at the Hammerhead Invitational at Central Kitsap High School.

Notes

The Tri-City Americans traded defenseman Samuel Stewart to the Edmonton Oil Kings this past weekend. In exchange, the Ams get a fourth-round pick in the 2023 WHL Bantam Draft.
The Walla Walla boys and girls basketball teams both went 3-0 over the weekend to each respectively win their divisions at the Avista Utilities Holiday Basketball Tournament in Lewiston. The Blue Devils girls beat Post Falls 62-44 in the title game. Wa-Hi’s Rian Clear was named tournament MVP, while teammate Monica Miller was named to the all-tournament team. On the boys side, the Blue Devils beat Lewiston 63-55 for the championship. Wa-Hi’s Dylan Ashbeck was named tournament MVP, while teammate Michael Cornia was named to the all-tournament team.
The Blue Devils boys and girls will travel to Richland on Thursday to re-open Mid-Columbia Conference play. It will be the lone MCC twinbill on the schedule that night. Girls game tips off at 5:45 p.m., while the boys are set to start at 7:30 p.m. A full set of boys and girls games are scheduled for both Friday and Saturday.
Right-handed pitcher Arturo Reyes, a Warden High graduate who also played at Columbia Basin College, was released by the Tampa Bay Rays this off season after pitching for the Rays’ Triple-A affiliate in Durham, N.C. But Reyes was just signed recently to a minor-league contract with the Texas Rangers, and he’ll get an invite to the Rangers’ spring training camp.

Jeff Morrow is former sports editor for the Tri-City Herald.