Little, Gurr win titles to help Kamiakin wrestling place second at 3A regionals

Kamiakin’s Nick Little knew he’d have his hands full Saturday evening, facing Rogers heavyweight Markus Robinson in the championship match at Hanford High School.

Robinson was ranked No. 1 in the state and had steamrolled his way to the Class 3A Region IV title match with three consecutive pins — all in the first round.

Little also had two quick matches to reach the finals, but while Little was a head taller and weighing in at 255 pounds, Robinson was short and stocky, making for an odd matchup.

The two big men battled to a scoreless first round, while Little earned an escape point in the second for a 1-0 lead.

Robinson opted to take the down position to start the third, hoping to even the match with an escape, but Little controlled him the full two minutes to earn his second consecutive regional title.

“I was a little nervous, but excited to see how well I’d do,” Little said of facing Robinson. “I hadn’t had a full match in a while. I had seen him throw a few guys earlier. It was hard to block — it was something different, something new. We got to the third round, and I was able to wear him down.”

Braves coach Jordan Anderson knew if Little could get to the third round, he had a good chance of winning.

“We watched him earlier today,” Anderson said of Robinson. “He is a phenomenal thrower. We knew coming in he’d try and tie Nick up. Nick will win a lot of matches in the third because he will wear you down.”

Little’s title, along with a first-place finish from Riley Gurr at 113 pounds, helped the Braves finish second in the team standings with 213 points. Mt. Spokane won the team title with 248 points, while Southridge was sixth (139.5), Hanford ninth (83) and Kennewick 11th (46).

“Kamiakin is tough. Kelso is tough and so is North Central,” Wildcats coach Travis Hughes said. “I’m surprised we won by that much. This is a tough region. Our four champions didn’t surprise me, but we got a couple of guys we didn’t expect in the finals, that was surprising. We thought we’d get six kids through, and we got nine.”

The Braves will take seven to Mat Classic next weekend at the Tacoma Dome. In addition to Little and Gurr, Austin Almaguer (3rd, 106), Sione Halo (3rd, 145), Jacob Lawson (2nd, 160), Zach Borisch (2nd, 170) and Hayden Larson (4th, 220) qualified.

“We were hoping for nine,” Anderson said. “We’ve got some guys staying home that would have placed at other regionals. Mt. Spokane brought it today.”

Southridge has five advancing to state, including a couple of surprise kids.

“The kids came and wrestled hard,” Suns coach John Hogg said. “I’m proud of our 195 (Taylor Ambrose) and 220 (Riley Lopez) kids. They have been tearing it up. They had a tournament of a lifetime today.”

Ambrose and Lopez each finished second, while Zayid Al-Ghani (170) and Mikael Failor (120) were third and Marco Mendoza (106) fourth.

Kennewick will send brothers Alex and Emilio Ramos to state. Alex won the 145-pound title, while Emilio was fourth at 138.

Colt Gosney (3rd, 220) will be Hanford’s lone entrant at Mat Classic.

Alex Ramos (29-10) pinned Cameron Bowerman of North Central in 4:50 to win his first regional title and first trip to state.

After a scoreless first round, Ramos maneuvered a reversal and registered a 3-point near fall in the second for a 5-0 lead.

Bowerman opted for both men up to start the third. Ramos got a quick takedown and the pin.

“He was really trying to out-muscle me, but technique and patience win out,” Ramos said. “Once I got him in a head-and-arm, he pretty much gave up. I’m so excited for state. With both of us going, that is exciting.”

Gurr, a sophomore, won his second regional title with a 7-1 victory over Bryce Miller of Kelso, who got a late escape in the third round to avoid being shut out.

Gurr also beat Miller 10-4 in last year’s 106-pound regional semifinal.

“The gameplan was to go out, score and wear him down,” said Gurr, who is 41-0 this season. “I’ve put in a lot of work this year, and I always believe I will win. Before every match, I tap my chest twice and say “I’m the best.’ ”

Seems to be working.

This story was originally published February 13, 2016 at 8:42 PM with the headline "Little, Gurr win titles to help Kamiakin wrestling place second at 3A regionals."