Tie-breaker rule determines Huskies winner over Grandview

OTHELLO - The pep talk was short.

The end result was just as long.

"Pin him," Othello wrestling coach Ruben Martinez exclaimed to his 103-pound wrestler Derek Stelter. Stelter followed with a quick 37-second pin over Grandview's Andrew Tucker, guaranteeing an Othello-Grandview tie at the end of the match.

According to the National Federation of State High School Associations, tie-breaker is determined first by number of unsportsmanlike conduct penalties received by either team, second,the number of victories by each team and third, the number of falls recorded by each team.

Othello and Grandview tied the match at 36-36, but the Huskies recorded eight individual wins to the Greyhounds' six.

"We wanted to survive this dual match," Martinez said.

Yet Othello started the match in total domination. Six of the first eight individual victories came at the beginning of the match, starting at 119 pounds.

Conrad Garza (119) put six team points on the board after pinning Grandview's Fernando Godinez. Don Cantu (125) followed by shutting out Kaelen Nelson 11-0 and Jack Calvert (130) won 11-6 over Mathew Saldana, allowing the Huskies to command a 13-0 lead.

Othello's Teddy Monte Mayor (135) followed with a 17-2 technical fall over Shey Siemears and Freddie Flores (140) held on for a 10-9 win over Michael Benavidez. Phillip Ontiveros (145) secured the sixth straight win for the Huskies by defeating Ismael Medina 11-4 and Othello took a 24-0 lead over Grandview up to that point.

Grandview turned the tables on Othello at 152 pounds, with Jesus Benitez quickly picking up a first round pin over Ismael Galeana, forcing the Huskies to "survive."

Jesus Soto (160) pinned Othello's Eddie Barajas midway through the second round, Tovias Magana (171) received a forfeit and Heleodoro Lopez tied the match at 24-24 with a third round pin over Othello's Jacob Johnston.

J.R. Pina (215) pinned Oscar Suarez toward the end of the second round and Andrew Morales gave the Greyhounds a 12-point lead with a pin over Michael Carmona.

Trailing 36-24, Stelter put Othello in position to win the match with his pin over Tucker. Mat Garza then received the game-tying forfeit for Othello at 112 pounds.

"They had a good match against Connell and we didn't know much about them," Martinez said. "We knew it was going to be close."

Martinez said the Grandview run in the middle of the match had one reason - Othello's football state championship. He said those wrestlers got a late jump on the season and came in physically unready for the dual and it cost them.

It also puts Othello behind the rest of the state in preparation of defending their 2A state championship, Martinez added.

"For me personally it has," Martinez said about his own frustration in preparing his wrestlers for the season. "When you are the defending state champs, everyone is going to come after you."