GALLERY: 2023 Mat Classic
IAN BIVONA | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 3 years, 7 months AGO
Othello junior Anthony Abundiz tracks his opponent, Burlington-Edison senior Jio Aguilar, at Friday’s 2023 Mat Classic at the Tacoma Dome.
IAN BIVONA/COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD
Quincy sophomore Saidt Alvarez, right, wrestles against Konnor Spalding, left, of Lakeside (Nine Mile Falls) during the third round of the 106-pound 1A consolation bracket.
Moses Lake senior LaKailey Rodriguez, left, has her arm raised as the victor in the second round of the Girls 3A/4A 135-pound consolation bracket at the Mat Classic in Tacoma.
Almira/Coulee-Hartline junior Everett Wood, top, works against his opponent at Saturday’s Mat Classic in Tacoma.
Moses Lake freshman Ian Garza, top, wrestles against North Creek freshman Colton Johnson in the 4A 106-pound bracket of the 2023 Mat Classic in Tacoma.
Ephrata junior Leslie Sanchez Guerrero, center, lifts up her opponent, W. F. West’s Lia Hornby, right, at the 2023 Mat Classic on Friday.
Othello junior Elia Velazquez, top, works against her opponent, Ihanna Perez of Grandview, in the quarterfinals of the girls 2A/1A/2B/1B 190-pound bracket at the Mat Classic.
Warden senior Gio Castro, right, attempts to flip his opponent, Miguel Depaz of Tonasket, onto his back in the second round of the 2B/1B 106-pound consolation bracket.
Lind-Ritzville/Sprague sophomore Brock Tracy, top, pushed Okanogan senior Joseph Cates to the ground in the second round of the Boys 2B/1B 285-pound bracket at the Mat Classic.
Ian Bivona serves as the Columbia Basin Herald’s sports reporter and is a graduate of Auburn University in Auburn, Alabama. He enjoys the behind-the-scenes stories that lead up to the wins and losses of the various sports teams in the Basin. Football is his favorite sport, though he likes them all, and his favorite team is the Jets. He lives in Soap Lake with his cat, Honey. | February 23, 2023 1:30 AM
TACOMA – Sixty-six wrestlers from the Columbia Basin traveled to the Tacoma Dome to compete in this weekend’s Mat Classic, with 34 wrestlers eventually placing in their respective brackets.
ARTICLES BY IAN BIVONA
Moses Lake boys qualify eight, girls send 11 to Mat Classic
MOSES LAKE -- Nineteen total Mavericks qualified to wrestle at the upcoming Mat Classic, with the Moses Lake girls team qualifying 11 wrestlers and the boys team sending eight wrestlers to the Tacoma Dome. The Moses Lake boys took second at districts, scoring 214.5 points at the tournament. Sunnyside won the district tournament with 278.5 points.
Basin wrestlers bound for state after districts
MOSES LAKE – District tournaments were held across the state on Friday and Saturday, where boys and girls wrestlers punched their tickets into next week’s Mat Classic in Tacoma.
Mavs defeat Sunnyside, finish third in league
Moses Lake enters districts with confidence as regular season fades
MOSES LAKE – The Mavericks closed out the regular season with a trip to Sunnyside on Thursday night, coming out on top of a closely contested game with a 67-66 win over the Grizzlies. “They’ve been playing better, scoring more,” Head Coach Craig Groth said. “We’ve been doing a little bit better job on defense in certain situations and winning games leading up to that. Even games we haven’t won, we’ve been in really close games. Our confidence is really good right now, we felt great going into the game.”