Cougars compete in big meets to start season
CALEB PEREZ | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 8 months, 1 week AGO
Raylen Heredia (left) from the Cougars sizes up his opponent during the Ocosta Tournament on Saturday. Heredia, weighing 113 pounds, placed second in his bracket.
COURTESY PHOTO/JOHNNY HERNANDEZ
WARDEN – The Warden Cougars wrestling team competed in their first wrestling tournaments of the season, with the girls heading to Liberty High School for the Lady Lancer Invitational and the boys heading to the Ocosta Tournament at Ocosta High School.
“I thought we had a really good weekend; it was the first time we took a trip like that, (a) six-hour bus ride,” said Cougars boys head coach Johnny Hernandez.
The boys had nine scorers on the weekend with seven of those making top four placements, he said. Overall, the team finished third at Ocosta and were only four points away from taking first place.
Raylen Heredia, weighing in at 113 pounds, was the top placer for the team, taking second and Cougars senior Erik Camacho took third in his bracket. Samuel Aquilar and Luis Cisneros both took third and Jesus Arias took fourth.
Some of the key standouts from the tournament came from Cougar wrestlers who had never been in a medal match before. Johnny Hernandez said Nikko Ruiz and Bryan Zaragoza had put in a lot of work in the offseason and found themselves in a medal match over the weekend, with Ruiz earning fourth and Zaragoza taking third.
“Props to those guys for having a good weekend and finally getting a medal around their neck,” said Johnny Hernandez.
Collin Cox was another standout wrestler at the tournament, wrestling as an 80-pound eighth grader against high school opponents. He said that Cox showed a relentless attitude and wrestled with skills similar to those of a senior.
Johnny Hernandez said this tournament gave the team a real confidence boost as they proved what they can do as they return more wrestlers in the coming weeks.
The Cougars girls had three girls place at the Lady Lancer Tournament, each earning fourth. Maddox Williams participated in the 115 class and scored 11 team points, going 2-2, Mirian Zuniga was in the 125-pound class, going 4-2 to earn 12 team points. Ashley Cruz competed in the 145-pound class and went 2-2, scoring 11 team points.
Cougars girls head coach Valerie Hernandez said she was very proud of how the team performed in the tournament and is excited to see how the wrestlers will improve as they move forward.
The Cougars girls are set to host a tournament at Warden High School, and the boys will be heading to Liberty High School for the Brice Williams Tournament, with both events taking place Saturday at 10 a.m. Both teams will then host a dual meet against Wahluke on Tuesday at 5 p.m.
ARTICLES BY CALEB PEREZ
Sushik comes full circle ahead of first season at BBCC
MOSES LAKE — The next step in Liana Sushik’s athletic journey has led her to play for the Big Bend Community College Vikings volleyball team this fall after a successful career with the Soap Lake Eagles. Joining the Vikings is something she feels has deepened her love for the sport, she said. “I fell in love with the fact that there’s more than just high school volleyball; there’s another level,” said Sushik. “It’s like a whole new chapter and I’m so excited to see what I have next because there’s a lot that I’ve been through to get here.” Despite her success on the court, Sushik said she didn’t initially start out as an athlete.
Building a community at Desert City Fitness
EPHRATA — The city of Ephrata welcomed its newest athletic club earlier this summer with Desert City Fitness setting up along Basin Street. Since their grand opening June 6, the club has worked to become a strong contributor to the community in Ephrata. “We just opened our doors and whoever comes in, that’s how we do it,” said Bryan Boney, owner of Desert City Fitness. Boney, who owns the club alongside his wife Tracy Fillion, decided to open Desert City Fitness to keep himself active after retiring six years ago. Boney said he has invested all his money from retirement into purchasing the property, remodeling and getting the equipment necessary to open his fitness center.
Grid Kids expands opportunities this season
MOSES LAKE — The Moses Lake Grid Kids football program is gearing up for the start of its 26th football season this fall. This year, alongside their tackle football program, the Grid Kids have expanded their flag football options. “It’s one of those things that you just don’t really know how well it’s going to go, but right now we’re looking pretty strong,” said Brian Gwinn, the Gird Kids administrator and communications contact. The tackle opportunities remain the same for third through sixth grade with third and fourth graders playing together and fifth and sixth graders separately from the younger players. The format for third and fourth grade will remain at a regular 11-man game, but for fifth and sixth grade there is consideration for moving down to an eight-on-eight format.