Local bean bag champ eyes pro game
JOEL MARTIN | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 8 months, 3 weeks AGO
Camryn Barrientoz, left, and his doubles partner Jay Robins took back-to-back titles at the Wenatchee Valley Cornhole tournament last week. Barrientoz is working his way into professional status, he said.
COURTESY PHOTO/CAMRYN BARRIENTOZ
Joel Martin has been with the Columbia Basin Herald for more than 25 years in a variety of roles and is the most-tenured employee in the building. Martin is a married father of eight and enjoys spending time with his children and his wife, Christina. He is passionate about the paper’s mission of informing the people of the Columbia Basin because he knows it is important to record the history of the communities the publication serves. | December 18, 2025 3:00 AM
MOSES LAKE — We’ve seen the game at almost every outdoor community gathering: two or more players tossing bean bags at a board tilted up at an angle, aiming for a hole in the board. But that bean bag toss game, also called cornhole, is more than just a casual pastime; it’s a serious sport with dedicated players.
“I’m trying to go pro right now,” said Camryn Barrientoz of Moses Lake. “I was No. 2 in Washington, and since I did really well in this regional (tournament), it got me enough points where it bumped me up to No. 1 in Washington.”
That regional tournament was held in Wenatchee on Dec. 12-13, and Camryn, along with his doubles partner Jay Robins, took back-to-back titles, according to an email Camryn sent the Columbia Basin Herald.
Camryn started his bean bog toss career playing with his dad, Fabian Barrientoz, during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Right as COVID started in 2020, we were fishing a lot,” Fabian said. “Then with COVID restrictions, they stopped us from fishing, so we had to figure out something to do at home. We started playing backyard cornhole.”
Both father and son gained some serious skill at the game, although Fabian said he’s not ready to go professional.
“When it first started with me and my son, I was hoping that he would excel,” Fabian said. “But I kept on getting better myself. Both of us are playing actively.”
The Barrientoz father and son play in two clubs: the Central Washington Cornhole and the Basin Baggers groups, which Camryn started himself, he said. Both play on Tuesdays at Rick’s Eatery in Moses Lake.
A bean bag player builds up their career by earning points at various local and regional tournaments through the American Cornhole League, Camryn said. He’ll compete at the ACL Open in Las Vegas in February, and another ACL Open in Pasco in June.
“That’s the culminating tournament for all the pros to go to,” Fabian said. “We’ll see pros from all over the world.”
Camryn’s route to professional status begins with being ranked in the top six players in Washington, Fabian said. Professionals win through both sponsorships and through the prizes at tournaments. Professionals can make from $5,000 to $25,000 per year, according to the enthusiast website CornholeStore.com, although some tournaments have prizes of $50,000 or more. Camryn’s sponsors are Basin Garage Door, A1 RV Repair, Best Buy Auto Sales and Danco Construction of Moses Lake; Car Crazy Window Tinting of Ephrata; and Tommy Floors of Richland.
“A lot of people think of cornhole as a backyard game, but the way we play competitively … it’s a really skillful sport,” Fabian said. “It’s probably one of the most difficult sports I’ve played.”
ARTICLES BY JOEL MARTIN
Quincy National Night Out scales down
QUINCY — Quincy’s National Night Out was more compact this year, which worked out well, said QPD Sgt. Joe Westby, who’s in charge of event planning for the Quincy Police Department. “National Night Out is a big event, and the fact that we’re able to shrink it up is like a breath of fresh air,” Westby said. “If you're always doing the same thing, it's kind of nice to switch things up and see how it works.” National Night Out took place Thursday on the block of C Street next to the police station, a shift from previous years when it was held at Lauzier Park. The smaller space meant fewer emergency vehicles for children to explore, but it also meant less walking for attendees. Grant County Fire District 5 brought a fire truck, and the Grant County Sheriff’s Office had a patrol boat. Renew, the Grant County behavioral health agency, had a booth and so did Quincy Partnership for Youth. Veterans Operation Creation sang the national anthem, and the Quincy Animal Shelter brought kittens that piled over each other making friends with passersby. As before, the QPD served grilled hot dogs.
Quincy Police retirements leave big shoes to fill
QUINCY — There are some big shoes to fill at the Quincy Police Department. “We’re losing 48 years of experience between them,” Quincy Police Chief Ryan Green said at the retirement party for Capt. Jorge Trujillo and Det. Damon Powell Thursday. Trujillo, who grew up in Sunnyside, has been with QPD for 19 years, he said, coming on as a patrol officer fresh out of the military. From there he served as a field training officer, a detective and finally captain. “I consider him my left-hand man,” Green said. “He runs the operations side of the house … He knows the agency very well, and he knows the community.” Trujillo has some projects around the house to tackle now that he’s retired, he said.
Big fun on a small scale
Wheat Land Communities’ Fair opens Thursday
RITZVILLE — The Wheat Land Communities’ Fair isn’t as big or as flashy as some of the county fairs around central Washington, but the folks who keep it going like it just the way it is. “It’s somewhere you can go and get an old-time traditional feeling, and you’re comfortable letting your kids roam the grounds and experience all that it has to offer,” said Board Member Lori Williams. “It’s more of a feeling than (one) specific thing,” The fair starts Thursday in Ritzville and runs through Sunday. Starting Friday, the 56th Ritzville Rodeo will take place alongside the fair at the rodeo grounds. This year the entertainment budget was expanded, Williams said, to be able to offer more fun that’s covered by the cost of admission. For the kids, there’s face painting, balloon art, Lego crafts, races, contests and games. Children can also ride on a little train towed around the fairgrounds behind a tractor.