EPHRATA — The Othello Huskies travelled to face the Ephrata Tigers on Tuesday evening, where the Huskies earned a 42-28 team victory over their Central Washington Athletic Conference rival. 

“I thought it went pretty well. It was a fun and entertaining duel,” said Huskies head coach Reuben Lopez. “It was a close match for a while; a couple of guys pulled through at the end and we got ourselves a win.” 

The Huskies and Tigers wrestlers traded matches back and forth in the lower weight classes at the start of the meet. As the matches got into the middleweight classes, Othello went on a winning streak to gain the lead. Ephrata earned a few more wins, but the Huskies stayed ahead to take the team victory. 

Lopez said the Huskies’ success came from taking advantage of situations where they could get aggressive and chase a pin to secure back points to get last-minute turns. 

“I think we counted four or five matches where we got last-minute back points in the last 15 seconds of the rounds and that’s just huge getting those three to four points at the end of rounds,” he said.  

Tigers Head Coach Joe Knox said that Ephrata competed very well in Tuesday’s meet, contesting everything and fighting hard in every position. The Tigers knew the Huskies were a tough opponent and prepared accordingly, which allowed them to stay close throughout the first half of the match. 

Knox said that this meeting against a CWAC rival was a good reminder of what they need to work on as they make a push for the postseason. Tuesday’s matchup taught the Tigers the importance of staying solid on their feet and working to not give up easy takedowns. 

“Just keep giving a championship effort every single day and then believing it’s going to happen for you,” said the Ephrata coach. 

With the season about halfway through, Knox said he is feeling good about where Ephrata is at in their abilities, and it’ll just come down to fine-tuning their performance as they head down the next stretch of competition. 

“Our kids work their butts off every day in practice, so they’re getting better,” he said. “I have a lot of confidence just because of that.” 

For the Huskies, Lopez said Othello has shown growth throughout the team all season, but there is always room for more improvement. At this point in the season, it will come down to working out the little details that might hinder their performance in the postseason. 

The Othello coach said he is happy with where the Huskies are with their skill level at this point in the season, especially after having so many of the wrestlers barely coming back from vacation and immediately finding success in their first match back.  

“I’m really happy with where we are at as a team,” said Lopez. “We’re moving forward and the progression is getting better.” 

The Tigers' next matchup will be on the road Friday at Post Falls High School at 3 p.m. The Huskies will return home Jan. 13 to host the Moses Lake Mavericks at 7 p.m. 

Results:  

106: Louden Leenhouts (EPHT) over Max Romero (OTHL), 3-0 

113: Xavier Mendez (OTHL) over Caleb Schooler (EPHT), 12-2 

120: Nathan Sandoval (EPHT) over Xavier Guzman (OTHL), 11-2 

126: Dominic Mendez (OTHL) over Damian Santacruz (EPHT), 14-0 

132: Mike Ramirez (EPHT) over Emmanuel Ayala Jr (OTHL), 17-0 

138: Brayden Deleon (OTHL) over Kylan Lus (EPHT), 17-0 

144: Mason Russell (OTHL) over Zxander Williams (EPHT), 15-0 

150: Armoni Zuniga-Mendez (OTHL) over Noah Castillo (EPHT), 20-0 

157: Camilo Mendez III (OTHL) over Carter Garcia (EPHT), 3-1 

165: Colt Staples (EPHT) over Zayvier Olazcon (OHTL), 2-0 

175: Austin Smith (EPHT) over Ben Meredith (OTHL), 13-3 

190: Mike Schnegelberger (EPHT) win by forfeit 

215: Miguel Zuniga (OTHL) over Peyton Woods (EPHT), 2-2 DEC UTB 

285: Elliot Mitchell (OTHL) win by forfeit 

    Tigers wrestler Louden Leenhouts takes control of the match against Huskies wrestler Max Romero in the 106-lb weight class.
  

    Austin Smith from the Tigers studies his opponent Ben Meredith from the Huskies as each wrestler looks for the perfect opportunity to strike during the 175-lb match.
  

    Ephrata’s Damien Santacruz lifts Othello’s Dominic Mendez off the mat to gain the advantage while Mendez works to brace himself to turn the match back around in the 126-lb weight class.