Mavs fall in close meet against Eisenhower
CALEB PEREZ | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 7 months, 1 week AGO
Mavs wrestler Ian Garza gets the advantage over his opponent Juan Olivera from Eisenhower in the 113-lb match Wednesday evening.
CALEB PEREZ/COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD
Connor Brosnahan from the Mavs pins Adalberto Navarro from Eisenhower in the 165-lb match at home Wednesday evening.
MLHS’s Vincent Hunt gets a lock on Eisenhower’s Jasen Dobbie to secure a victory in the 120-lb match Wednesday.
Sam Janke from Moses Lake and Alfonso Barajas from Eisenhower grapple on to each other as they work to wear each other out in Wednesday's 132-lb match.
MOSES LAKE — The Moses Lake Mavericks boys wrestling team took a loss at home Wednesday against Eisenhower. The competition was close, but Moses Lake came just short with the final team score being 42-32.
“I knew this match was going to be very tough for us, Eisenhower’s a tough team and I’ve been watching them throughout the beginning of the season,” said Mavs Head Coach Jose Tanguma. “I knew that today was going to be for the league title.”
Matches started at the 157-lb weight class where Eisenhower went on to take the lead with a few key pins. The Mavs fought hard throughout the heavy weights, but the opposition had a steep advantage by the end of the 285-lb match.
Moses Lake began to make a comeback in the lightweight matches, taking a four-match run from the 106-lb to the 126-lb matches. The meet came down to the 150-lb match between Mavs wrestler Xzavier Rodriguez and Eisenhower’s Roman Castillo, but Castillo took the win via pinfall, and Moses Lake took a team loss.
“Eisenhower showed up today, we didn’t, but I’m proud of (the Mavs),” said Tanguma. “They put in a lot of hard work.”
The Mavs are going back to the drawing board and beginning their preparations for the postseason district tournament, said the coach. A big lesson from Wednesday’s matchup that will be key in the postseason is they can’t allow their opponent to gain the lead through pins.
Wednesday’s meet will stand as motivation for Moses Lake as they look toward postseason competition as they shift from being defensive to being more aggressive on the mat. Tanguma said this has been a good season with great improvement and that Wednesday’s loss is just a good lesson learned for the Mavs at the halfway point in the season.
“It’s going to be motivation for us; it’s going to leave something burning inside of us that we’re going to need to let it out at district,” he said. “Eisenhower, they did get the win, but they just woke up a beast.”
The Mavs’ next matchup will be on the road Tuesday to face the Othello Huskies at 7 p.m.
Results:
106: Jose Villafana (MLHS) over Rivaldo Lopez (EISN), 4-0
113: Ian Garza (MLHS) over Juan Olivera (EISN), 6-0
120: Vincent Hunt (MLHS) over Jasen Dobbie (EISN), 18-2
126: Bryan Naranjo (MLHS) over Yandel Barajas (EISN), 8-2
132: Alfonso Barajas (EISN) over Samuel Janke (MLHS), 12-4
138: Jarek Dobbie (EISN) over Zach Villasenor (MLHS), 3-0
144: Duane Zamora (MLHS) over Isaiah Garcia (EISN), 4-0
150: Roman Castillo (EISN) over Xzavier Rodriguez (MLHS), 3-0, pin
157: Frank Redfield (EISN) over Ian Anderson (MLHS), pin
165: Conner Brosnahan (MLHS) over Adalberto Navarro (EISN), pin
175: Jordan Ward (EISN) over Azaiha Cruz (MLHS), 10-1
215: Eli Anderson (MLHS) over Antonio Castillo (EISN), 7-0
285: Aaron Chavez (EISN) over Ryder Janke (MLHS), 3-0
Connor Brosnahan from the Mavs pins Adalberto Navarro from Eisenhower in the 165-lb match at home Wednesday evening.
MLHS’s Vincent Hunt gets a lock on Eisenhower’s Jasen Dobbie to secure a victory in the 120-lb match Wednesday.
Sam Janke from Moses Lake and Alfonso Barajas from Eisenhower grapple on to each other as they work to wear each other out in Wednesday's 132-lb match.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.