Mavs' Morris earns 100th career win in team victory
CALEB PEREZ | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 5 months, 1 week AGO
Hayden Morris from Moses Lake is joined by her family as they celebrate her 100th career wrestling win Wednesday evening. Morris said she credits her success to support from her teammates.
CALEB PEREZ/COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD
Mavs senior Hayden Morris gets a lock on her opponent Ceci Rosas from Eisenhower during Wednesday’s meet. Morris earned her 100th career win that night.
Meczi Johnson from the Mavs works to pin her opponent Alicia Luviano from Eisenhower during Wednesday’s meet.
Moses Lake’s Anahe Garcia gains the advantage over her opponent in the 155-lb match Wednesday evening. Head Coach Tony Lee said that Garcia volunteered to be bumped up to a higher weight class against Eisenhower to help the Mavs.
Emma Thompson from the Mavs turns the match around and works to flip Rosa Martinez in the 170-lb match. Thompson was strategically bumped up a weight class in the meet.
Mavericks wrestler Naomi Cruz prepares to take on her opponent, Alizah Gutierrez from Eisenhower in the 190-lb match. Cruz was bumped up a weight class to give Moses Lake an advantage during Wednesday’s meet.
MOSES LAKE — The Moses Lake Mavericks girls wrestling team earned a 44-36 victory over Eisenhower Wednesday evening in a conference matchup. During the meeting, Moses Lake senior Hayden Morris earned her 100th career win.
“It feels really good,” said Morris. “It’s been a long journey and I’m just really glad that all this hard work has paid off and it’s finally working.”
Morris earned this milestone in the 125-lb matchup against Eisenhower’s Ceci Rosas. The Mavs wrestler was dominant throughout the contest to come out on top with a 9-0 victory. Following her match, there was a short break taken to recognize Morris for achieving her 100th win.
Morris said that through the ups and downs of her career, support from her teammates has been where she finds her strength. The whole team rallies together in every practice and matchup to build each other up.
“We all get along really good,” she said. “That definitely helps and that is showing on the mat. We’re competing for each other and coming together.”
Mavericks Head Coach Tony Lee said it was a big accomplishment for Morris’ high school career, as she spent the first half of her career in Quincy and has experienced injuries throughout that had taken her off the mat.
“It’s big for her to come out against another state-caliber opponent, be able to get her 100th win and represent for her team,” said Lee. “She’s a leader of our team, she is a team captain and she’s someone the girls look to really set the tone.”
The rest of the team gave a strong performance, as they were dominant enough in the lighter-weight classes that they had already secured the win by the final three matches.
The coach said prior to the meet there were a couple girls who were going to be absent from the lineup which put them at a disadvantage going in. Mavs wrestler Anahi Garcia made the decision to be bumped up to the 155-lb match after already being bumped from 140-lbs to 145-lbs, putting her at a 15-lb disadvantage.
This decision also bumped up all the other weight classes above 155 pounds, which allowed the Mavs to participate in matches that they would previously have forfeited, said Lee. The strategy paid off as Garcia in the 155-lb match and Emma Thompson in the 170-lb match both won to secure a team victory.
“They all bumped up and didn’t even question it,” he said. “They came out and stepped up for the team big.”
Lee said as time passes, the team will come together with a fuller lineup as the girls get back to full health and strength.
Morris said at this point in the season things are looking very good for the team as they press forward to tougher competition.
“I feel really confident,” said Morris. “This is our year, and we’ve been showing that. We’re placing at every tournament, we’re winning all these duals, I really have ... plans for this team.”
The Mavs are heading on the road Friday to compete in one of the state’s largest tournaments at Kelso High School with first matches starting at 3 p.m.
Results:
100: Elyssa Armendariz (MLHS) over Enily Macedonio (EISN), 7-5
105: Adelaide Alonso (MLHS) over Briana Montes De Oca (EISN), 6-4
110: Andrea Garcia (EISN) over Trinity Town (MLHS), 0-3 pin
115: Kamilah Martinez (MLHS) win by forfeit
120: River Spees (MLHS) win by forfeit
125: Hayden Linscott Morris (MLHS) over Ceci Rosas (EISN), 9-0
130: Elizabeth Luviano (EISN) over Alana Wilson (MLHS), 7-0
135: Meczi Johnson (MLHS) over Alicia Luviano (EISN), 10-0
140: Jasmin Velasco (EISN) over Lexie Gruber (MLHS), 6-1
155: Anahi Garcia (MLHS) over Edith Benitez (EISN), 9-5
170: Emma Thompson (MLHS) over Rosa Martinez (EISN), 12-9
170: Brooklyn Bruce (MLHS) over Desiree Nagera (EISN) 4-0
190: Alizah Gutierrez (EISN) over (MLHS) Naomi Cruz, 6-0
Mavs senior Hayden Morris gets a lock on her opponent Ceci Rosas from Eisenhower during Wednesday’s meet. Morris earned her 100th career win that night.
Meczi Johnson from the Mavs works to pin her opponent Alicia Luviano from Eisenhower during Wednesday’s meet.
Moses Lake’s Anahe Garcia gains the advantage over her opponent in the 155-lb match Wednesday evening. Head Coach Tony Lee said that Garcia volunteered to be bumped up to a higher weight class against Eisenhower to help the Mavs.
Emma Thompson from the Mavs turns the match around and works to flip Rosa Martinez in the 170-lb match. Thompson was strategically bumped up a weight class in the meet.
Mavericks wrestler Naomi Cruz prepares to take on her opponent, Alizah Gutierrez from Eisenhower in the 190-lb match. Cruz was bumped up a weight class to give Moses Lake an advantage during Wednesday’s meet.ARTICLES BY CALEB PEREZ
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