Lady Jacks push past Prosser
MIKE MAYNARD | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 6 months, 2 weeks AGO
QUINCY — The Quincy Jacks defeated the Prosser Mustangs 58-24 on Thursday at home as they try to finish the season strong. Head Coach Mark Kondo said his wrestlers did a good job in their win as they get ready for the postseason.
“Our emphasis the whole year has been to not worry about winning and losing as much as just getting better. I feel like at this point we were doing some things well and just trying to get everybody healthy and ready to go for districts and for state,” Kondo said.
After suffering two pinfall losses early, the Jacks bounced back, racking up three wins in a row to shift the momentum. The Mustangs responded with two more pinfall wins, but Quincy secured seven straight match wins via pinfall or forfeit to secure the home dual win.
“I felt bad because Prosser had four forfeits and so those girls that didn't get to wrestle were really disappointed, because they were excited to perform in front of the home crowd and just be able to work on some things that we've been practicing. But overall, I felt like our girls wrestled well,” Kondo said.
After falling behind to start the dual, Crystal Perez’s pinfall win and Brielle Baughman’s 16-8 decision win gave the Jacks a momentum boost. Baughman is a freshman who typically wrestles in the 110-lb weight class, bumped up to 115 Thursday to take on Prosser’s Danna Garcia. Kondo was pleased with how she performed.
“She's just got to learn to kind of pace herself a little bit more, but she was aggressive, and she ended up grinding it out to get the win,” he said.
From there, the Jacks earned a forfeit victory as they added to their lead; however, the Mustangs bounced back with two pinfalls. The Jacks’ Hailey Courtade earned a pinfall win in the 135-lb weight class to help her team maintain the lead.
“She just wrestled a really good tournament last year at district. We're hoping that she'll have another good tournament this year. She played soccer and had a high ankle sprain, so she started the season about three or four weeks late, but now she's starting to get there and excited about trying to make a return trip to the state tournament,” Kondo said.
After three forfeits by Prosser, the Jacks cruised to a team with pinfall wins by Arlette Lopez, Evelyn Silvas and Abigail Garcia to add the finishing touches. Kondo is pleased with how his wrestlers are performing this season, given the deep competition in the Central Washington Athletic Conference this year.
Their final home dual is set for Feb. 5 at 6 p.m. against the Ephrata Tigers. While rivalry wins are fun for Kondo and the Jacks, their focus is on getting better each time they touch the mat, he said.
He noted an exponential growth in roster size this season. Last season, they rostered just over 20 wrestlers, but this year their size grew to 37. This increase has given the wrestlers more opportunities to be challenged at duals and in practices.
“We feel like the program's going in the right direction. We've got not only more girls out, but we've got some really athletic girls coming out. It's exciting to see girls getting to the state tournament, be able to compete at that level, and I think it says something about the quality of girls that we have, that are willing to work hard, that have athletic ability and I think it's very positive,” Kondo said.
RESULTS:
100: Madisyn Ibarra (PRSR) over Kimiko Kondo (QNCY), pinfall
105: Alexa Carrasco (PRSR) over Naylanie Heras (QNCY), pinfall
110: Crystal Perez (QNCY) over Lizbeth Almazan Maldonado (PRSR), pinfall
115: Brielle Baughman (QNCY) over Danna Garcia (PRSR), major decision 16-8
120: Klare Gans (QNCY) over Prosser, forfeit
125: Zuley Mendoza (PRSR) over Melissa Mendez (QNCY), pinfall
130: Maritza Martinez (PRSR), Thalia Castro (QNCY), pinfall
135: Hailey Courtade (QNCY) over Jaquelyn Revera (PRSR), pinfall
140: Jourdan Ferguson (QNCY) over Prosser, forfeit
145: Kimberly Solano (QNCY) over Prosser, forfeit
155: Estrella Acevedo (QNCY) over Prosser, forfeit
170: Arlette Lopez (QNCY) over Sofia Castillo (PRSR), pinfall
190: Evelyn Silvas (QNCY) over Dalie Bustamante (PRSR), pinfall
235: Abigail Garcia (QNCY) over Zofia Zapien (PRSR), pinfall
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