Warden loses one match, routs Connell 64-12
Connor Vanderweyst/Columbia Basin Herald Warden 120-pounder Osvaldo Dominguez gets Marcos Salas onto his back for a pin.
Connor Vanderweyst/Columbia Basin Herald Tyrone Mendez (left) tries to escape the graps of Connell's Owen Hokanson.
Connor Vanderweyst/Columbia Basin Herald Warden's Robert Arredondo (blue) takes down Connel Neil with a hip toss.
Connor Vanderweyst/Columbia Basin Herald Rodrigo Ozuna pins Rogelio Lombara of Connell in the first round.
WARDEN — When one of Warden’s wrestlers gets his opponent onto his back the bench erupts in a chant of, “Pin! Pin! Pin! Pin!”
Voices may be sore tomorrow as Warden recorded nine pins, routing Connell 64-12.
The lopsided victory was the cap on a special senior night in which hall of fame coach Rick Bowers was honored beforehand and Warden’s girl wrestlers went five-for-five in exhibition matches.
“This was definitely a big night for us,” head coach Brent Cox said. “Connell’s usually pretty competitive so just being in front of the home crowd — I was happy Connell was able to bring some girls down to give our senior girls a match.
“That wasn’t planned until last night and so that kind of helped us out. They’re building the program up and they’ve got a little ways to go, but it’s always fun to beat on a rivalry.”
The Cougars were especially impressive in the light to middle weights; wrestlers from 113 to 145 pounds all pinned their opponents, which turned a 28-12 advantage to a 64-12 final score.
Sixth-ranked Rodrigo Ozuna (132) took down Rogelio Lombara within the first 10 seconds, earning a pin in less than a minute.
“I think we’re more motivate for the postseason,” said Ozuna, who placed fourth at the 2016 state tournament. “I think we’re going to do great at districts and regionals. We are peaking at the right time; our team is very together.”
Warden showed off its aggressiveness, pinning five Eagles in the first round.
“We’re getting close to postseason and we want these guys to get into the postseason mode,” Cox said. “We’re not here to mess around so get out there and get the job done and they did.”
Ivan Dominguez (152), Christian Gonzalez (170), Osvaldo Dominguez (120), Ozuna and Mikey Madrigales all won by fall in the first round.
Of the few matches that were close, Warden was able to win them all. Elijah Gonsalez (160) outlasted Jekoby Tuttle 4-3, Martin Dominguez (220) beat Octavia Andrade 8-3 and Tyrone Mendez (182) rallied from a two-point deficit in the third round to pin Owen Hokanson.”
“We take pride in that and we condition very hard,” Cox said. “We’ve always told them if you’re going to wrestle a tough kid keep it close until the third round because we condition for that. We really work them out to be able to wrestle all six minutes then our conditioning will show and when they get tired we’re just ready to get that pin.”
Box score
152: Ivan Dominguez (W) p. Steven Lopez 1:35
160: Elijah Gonsalez (W) d. Jekoby Tuttle 4-3
170: Christian Gonzalez (W) p. Chris Avila :37
182: Tyrone Mendez (W) p. Owen Hokanson 4:59
195: Robert Arredondo (W) d. Conner Neil 10-2
220: Martin Dominguez (W) d. Octavio Andrade 8-3
285: Warden forfeit
106: Johnny Magana (C) p. Tony Martinez :40
113: Anthony Martinez (W) p. Maeson Holst 2:26
120: Osvaldo Dominguez (W) p. Marcos Salas :49
126: Bryce Martinez (W) p. Rafael Gomez 3:08
132: Rodrigo Ozuna (W) p. Rogelio Lombara :43
138: Dominic Guerra (W) p. Angel Blanco 3:26
145: Mikey Madrigales (W) p. Keyan Francois :51