Basin athletes shine at Mat Classic XXVI

TACOMA - It was a successful weekend for Columbia Basin wrestling at Mat Classic XXVI.

Several local wrestlers reached the podium and Warden girls wrestling was able to win back-to-back state championships.

Wrestlers from Ephrata, Othello and Quincy all won individual state titles.

Kemp defends state championship

The Ephrata Tigers sent four boys and one girl to Tacoma, including defending champion Tyrus Kemp (195).

Kemp sprinted his way to the finals with two pins and a 9-1 win in the quarterfinals. However, a second state title would not come easy for the future Central Michigan University Chippewa.

Kemp met Lindbergh's Trevonn Russell in the finals and was able to squeeze out a 1-0 win.

"We didn't have a real good scout on him," head coach P.J. Anderson said. "The kid was quite a bit stronger than he looked wrestling in his previous matches this last weekend and quite a bit more athletic so the game plan we kind of had for kid had to change shortly after the whistle blew."

Kemp was able to score one point off an escape in the second round and controlled the match until the whistle blew.

"He didn't want to get crazy in the state finals," Anderson said.

With Saturday's win, Kemp became the first wrestler in Ephrata history to win multiple state championships.

Fellow Tigers Dalton Balentine and (170) and Isaac Garcia (220) placed eighth.

Chloe Spencer (130) had a strong showing as the lone girl from Ephrata to make a trip to Tacoma. Spencer took sixth place.

Anderson is looking forward to having Spencer another year.

"She's a neat kid to have around," he said. "I'm hoping that it'll open the door for some of the other girls here that have tossed around the idea of maybe stepping onto the mat."

Othello's Barrera, Ruiz win titles

Senior Isaiah Barrera (106) was able to defeat Selah's Carlos Lopez in the finals, 5-4.

Barrera avenged an earlier 5-3 loss to Lopez in the regional tournament.

As the tournament drew to a close, Bubba Ruiz (285) took the mat with the hope of exacting his own revenge against Fife's Monike Sarte.

The two met in last year's final with Sarte emerging victorious.

With the help of a raucous crowd chanting his name, Ruiz was able to score a reversal and hold on to win, 4-2.

Although Othello was unable to defend its team championship, the Huskies were able to place fourth.

Tatum Sparks, of Othello, defeated Granger's Alejandra Rodriguez, 15-1, in the 137-pound girls championship.

Quincy's Jimenez, Melendez reach finals

The Jacks were able to send two wrestlers to the Mat Classic finals Saturday night, Isias Jimenez (145) and Antonio Melendez (160).

Jimenez was unable to get past No. 1 ranked Robert Orozco, of Connell, and took second.

Melendez was able to eek out a 3-1 decision over Blaine's Jon Stewart and take home the title after finishing third last season.

Warden takes third place

Head coach Brent Cox and the Cougars set a goal of a top four finish and the team delivered.

Warden took third place with 92 points, behind Forks and champion Blaine.

"Any time I could shoot for first and miss with a third I'm going to take it," Cox said. "Very happy with my guys, they wrestled very well. We lost some Friday night to kind of put some kids down in the loser's bracket, but they all fought back through."

Although Warden had no wrestlers make it to the finals, the team was able to have several Cougars work their way up through the consolation bracket.

"They don't always take the easy route," Cox said. "They take the rough road, but they still wrestled very well. They know how to compete."

Jesus Dominguez (106) and Miguel Canales took fifth and fourth place, respectively.

Ramses Rodelo (132) was able to improve on his eighth place finish last year and take third.

"He lost a tough one to a kid that he had split earlier in the season," Cox said. "He got it together ... It's hard to rebound when you're wanting to be in the state finals, but he did very well. A true captain there."

Emilio Pruneda (145) also placed third. A pair of Cougars were represented in the 220-pound weight class with Jerry Reyes placing fourth and Mikey Hernandez placing sixth.

Warden girls win back-to-back titles

It seemed as if a second straight state championship was never in doubt.

Warden girls wrestling held the lead in the team standings for the entire tournament and won going away with 104.5 points, 16.5 points ahead of second place Puyallup.

Teammates Deianeira Caudle and Levi Guerra met in the 100-pound final with Caudle prevailing, 6-0.

Jennifer Mendoza (130) took seventh place while Ashley Martinez (145) took third.

Aneissa Gonzalez (155) placed sixth and Andrea Contreras (235) placed fifth.