By Al Stover
Staff Reporter 

Four Cheney wrestlers head to Mat Classic XXIX

 

Last updated 2/16/2017 at 10:59am



Four out of the five Cheney High wrestlers who competed in the 2A Region IV tournament in Ellensburg, Feb. 11 will wrap up their season in Tacoma this weekend.

Boedy Taylor, Josh Baker, Zack Nguyen and Francisco Martinez qualified for Mat Classic XIX, Feb. 17-18 at the Tacoma Dome.

“We wrestled really well,” head coach Brad Rasmussen said. “The CWAC (Central Washington Athletic Conference) is tough to get through. During the week we talked about being dangerous on the mat and taking pride in your abilities. They came out swimming.”

Taylor earned his second state tournament trip after he took second in the 182-pound bracket. He pinned Ephrata’s Mac Laird and No. 1 seed Toppenish’s Salvador Osoro to reach the finals where East Valley’s Winston Scott pinned him.

Baker (220) took second in his division as well. He pinned Selah’s Amodeo Flores Pimentel and defeated Toppenish’s Isaic Anaya, 3-2 on his way to finals where he lost to Othello’s Isaiah Perez via pin.

Nguyen (138) qualified for his second state tournament after taking third in his division. After a 12-2 majority decision over Othello’s Sterling Roylance, Nguyen lost a 22-4 technical fall to Selah’s Carlos Lopez in the semifinals. He pinned Clarkston’s Jake Freeman in the third-place match.

“Baker did a good job and he competed in a tough bracket,” Rasmussen said. “With Zack, it was the same thing. He defeated Freeman, who he had lost to in their previous two matches. Boedy has had a good offseason and knocked off the No. 1 seed.”

Martinez (145) was fourth in his bracket. After he lost a 14-5 decision to Ellensburg’s D.J. Wetzel in the first round, Martinez picked up wins over Selah’s Jackson Yates (7-5) and Toppenish’s Mario Luna (8-5) before losing to Wetzel, 9-4 in the third-place match.

“Francisco has had a breakout year,” Rasmussen said. “He was in a tough bracket as well, and did a great job battling back to place.”

Saul Bautista (120) was eliminated in the consolation round of his division after he went 0-2. Rasmussen said Bautista had a breakout year and commended his efforts in the tournament.

Rasmussen said the team will try and “cram as many situational practices in” before they leave for Tacoma.

“It’s time to fine tune the little things,” he said.

Al Stover can be reached at al@cheneyfreepress.com.

 

Reader Comments(0)

 
 

Our Family of Publications Includes:

Cheney Free Press
Ritzville Adams County Journal
Whitman County Gazette
Odessa Record
Franklin Connection
Davenport Times
Spokane Valley News Herald
Colfax Daily Bulletin

Powered by ROAR Online Publication Software from Lions Light Corporation
© Copyright 2024

Rendered 03/23/2024 09:58