Wrestlers grapple at two tournaments

Raider wrestlers took part in two tournaments over the holiday break, with all Raiders placing in their nine-school home tourney, and several winning or placing against 14 teams in Warden.

Lake Roosevelt hosted the 13th annual Powerhouse Tournament Dec. 29 at Gailord Nelson Gym, where nine of the eleven teams invited traveled to Coulee Dam to take part. Selkirk and Warden did not show.

Okanogan took first overall in team points. LR finished fourth behind Omak and Rainier. All seven Raiders who wrestled on the 29th placed.

Freshman Tony Nichols won the 132-pound bracket for his first gold medal as a high school wrestler. Fellow freshman Kaleb Horn finished second at 106.

Senior Jacob Smith made a strong showing and finished second at 120. Sophomore Renford Sanchez made short work of his first opponent and also finished second at 220. Freshman Taylor Circle at 120 took third, his highest placing of the year. Freshman Trevor Circle faced many tough opponents but overcame the adversity to take fourth place at 138. Freshman Brandon Long continues to improve and placed fifth in the 195-pound bracket at the home tournament.

Head Coach Steve Hood was proud that all his wrestlers placed at the home tournament.

With that momentum, the Raiders traveled south to Warden Saturday for the Jeremiah Schmuck Tournament, where they finished eighth overall out of 14 teams. Warden was the overall team champion.

Horn placed second at 106 for the second tournament in a row. Horn defeated Conneach West of Warden and Garrett Phillips of Columbia-Burbank to reach the championship match. Horn took second place after a loss to Martinez of Warden and came home with the silver medal.

Raider Jacob Smith swept his opponents to win the 120-pound bracket. Smith pinned Walton of Tonasket, then defeated Ozuna of Warden 10-4. This is the third tournament in which Smith has won his bracket.

At 132, Nichols began the day defeating Chris Jones of Columbia-Burbank, 5-1, then in his second match to senior Trevor Peterson of Tonasket, lost 4-2. Nichols recovered from the loss to take the bronze medal, defeating Torreno of Mabton by major decision, 10-1.

Sanchez faced Senior Nick McAdams of Columbia-Burbank in his first match of the day, losing by pin. Sanchez fought back, pinning Enriquez of Connell in 28 seconds and setting up a match with Garrett Thomas of Tonasket for placing. Sanchez pinned Thomas in 33 seconds to win fifth place in the 220 bracket.

On Saturday, the Raiders travel to Springdale, where many B schools will be competing. Some B schools from the coast will be present, such as Rainier and Ocosta (Westport). 1A Newport, 2A East Valley, and 4A Hanford will also be sending squads to the tourney. Wrestling starts at 10 a.m. at Mary Walker High School in Springdale.