Raider wrestlers mix things up

Raider wrestlers hosted the Lake Roosevelt Mix and Match Dec. 7, before going to the Connell Tournament on Saturday.

The LR Mix and Match, unlike tournaments, doesn't involve eliminations, brackets, placings, or team points, but is rather just a fun way for wrestlers to get together and wrestle. Wrestlers came from Davenport, Wilbur-Creston-Keller, and Okanogan to square off with the Raiders.

"I thought it went well," said Head Coach Steve Hood. "Our guys wrestled well, the other teams were happy with the competition they got, and everybody went home with a smile on their face."

Nine Raiders wrestled at the event: John Shelley, Kaleb Horn, Matthew Pakootas, Ryan Moon, Tony Nichols, Gabe Moses, and Steven Flowers, and two girls: Ida Sue and Katie Goodall.

Raiders won 10 out of their 16 matchups for the night.

In the Connell Tournament, Lake Roosevelt placed fifth out of nine teams with 85.5 team points coming from their seven wrestlers. Five teams didn't show up due to the weather. The Raiders had 16 wins and 6 losses for the day, with 10 of their wins coming by pin.

Seven Raider boys wrestled in Connell. On the way there, a lone female wrestler, Ida Sue, and a coach were dropped off in Warden, where 28 teams participated in a girls' tournament.

In the 145-pound division, after a first-round bye, Tony Nichols pinned Riverview's Garcia in one minute and thirty-eight seconds and Warden's Haworth in 1:16. And he defeated Warden's Madrigales, 13-3, to secure the first-place spot.

"That last match was close for a round-and-a-half and then Tony started opening it up with two takedowns," Hood said.

Moses placed third in at 152, defeating three of his four opponents. Yamni Black-Bear placed third at 113, winning two of his three match-ups. Horn placed third at 120, pinning a wrestler from Naches Valley. Shelley placed third at 126, winning all four of his match-ups. And Matthew Pakootas tied for third in the 138 division, at one point even wrestling fellow Raider Ryan Mon.

In Warden, Raider Ida Sue defeated Riverview's Ceira Prescott, pinning her in 2:59 before losing her other two matches.

"We bring very competitive wrestlers that do well," Hood said. "We wrestled up to our potential and just had a good day."