Camas-Washougal wrestlers battle best of the west

Camas High School senior wrestlers Talon Edmiston and Bryant Elliott advanced to the championship round of their respective 32-man Best of the West brackets Dec. 20, in Pasco.

Both Papermakers settled for silver medals to lead the team to seventh place in the 30-school scramble.

After receiving a first-round bye, Elliott pinned Columbia River’s Brandon Stinson in 3 minutes, 22 seconds. Elliott then beat Selah’s Aaron Pimentel 13-7 and pinned Mason Marenco, of Mt. Si, in 4:55. Mountain View’s Emanuel Mendez pinned Elliott in 4:20 for the 145-pound championship.

Edmiston also earned a bye in the first round. He then pinned Newberg’s Jacob Wegner in 1:53, Pasco’s Misel Estrada in 5:31 and Clarkston’s Hunter Sizemore in 3:36. Ellensburg’s Kerrigan Simpson defeated Edmiston 10-6 for the 195-pound championship.

Michael Strickland, Max Grimes, Rylan Thompson and Dylan Ingram each won two matches for Camas, before coming up short in the quarterfinals. Jonathan Taylor, Tanner Howington and Tristan Groth earned victories in the first round.

Washougal gained five wins at Best of the West. Those went to Ulrich Reyes, Antonio Maniscalco, Garrett Duey, Michael Hickey and Jacob Brown.

Camas reached the quarterfinals of the 16-team tournament Dec. 19. The Papermakers beat Richland 58-21 and Pasco 55-15 in the first two rounds.

Camas enters the Pacific Coast Championships Friday and Saturday, at Hudson’s Bay High School, in Vancouver.

Washougal hosts its annual River Rumble Saturday. Matches start at 9:30 a.m.

Washougal girls grab third place

The Washougal High School girls wrestling team finished in third place at the 24-school Warden Invitational Dec. 20.

Mialisa Oster pinned Connell’s Martha Zurita in 5:44 for the 135-pound championship. Oster also beat Ellensburg’s Iliana Tanez 7-2 and Sunnyside’s Rubi Ochoa 8-4.

Yaneli Martinez, Hannah Eakins and Abby Lees lost their championship matches for the Panthers. Martinez pinned Sunnyside’s Alizah Saucedo and Ellensburg’s Vanessa Violeta at 105 pounds. Eakins pinned Warden’s Gracie Lopez and Sunnyside’s Victoria Torres at 140 pounds. Lees pinned Brewster’s Jennifer Gomez in 30 seconds at 170 pounds after receiving two byes.

Washougal’s Baylee pinned Wahluke’s Elizabeth Bravo for third place at 120 pounds. Christina Murray earned third place for the Panthers at 145 pounds when she pinned Warden’s Andrea Hernandez. Samantha Eakins finished in sixth place for Washougal at 100 pounds.