RHS Girls Wrestling are shaking up the Conference - By Jacob Castro
After a long off-season of putting in the work, the Bomber Girls' Wrestling Team returns to the mats with a big weekend. The girls competed in two separate events: their season opener on December 1st and The Kennewick Lioness Wrestling Invite on December 2nd.
The hard work this offseason pays off big because the Bomber Girls' Wrestling team wins their season opener against Kennewick Lions Varsity Team. The final score of the match was Bombers 48, Lions 30. The Bombers are led by Head Coach John Nicacio and Assistant Coach Samantha Dufault. The programs for girls wrestling are growing at both Richland High School and Kennewick High School. They wrestle each other as part of the Mid Columbia Conference (MCC) that has seen some talented girl wrestlers rise to stardom.
There were a couple of close matches on December 1st. For her first varsity wrestling match as a freshman, Savannah Thorpe (Richland) battled three tuff rounds and won 11-10 over ranked Jamie Hoffman (Kennewick). Another good match was Richland's Alenna Sumner's win 9-5 over Delaney Rush.
Varsity girls that did outstanding were sophomore 120 Savannah Dufault (R) WBF 1:12 over Anahi Reyna, sophomore 145 Portia Harker (R) WBF 1:29 over Melanie Alvarez, junior 155 Kyndra Casias (R) WBF 2:24 over Kimary Buford, senior 170 Mackenzie Maxwell (R) WBF 3:42 over Genesis Habana helping the team win 48-30.
As for the invite the following day, the Bombers managed to rack up 96.0 team points, earning them 5th place overall out of 22 teams, most of which are the top programs in the area.
Skadi Carman (3-1) placed 5th and scored 12.0 team points.
In the first round, she had a tough loss against Ollonie Gonzalez from Othello by fall. Skadi later received a bye for consolation. Carman then won by forfeit over Adrina Quiroz from Pasco 0-2 and ended up winning her last two matches. These two matches would be a win by decision 9-6 over Genesis Cambron from Hanford and by fall over Makayla Trevino in 1:34, securing her 5th place spot in the 100-pound bracket.
Sophomore Savannah Dufault (3-1) placed 2nd and scored 24.0 team points. Dufault won by fall over Jasmine Vasquez (Quincy) (Fall 1:32). In the quarterfinal, Savannah won by fall over Amanda Worlund (Chiawana) 1-2 (Fall 1:05). In the semifinal match, Savannah continued her streak and won by fall over Emily Cazares (Goldendale) (Fall 4:26). In the championship match Justice Sanchez Pasco won by fall but a great outing for the young and talented Bomber.
In the 130 for Richland, Alenna Sumner battled hard to earn 6th place and scored 11.0 team points. Her first match was up against last year's state champion, Alanna Haney from Chiawana. Portia wrestled very well, almost beating the state champ. Unfortunately, the champ found a way to win. Still, the whole team was proud of her after taking on the champ in warrior fashion. Later, after receiving a second bye, Portia beat her next opponent Abilene Torres from Davis in the consolation, third round by fall (0:26). Portia then followed that match by pinning Lucy Giles from Othello at 1:02 to get her second place at the 145-0pound weight bracket.
Kyndra Casias (2-1) placed 2nd and scored 22.0 team points. She began with little action, receiving a bye in the first and second round, putting her into the quarterfinals. Casias fought hard to win 3-2 by fall over Nayeli Leal from Othello in 1:30, moving her into the Semifinals. Kyndra would win by decision over Lorena Guardado of Hermiston, punching her ticket into the finals. Casias would go against none other than Alanna Haney from Chiawana, whom RHS's Sumner would have a close match with in the semifinals. This match did not lack drama. It was a tough match where several times Kyndra was close to pinning Haney. There would be many reversals in this match, but the state champ from CHS did it again with a major decision win, 16-5.
Senior MacKenzie Maxwell would also have her self a great day. With a 4-2 records, she would win by pins, placing 6th at the 155 weight bracket, scoring 13.0 team points.
Head Coach John Nicacio had this to say about the girls team, ¨The girls had a tremendous Thursday and Friday showing. Thursday they beat a good Kennewick girls team 48-30 with some tough wins from Ava Bagwell, Skadi Carman, Yaneece Sanchez, Mackenzie Maxwell, Kyndra Casias, Portia Harker, Savannah Dufault and Savannah Thorpe. Then on the weekend, the Bomber girls placed in the top five of a very tough tournament of 22 teams, that included the country's second ranked girls team. It was a total team effort, and the girls all gained valuable experience. Mackenzie Maxwell placed 6th, Portia Harker was consolation champ, Kyndra Casias placed second, Skadi Carman placed 5th and Savannah Dufault made it to the finals and placed 2nd.¨
New Assistant Girls Coach Samantha Dufault said, ¨I was proud of every girl that stepped on the mat because that takes courage. The girls have a great system down for warming up. They work really well together as a team and communicate great with each other and us coaches. I'm very proud of Savannah Thorpe and how she performed, being it's her freshman year, and she is the first girl of the season to go into overtime. Also, I was very proud of Portia Harker and Kyndra Casias (who placed 2nd) both went up against Alanna Hainey, a state champ and gave her a run for her money. Lastly, Savannah Dufault lost her finals match, placing 2nd after winning all her previous matches by pin. This is a very young team with lots of room for improvement and growth, and I can't wait to see how far they all go."
