Bomber Wrestling Kicks off Postseason Strong - By Ethan Child

    Bomber wrestling had a great day over the weekend at the MCC district's meet, with the Bomber boys sending thirteen and the lady Bombers sending nine across town to Hanford High for regionals this week. The boy's team placed second in the tournament, and the girl's team placed 3rd. Both teams had the excellent opportunity to compete on their home turf in Art Dawald Gymnasium and show the conference what Richland Wrestling is about. 

    Starting in the 106 weight class, Richland’s Derek O’Dell kicked the bracket off with a win over Pasco’s Mason Byrd by fall and would continue to place third in the bracket after a decision win over Cannon Meagher of Kamiakin. 

Gavin Greene grapples with his opponent.

    In the 120 bracket, Saul Salinas of Richland would have a great day with a win over Pasco’s Josiah Perez and Chiawana’s Victor Luna but ended up losing to Juan Hoffman of Kamiakin in a close battle by sudden victory in the final. Nonetheless, he had a great day finishing 2nd in the bracket and moving on to regionals. 

    In the 126 weight, Xavier Salinas and Drew Greene won their first matches over their Kamiakin and Chiawana opponents by fall. Salinas would continue through the bracket of the 126 weight class losing only to Daeton Johnson of Chiawana in the finals, placing 2nd and punching his ticket to Regionals.  D. Greene would also have a great run placing 3rd in the weight class after a win by fall over Colby Slover of Kamiakin, solidifying his hopes at a regional run. 

John Mark Villarreal wrestles with his first opponent of the day.

    Moving on to 132 weight, the Bomber's Brody Holcombe continued to prove he is one of the conference’s best with wins over his Pasco and Hanford opponents, finally being stopped by Alexander Barajas of Pasco by a 3-2 decision. Holcombe placed 2nd in the bracket and is likely to continue to add to his win column come regionals.

    In the 138 class, Donovan Gallegos of Richland High showed a strong run beating his first two Kamiakin opponents by a major decision and a 4-2 Decision. He would move on to the final against Jordan Tobias of Chiawana and unfortunately lost by a 13-9 decision still proving he is a formidable opponent and will not be taken lightly at regionals. 

    In the 145 weight, Mason Leavitt proved his toughness and grit with a 4th-place finish in the class Beating Chiawana’s Robert Wade and his own teammate Gavin Greene (who would finish the tournament 6th) in the process. Leavitt punches his ticket to regionals with a slight underdog role hoping to turn some heads. 

    In the 160 class, a crowd favorite Leif Carman had a good run as well, ending 4th in his bracket with a win by fall over both Roman Polanik and Daniel Arokiam of Kamiakin. He is a great wrestler with lots of potential for a good regional run. 

    The 182 weight was dominated by the Bombers, with 1st and 2nd going to Richland’s Koen Hanson and JohnMark Villarreal, respectively. Both wrestlers showed amazing performances pinning all of their opponents and leading into the final, where they faced each other in the battle for 1st. Both wrestlers showed grit in the battle that ensued, and in the end, Hanson came out on top by fall over Villarreal. This may be the biggest weight class for Bomber fans to watch going forward with the amount of talent both of these competitors possess. 

Melvin Kreitzer wins a match over his Chiawana opponent.

    In the 195 class, the Bombers again came out on top with a dominant run by Richland’s very own Melvin Kreitzer. Kreitzer won his first two matches against Chiawana and Hanford by fall and faced Alan Leanos of Pasco in the finals, where he pined him to take first in the weight class. Kreitzer is no stranger to competing in the postseason, and with a 32-10 record on the season he is someone to keep an eye on in regionals and beyond. 

    To round out the Bomber boys, in the 220 class, Liam Williams placed 3rd after wins over his teammate Hector Sanchez (placed 5th in the tournament) and Landon Bolson of Chiawana. Having a good run at districts, Williams hopes to continue to add to his win column over at regionals. 

    The Bombers boys team has a lot of talent going into the regionals meet this week, keep an eye on the 182 weight class with Koen Hanson and JohnMark Villarreal dominating the weight going into regionals. Villarreal makes his moves confidently and with purpose and is fun to watch with his unique wrestling style, while Hanson uses his brute strength to enforce his will on his opponents. Also, keep an eye on Melvin Kreitzer in the 195 class. Kreitzer is a strong competitor and refuses to back down, any wrestler should be nervous going into a match with such a strong and smart opponent. He should have a strong run at regionals as well. 

Richland Boys Regionals Wrestling Team:

106 Soph Jeremiah Lichliter 4th

106 Freshman Derek Odell 3rd

120 Senior Saul Salinas 2nd 

126 Freshman Xavier Salinas 2nd

126 Freshman Drew Greene 3rd

132 Senior Brody Holcombe 2nd

138 Sophomore Donnie Gallegos 2nd

145 Junior Mason Leavitt 4th

160 Senior Leif Carman 4th

182 Senior JohnMark Villarreal 2nd

182 Sophomore Koen Hanson 1st

195 Senior Melvin Kreitzer 1st

220 Senior Liam Williams 3rd

Alternates: 

120 Senior Jose Carrasco 5th

160 Freshman AJ Ochoa 5th

220 Sophomore Hector Sanchez 5th

Final boys Scoring:

1 Chiawana 391.5

2 Richland 304.0

3 Hanford 301.5

4 Pasco  230.5

5 Kamiakin 210.0

    Richland Girls also had a great day, starting in the 110 weight; Savannah Thorpe had a great run, placing third after pinning her first opponent but losing by a tie-breaker to Kylie Gideon of Southridge. One of Richland’s girl's more dominant wrestlers, she should have a good run at regionals. In the 115 class, Richlands Savannah Dufault also had a good day, placing 3rd and moving on to regionals after beating Anahi Reyna of Kennewick. 

Jolie Ah Yat Grapples with her opponent.

    The Bomber’s Alenna Sumner placed 3rd in the 130 weight class after wins over Chiawana and Lewis and Clark opponents securing her spot in the regional tournament. In the 140 weight class, Kyndra Casias of Richland High placed second after beating Hanfords Dayna Enderlin and moving on to the final where she was stopped by Alanna Haney of Chiawana. Casias should be one to keep an eye on in the regional tournament. 

    Portia Harker of the Lady Bombers also placed second after she pinned two of her three opponents and moved on as well. The 170 class had the bombers on top with Erin Kremer placing first after she beat Gonzaga Preps Serenity Swenhaugen and Carmen Briseno of Kamiakin. Kremer finally pinned Jorgia McKim of Hermiston to take home 1st in the 170 weight class for the bombers. She should be another powerhouse to keep your eye on going into regionals. 

Skadi Carman grapples with her first opponent of the day.

    Yaneece Sanchez also had a good day after she placed 4th and punched her ticket to regionals after a win over Helena Jansky of Kamiakin. Last but not least Amy Ordaz placed 4th in the 235 weight class after a win over her teammate Emma Kirschenmann. 

    Richland's girls' team has had a great year already in wrestling and hopes to continue it onto regionals this week, both Savannah Dufault and Savannah Thorpe have a great chance at a great regionals run. Also, keep an eye out for Erin Kremer, as she should also have an excellent regional run with her talent. 

Richland Girls Regionals Wrestling Team: 

110 Freshman Savannah Thorpe 3rd

115 Sophomore Savannah Dufault 3rd

130 Senior Alenna Sumner 3rd

140 Junior Kyndra Casias 2nd

145 Sophomore Portia Harker 2nd

170 Senior Erin Kremer 1st

190 Freshman Yaneece Sanchez 4th

235 Freshman Amy Ordaz 4th

235 Sophomore Emma Kirschenmann 5th

Alternates: 

100 Sophomore Skadi Carman 6th

105 Sophomore Juliet Polomsky 6th 

140 Sophomore Rachal Baugh 6th

Final girls Scoring:

1 Hermiston (Girls) 249.0

2 Kennewick (Girls) 238.5

3 Richland (Girls) 208.0

4 Hanford (Girls) 172.0

5 Chiawana (Girls) 140.0

6 Kamiakin (Girls) 127.0

7 Pasco (Girls)    119.0

8 Walla Walla (Girls) 100.0