Senior Night Sweep - By Reice Calamayan

    On Friday, January 18, senior night, it had been suddenly, without warning, pushed back to Wednesday the 24th after a freak snow day that came out of nowhere. The match was against WWHS, and we knew it would be a tough fight. Walla Walla's always been an even matchup for the Bombers; I interviewed a newer coach from RHS LLeyton after the head coach, Nicacio, advised me to talk to coach Lleyton since he was too excited about the upcoming matches against Walla Walla High School. He said he was looking forward to the game since both teams were well matched for each other but knew in the end that we'd win since the bombers had been working hard this season. The team captain and only senior for the Bombers varsity team, Mason Leavitt, commented that he was thrilled and sad that tonight would be the last day he'd be playing an at-home game, which was a bittersweet feeling. And for the audience, it was bustling. Fans filled every single row at the start. When it's an at-home game, every time, we'll have Amy from the girl's wrestling team sing. When you're pledging to the flag at that moment, you're not at a wrestling dual; instead, it's as if you've got front-row seats to the opera.

    After the pledge of allegiance, when the announcers introduced each athlete and said them as the athletes went up to shake each other's hands, you could feel the raw energy coming off them and how badly each team wanted to win. Once the first wrestlers, the 106s, stepped up to the mat, they wrestled tactfully, gauging each other out. But in the end, RHS Lost with a score of 4-7, ending with a pin, making the team score 0-6. After that, Angel Serano replaced our 113 Derek O'Dell due to a shoulder injury later in the season. Angel skillfully teched his opponent, closing the gap and changing it to a one-point difference for the Bombers to catch Up to Walla at 5-6. Unluckily, our 120 rode out the entire time on the mat and made that gap as large as it was starting, making it 5-9.

    However, an up-and-coming freshman, Drayson Elfering at 126, secured us three points with intelligent and strategic wrestling. Right after, our 132 Drew Greene got a quick and decisive pin within the first 30 seconds. And just like that, our 138 Xavier Salinas did the same thing and won his match with a pin with a score of 12-2, bringing the team score to 20-9. Sadly, our 144 Mason Leavitt got all tied up and lost his match to his pin but got off the mat and took the loss on his chin, making the score 20-15. After this happened, we'd only give up nine more points overall; our 157 Donovon Gallegos won with a pin after dominating his opponent with a score of 13-0. Our 157 Gavin Greene had an unexpected comeback when he was at 3-1 after getting ridden out all of the first round, with the only point he got when he got slammed overly aggressively by his opponent in the second round. He got a reversal and had all the fans and his teammates screaming and rejoicing while Walla Walla had a grimacing look on their face as Gavin Greene won with a pin. Adrian Ochoa, our 165, also had a pretty good match with him, and his opponent was so aggressive that they both got called out for it by the referee. Unluckily, Adrian got pinned, changing the team score to 32-21. The Next two weight classes won by pin: Preston Richins, our 175, and John Paul Workman, our 190. and Workman, during his match, was having a wardrobe malfunction with his headgear the entire time and still won in the end. Another intense match was Koen Hanson, the 215 of the Bombers. He was down by 5-1 in the first period. But in the second round, he got two escapes. Then, a takedown made him one point behind, and right after that takedown, he got near fall points, making him one point ahead. Sadly, his opponent got a reversal in the last seconds, which won him the match. Our final match was our heavyweight, Hector Sanchez. He hit a nasty snap down that ended with a quick pin in 30 seconds, with a final score of 50-24.

    We got some post-game interviews with the head coach since he had calmed down enough to do the interview. He said we could win because the boys have worked hard this season. We can still work on stuff, but I'm very proud of their work tonight. We were able to do post-interviews with all the previous people I had talked to before Coach Leyton said that we did well, just like he knew the RHS varsity team would; however, there were a few matches that he thought the Bombers would win, but instead, it went the other way. And then, right after we interviewed Mason Leavitt, the only senior for the boy's varsity team and the team captain, he said that it was sad ending his last game at home on a loss. However, he'll have to take it in stride, go on a better path to the postseason, and get his win there. Overall, the RHS team is looking solid this year, and for districts, you should be keeping your eyes on them.