Bombers Fall Short to Kennewick Lions - By Aubrey Hunter

December 5th, 2024, the Kennewick Lions traveled to Richland High School to take on the Bombers at Art Dawald gym. Being the first match of the 2024 season, fans were anticipating the turnout. The stands filled to the very brim with families, students, and supporters before the match even began, which meant this would be one you wouldn't want to miss. High energy and competitive spirits on both sides of the mat made for a back-and-forth battle between these teams. But ultimately, one team would fall short.

Photo: @reardonphoto

Leading up to the match, both sides put in an abundance of work and preparation to prepare as well as they possibly could for themselves and their team. After speaking to senior and captain Donovan Quintana, Richland went into this match mentally, preparing for the best outcome. He built off of that by saying, "No one has put in as much work as we have, so we have the mental edge". Staying mentally tough, being the backbone of this sport, Donovan explains just how important trusting the work the boys have put into this game going into this match and for matches in the future. As for the Kennewick Lions, Hunter Brower shared with me how focusing on technique is their plan for preparation. He followed that with training and conditioning every day will help them in future matchups, keeping the mindset of getting better every single practice and every single day. When asked, Brower said his favorite part of facing Richland is facing their strong opponents, who help the Lions get better by facing. 

Photo: @reardonphoto

As the first match began between Richland Bomber Liam and Lions Hector, the match went back and forth. Ultimately, this resulted in a win for Hector, starting out with a score of 6-0 for the Kennewick Lions. The next battle was between Xavier for Richland and Mark for Kennewick in the 138 category. Both wrestlers showed off their quickness and grit, not wanting to give up. After many escapes, takedowns, and even a violation, Xavier can escape with a win for the Bombers. Next, a quick matchup and win for Richland after Drew Green pins his opponent and leads Richland 9-6. The 4th match ended in a Kennewick win, taking the score to 9-12, until the 5th match when Cameron won, making it 15-12. Donovan took the mat next, and we got to see just how he applied his mental preparation to the night. Escaping his opponent 2 times, he battled back, and Impressively pinned his opponent in the first period, making the score 18-12. However, after a couple pins from the Lions, the Bombers started to fall behind. 

Photo: @reardonphoto

Going into the last match of the night, the score being 33-42, Kennewick Lions, Drayson, and Jacob were set up to have a great match. Last match of the night. Two great wrestlers. All eyes are on them. The pressure was there. Getting to talk to sophomore Drayson Elfering before this intense matchup to end the night answered some questions about how he was prepared to go into it. He shared how he was going into it confidently and ready to go due to all the off-season training he had been partaking in. All attention towards these two; the match started off fiery, with both opponents going for the takedown. With many escapes and takedowns on each side, the match lasted the full 3 periods. With all the anticipation building up, you could see the crowd get excited as the boy they were rooting for was excelling. At the end of the night, Drayson came out with a win for the Richland Bombers to finish off the match. But it wasn't quite enough. After a tough fight and long night, the Kennewick Lions took the win over the Richland Bombers 38-42, concluding the first match of the season. 

But will Richland bounce back? Their next conference matchup is December 11th against Hanford High School. The boys will have a chance to come out on top and solidify a win. After talking to some of the wrestlers, the main goals for this season are to become MCC champions and place at state as a team. Individually, a lot of the boys want to also place at state and even go undefeated on the season. Having great coaches and also captains to look up to plays a huge part in their learning for success and achievement in the season. With some tough competition coming up, we will see how these student-athletes progress as wrestlers and other people. 

Photo: @reardonphoto