Chelan Wrestling

Jose Lopez is back in action on the wrestling mat after a successful season in 2208-2000. He placed third at this past Saturday's tournament at Rainier and is planning on finishing his senior year off with a trip to the State Tournament. 2008 File Photo by Richard Uhlhorn

Goats continue to wrestle well
Next Home Match - Thursday January 21 v Cashmere & Cascade
by Richard Uhlhorn

The Chelan Goat Wrestling Team had a successful week between Monday, January 11 and Saturday, January 16. "The Rainier Invitational was a successful end to an extremely busy week of wrestling for us," said Coach Jay McGuffin.

Out of the 12 teams competing at the Rainier tournament, Chelan finished in third place and McGuffin reported that almost all the wrestlers came home with some hardware.

On Monday, January 11, the team toppled the Liberty Bell Mountain Lions 63-15 and then on Thursday, January 14, they dumped Brewster 65-9.

On Friday, the team traveled to the west side of the mountains and had an opportunity to work out at the Supermall in Auburn. "Every year we make it a point to stop by Vision Quest Fitness located at the mall in Auburn," stated McGuffin. "It is a chance to cut a little wieght, act like Lance Armstrong on the stationary bicycles, and have some fun in the mall. It makes for a trip the kids will never forget."

Chelan had two champions come out of the Rainier Invitational. Freshman Erick Garcia (103 lbs.) dominated his competition throughout the day, pinning three opponents on his way to his first tournament win of the year.

At 112 pounds, Junior Luis Rodriguez also pinned his way to a championship. "Oor lower weights really put on a show today. I was expecially impressed witht he determination and grit they took to take advantage of every scoring opporunity."

Senior Jose Lopez (1119 lbs.) came off the disabled list to wrestle in his first tournament of the year since mid-December. "He isn't where he wants to be physically, but he is determined to go out with a bang this year," stated McGuffin. After winning his first match, he fell to a Zillah wrestler and had to come back through the back door to place third.

Junior Adelberth Guillen (125 lbs.) also placed third at the tournament. He wrestled well after a tough 7-5 loss in the quarterfinals. Senior Dillon Parker made it all the way to the semi-finals before losing a 3-2 decision to a Castle Rock wrestler. He was also beset with a stomach illness that prevented him from wrestling for third place.

At 135 pounds, Senior Hank Burton placed third. At 140 pounds, Eric Jimenez placed fifth, and at 145 pounds, Sophomore Billy Poppie placed fifth as well. At 171 pounds, Jorge Villasenor placed fifth. At 189 pounds, Sophomore wrestlers Jose Aparicio and Arnulfo Lopez wrestled each other for third place, with Lopez coming out on top  with a 5-4 decision. At 215 pounds, freshman Alex Cortez made the finals but lost to Castle Rock. At heavyweight freshman Luis Garcia came through the back door and placed third.

Overall, Chelan brought home a lot of hardware this weekend which is a direct correlation to all the hard work and time these boys have put into the sport the last couple of months. “We only have 5 weeks left of the season before it's over, something that everyone on the team realizes. Our plan is to continue to work hard in practice, become better conditioned, and peak for February." said Coach McGuffin.

The team will host both the Cashmere Bulldogs and Cascade Kodiaks on Thursday evening beginning at 7 p.m. in the Chelan High School gymnasium. It's a great opportunity for wrestling fans to come out and cheer their team on.

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