Hanford, Kamiakin grab individual titles at Hanford Winter Cup tournament
Hanford senior Caden Wilson and Kamiakin sophomore Brooks Knight dominated their competition at the Winter Cup boys wrestling tournament on Friday at Hanford High.
Both Wilson (175 pounds) and Knight (285) pinned all three of their opponents en route to winning their weight class titles.
Other area weight class champions included Grandview senior Evan Benitez (132 pounds) and Kennewick senior Jaden Lopez (190).
Sunnyside scored 239.5 points to take the team title, and the Grizzlies had four individual champions — senior Samuel Gonzalez at 157 pounds, sophomore Zaiden Gonzalez (113), sophomore Mesiah Valdez (126), and junior Christopher Villanueva (150).
Mt. Spokane finished second in the team race at 162 points, while Kennewick was third with 138.5.
▪ Hanford sophomore Genesis Cambron (100 pounds), Kennewick senior Vanessa Robles (130) and Royal senior Emma Villa (170) all pinned their four opponents to win titles at the Hanford girls Winter Cup tournament on Thursday.
Robles now has a 15-0 record on the season.
There were seven other area wrestlers who took titles: Hanford senior Dayna Enderlin (155 pounds), Southridge senior Lexi Gideon (125), Warden senior Jada Hernandez (120), Irrigon senior Stephanie Romero (285), Richland sophomore Yaneece Sanchez (190), Hanford junior Makenzie Shupe (115), and Sunnyside’s Danica Torres (105).
Sunnyside finished first as a team with 161 points, while Quincy was second with 126, and Kennewick third at 122.
Cross country
MCC cross country recap: Kamiakin junior Ezra Teeples (boys) and Kennewick junior Morgan Thompson (girls) were named MCC Runners of the Year, respectively.
Kamiakin’s Matt Rexus was named Boys Coach of the Year, while Hermiston’s Troy Blackburn was Girls Coach of the Year.
Teeples won the 4A state individual championship back in November at Sun Willows Golf Course in Pasco.
Joining Teeples on the MCC boys first team is teammate and junior Noah Thomas; Hermiston senior John Mills and junior Jaysen Rodriguez; Richland senior Crew Martell; Pasco senior Edward Paup-Lefferts; and Hanford sophomore Malek Keller.
Joining Kennewick’s Thompson on the MCC first team are Walla Walla junior Macy Eggart; Hermiston junior Elizabeth Newman and senior Megan Joyce; Kamiakin senior Meredith Stavenger; Chiawana junior Emma Gis; and Richland junior Lilly Robertson.
Soccer
Emoree Lash, a freshman midfielder from Walla Walla, scored two goals and an assist for Walla Walla Community College’s women’s soccer team this fall.
The Warriors finished with a 10-6-3 record.
▪ Senior Edwin Romero (Walla Walla/WWCC) led the 8-7-5 Whitman men’s soccer team this fall in scoring with 7 goals. He also had 2 assists and was named honorable mention All-Northwest Conference.
Teammate Erick Perez-Cuellar (Walla Walla) had two goals and two assists, while freshman Fernando Lopez-Vegas (Chiawana) had two goals this season.
▪ McKenna Martinez, a junior at Oregon State, had a great fall for the Beavers women’s soccer team.
On the field, Martinez — a Tri-Cities Prep grad who played girls soccer for Richland High — scored six goals during the 2023 season and was named third-team All-Pac 12 Conference at her forward position.
She now has a career total of 28 goals scored for OSU.
In the classroom, Martinez was named to the College Sports Communicators Academic All-District team.
She is a major in Kinesiology.
Football
Kennewick linebacker Ayden Metz has been getting some offers from smaller colleges. The 6-foot, 2000-pound standout for the Lions has gotten offers from Southwestern College in Kansas, Pacific Lutheran, and Whitworth in Spokane.
▪ Football coaches can’t run a team without scout players. They’re the ones who will run the plays of the upcoming opponent during practice.
Coaches appreciate what scout players do, especially the ones who put their all into it.
Which is why it’s pretty cool to see Southridge High grad Trevor Hoopes being named last week as Montana Western’s Defensive Scout Player of the Year.
The Bulldogs went 9-2 this season, making it to the second round of the NAIA playoffs.
▪ Kennewick standout Nathan Knapik confirmed his commitment by signing a letter of intent to play football at the University of Idaho starting next fall.
Knapik was named the Mid-Columbia Conference’s Offensive Lineman of the Year in December.
Knapik is the third consecutive offensive lineman to sign with an NCAA Division I school. Knapik’s older brother signed with Idaho two years ago, and Ashton Tripp signed with Washington State University a year ago.
Basketball
Walla Walla senior Madison Reibel scored her 1,000th career point in the Blue Devils’ win over Chiawana on Dec. 16.
Not all of those points were scored with Wa-Hi. Reibel spent her freshman and sophomore seasons in Arizona.
▪ Quincy Scott scored his 1,000th career point in a Dec. 22 victory at Lind-Ritzville.
The junior standout for the Columbia-Burbank boys basketball team had 25 points in the Coyotes’ 77-39 win.
Scott follows behind his teammate and junior Tristan Frimodt, who reached the 1,000-point mark earlier this season.
Jeff Morrow is former sports editor for the Tri-City Herald.
