Three Tigers take third at Royal Boys Christmas Tournament
ROYAL CITY — Louden Leenhouts, Nathan Sandoval and Payton Woods each earned third-place finishes to lead the Ephrata boys wrestling team to a fourth-place showing at the Royal Boys Christmas Tournament on Saturday, Dec. 27.
Updated
Louden Leenhouts (106), shown in an earlier match against Ellensburg, finished in third place at the Royal Boys Christmas Tournament. Photo by Rylee Holt
ROYAL CITY — Louden Leenhouts, Nathan Sandoval and Payton Woods each earned third-place finishes to lead the Ephrata boys wrestling team to a fourth-place showing at the Royal Boys Christmas Tournament on Saturday, Dec. 27.
The Tigers scored 130 points in the 29-team field. Cashmere won the team title with 199.5 points, followed by Tonasket (176) and host Royal (175).
Leenhouts went 5-1 at 106 pounds, winning five matches by fall. He opened with a pin at 42 seconds, then ran into Tonasket's Jake Bolich (the eventual runner-up) and dropped a 16-1 technical fall in the third period. Leenhouts responded by rattling off four straight wins, ending the run with a 10-0 victory over Cle Elum's Adam Beedle in the third-place match, finishing with a pin 48 seconds into the second period.
Sandoval (120) finished 4-1, picking up three falls and a decision. He pinned his first two opponents before falling 10-2 by major decision to Royal's Dennis Hernandez. Sandoval bounced back with a 5-0 decision in his fourth match, then closed out the tournament with a dominant third-place finish against Selah's Fabian Lopez. Sandoval recorded two takedowns and two nearfalls before sealing the round with a pin at 3:29.
Woods went 4-1 at 215 pounds. After a first-round bye, he pinned his next two opponents in the first period. In his third match of the day, Woods fell 10-5 by decision to Quincy's Alejandro Barajas in the third period, scoring on two escapes and a takedown. Woods rebounded in the third-place match against Royal's Mario De La Rosa, pulling away in the third period with an escape, takedown and nearfall to secure an 8-0 major decision.
Several other Tigers posted winning records on the day. Noah Castillo went 3-1 at 150 pounds. Riley Richards (144), Carter Garcia (157), Colt Staples (165) and Austin Smith (175) each finished 3-2.
Also competing for Ephrata were Zxander Williams (138, 2-2), Mike Ramirez (132, 2-2), Daron Hernandez (285, 2-2), Danny Wurl (190, 1-1), Caleb Schooler (113, 0-2) and Noah Hatten (126, 0-2).
The Tigers (1-2) return to action Tuesday, Jan 6, when they host Othello at 7 p.m. The Huskies sit third in Central Washington Athletic Conference standings at 2-1, with wins over Ellensburg and Grandview and a loss to league-leading Toppenish, ranked second among state Class 2A programs by Washington Wrestling Network.
Editor's note: Match results compiled from FloWrestling.org.
Royal Boys Christmas Tournament
Dec. 27, Royal City
Team scores: Cashmere 199.5, Tonasket 176, Royal 175, Ephrata 130 (4th), Moses Lake (JV) 129, Davenport 104.5, Selah 103, Liberty Bell 90, Columbia Burbank 87.5, Kiona Benton 75, Almira-Coulee-Hartline 73, Cle Elum 67, Connell 65.5, Othello 64.5, Selkirk (Ione) 48.5, Warden 47, White Swan 43, Manson 35, Wahluke 35, Kittitas 33.5, Cascade (Leavenworth) 33, Brewster 25, Oroville 23.5, Republic 22, Mabton 13, La Salle 6, Pateros 3, Burbank 0, Nespelem 0
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Three Tigers take third at Royal Boys Christmas Tournament
ROYAL CITY — Louden Leenhouts, Nathan Sandoval and Payton Woods each earned third-place finishes to lead the Ephrata boys wrestling team to a fourth-place showing at the Royal Boys Christmas Tournament on Saturday, Dec. 27.
ROYAL CITY — Louden Leenhouts, Nathan Sandoval and Payton Woods each earned third-place finishes to lead the Ephrata boys wrestling team to a fourth-place showing at the Royal Boys Christmas Tournament on Saturday, Dec. 27.
The Tigers scored 130 points in the 29-team field. Cashmere won the team title with 199.5 points, followed by Tonasket (176) and host Royal (175).
Leenhouts went 5-1 at 106 pounds, winning five matches by fall. He opened with a pin at 42 seconds, then ran into Tonasket's Jake Bolich (the eventual runner-up) and dropped a 16-1 technical fall in the third period. Leenhouts responded by rattling off four straight wins, ending the run with a 10-0 victory over Cle Elum's Adam Beedle in the third-place match, finishing with a pin 48 seconds into the second period.
Sandoval (120) finished 4-1, picking up three falls and a decision. He pinned his first two opponents before falling 10-2 by major decision to Royal's Dennis Hernandez. Sandoval bounced back with a 5-0 decision in his fourth match, then closed out the tournament with a dominant third-place finish against Selah's Fabian Lopez. Sandoval recorded two takedowns and two nearfalls before sealing the round with a pin at 3:29.
Woods went 4-1 at 215 pounds. After a first-round bye, he pinned his next two opponents in the first period. In his third match of the day, Woods fell 10-5 by decision to Quincy's Alejandro Barajas in the third period, scoring on two escapes and a takedown. Woods rebounded in the third-place match against Royal's Mario De La Rosa, pulling away in the third period with an escape, takedown and nearfall to secure an 8-0 major decision.
Several other Tigers posted winning records on the day. Noah Castillo went 3-1 at 150 pounds. Riley Richards (144), Carter Garcia (157), Colt Staples (165) and Austin Smith (175) each finished 3-2.
Also competing for Ephrata were Zxander Williams (138, 2-2), Mike Ramirez (132, 2-2), Daron Hernandez (285, 2-2), Danny Wurl (190, 1-1), Caleb Schooler (113, 0-2) and Noah Hatten (126, 0-2).
The Tigers (1-2) return to action Tuesday, Jan 6, when they host Othello at 7 p.m. The Huskies sit third in Central Washington Athletic Conference standings at 2-1, with wins over Ellensburg and Grandview and a loss to league-leading Toppenish, ranked second among state Class 2A programs by Washington Wrestling Network.
Editor's note: Match results compiled from FloWrestling.org.
Royal Boys Christmas Tournament
Dec. 27, Royal City