PAGE A22, KEIZERTIMES, JANUARY 14, 2022
Celts easily win first MVC dual against McKay
THE
MAT
Damian Hernandez (blue singlet) earned a first round pin in his match against Kelvin Yan.
BY MATT RAWLINGS
Of the Keizertimes
In their first Mountain Valley
Conference dual meet of the season,
the McNary wrestling squad showed
their superiority by defeating McKay
66-15 on Wednesday, Jan. 5.
“It's always good to start the league
schedule on the right foot as we get
into the groove of our season,” McNary
head coach Sam Martin said.
After winning the opening match
via forfeit, Celtics 113-pounder Max
Blanco made quick work of his oppo-
nent, Felipe Sandoval, earning a pin 32
seconds into the first round.
Damian Hernandez soon followed
with a first round fall of his own in the
126-pound bout. After a pair of early
takedowns, the senior eventually got
the pin with 41 seconds remaining in
the first round.
“I definitely wanted the first round
pin. I just wanted to come out and dom-
inate,” Hernandez said.
Martin was highly complementary
of how Hernandez has been wrestling
this season.
“Damian Hernandez is my favor-
ite wrestler in our room right now. He
knows what he wants to accomplish
and is wrestling tough and working
hard,” Martin said. “Everyday, he is try-
ing to get better. I love watching him
wrestle and I love watching him work
in the practice room. He has been a ton
of fun so far.”
Jordan Orr continued the string
of first round falls in the 132-pound
match, pinning Jaylin Quintero just
over a minute into the bout.
Jonathon Canchola, a 138-pounder,
didn't get his opponent down in the first
round, but still controlled his match
from start to finish. With the score tied
2-2, Canchola got a three-point near-
fall early in the second round, then was
credited with the pin moments later.
“It was a great team effort. We all
did a good job of pushing each other
tonight,” Canchola said.
Photo by MATT RAWLINGS of Keizertimes
Hunter Ruberto (152), Anthony
Bennett (170) and Aldo Villalvazo (220)
also won via first-round fall.
Arguably the most entertaining
bout of the night came in the 125-
pound exhibition girls match between
McNary's Kaliyanei Hill and McKay's
Izabella Campbell.
Hill fell behind 5-2 in the second
round, but took advantage of a mistake
by Campbell to get a two-point reversal
“(Hill) is a fun wrestler to watch. She
is good on her feet and she wrestles
well on the mat,” Martin said. “She was
having a little bit of trouble getting out,
but she was able to capitalize when the
other girl fell to her hip. She is a pretty
well rounded wrestler. It was good for
her to come out and get a win.”
Caitlin Salivar was the other female
victor for the Celtics, earning a first
round pin at 170 pounds.
McNary's next dual meet will take
place at Sprague on Thursday, Jan. 20
at 7 p.m.
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