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A8 • HERMISTONHERALD.COM WEDNESDAy, FEbRuARy 26, 2020 HeraldSports Follow sports on Twitter @HHeraldSports Dawgs fall to Kamiakin in District 8 tourney Romero leads Hermiston with 13 points and 9 rebounds By ANNIE FOWLER SPORTS EDITOR Hermiston got off to a hot start Friday morning, but Kami- akin turned up the heat in the second half of their 3A District 8 loser-out game at Toyota Center. The Braves outscored the Bulldogs 37-20 in the second half to eliminate Hermiston from tournament play with a 60-50 victory. “Our defense was not good. Plain and simple,” Hermiston coach Maloree Moss said. “We knew we wouldn’t hit as many 3-point shots as we normally do. We tried a lot of things, but couldn’t get anything going.” The Braves (6-17) move on to play Kennewick at noon Sat- urday. The winner will advance to regionals. “We chipped away, got some transition baskets and didn’t let them set up,” Kamiakin coach Lane Schumacher said of the second half. “We limited them to one shot, got the ball out, and we actually made the lay-ins.” The Bulldogs jumped out to a 22-13 lead after the first quarter, with Katelyn Heideman drill- ing a pair of 3-pointers, and Jaz- lyn Romero adding six points, including the final two of the quarter. “Early in the first, they came at us with the 3-ball,” Schum- acher said. “We clogged up the inside, which gave them some problems.” Kamiakin opened the second quarter on a 7-0 run to pull with Staff Photo by Annie Fowler Hermiston and Kamiakin met in a District 8 loser-out game on Friday morning at Toyota Center in Kennewick, Wash. The Braves beat the Bulldogs 60-50. 22-20. Hermiston answered with a 5-0 run of its own for a 27-22 lead. The Braves came back with three points to make it 27-23 with 1:14 left in the first half. With just a couple of sec- onds left on the clock, Romero brought the ball down over half court and let the ball fly for a deep 3 in front of the Kamiakin bench. The ball dropped through the rim as the buzzer sounded to give the Bulldogs a 30-23 edge. “I practice those shots a little bit,” Romero said. “Every now Wagner, Cadenas take third at state Coughlin finished sixth at 285 pounds By ANNIE FOWLER SPORTS EDITOR Hermiston brought home three medals from Mat Classic XXXII on Saturday, and was the top Mid-Columbia Conference team in the 3A team standings, finishing 13th overall with 52 points. Junior Trevor Wagner (160 pounds) and sophomore Sam Cadenas (220) each placed third at the Tacoma Dome, while senior Dustyn Coughlin (285) finished Wagner sixth. “I was hoping to get all three in the finals and get a trophy,” Herm- iston coach Kyle Larson said. “I think we could have done better, but we can’t send four to state and expect to be in the top three.” Mt. Spokane ran away with the Cadenas team title with 141 points, with Edmonds-Woodway a distant sec- ond (103). Wagner, who was fourth last year at 160, reached the semi- finals, where he dropped a 15-12 decision to Ryan Cote of Snohomish. Coughlin Wagner rebounded to pin Cam- den Courtney of Hudson’s Bay in 1:35. He had a 10-1 lead when he pinned Courtney. In the third-place match, Wagner posted a 15-5 major decision over Everette Isaac of Eastside Catholic. In the 220-pound semifinals, 2019 state cham- pion Dustyn Camacho of O’Dea escaped with an 8-6 win over Cadenas. Cadenas trailed 8-3 heading into the third round, where he registered a takedown and earned a point on a second stalling call on Camacho. In the consolation bracket, Cadenas posted a 6-0 decision over Faris Khilfeh of Lake Washington. In the third-place match, Cadenas earned a 7-5 overtime decision over Savion Galloway of Cleveland. Tied at 5-5 at the end of regulation, Cadenas got an early takedown in overtime to beat Galloway. “It’s tough to turn your mindset around and come back and get third, especially when you wanted more,” Larson said of Wagner and Cardenas. Coughlin was pinned by No. 2-ranked Alex Krueger of Meadowdale in the semifinals in a time of 1:36. Coughlin struggled in the consolation bracket. He was pinned by Wilzayvian Atkins of Lakes in his first consolation match, dropping him into the fifth/sixth match, where he was pinned by Armani Tonuao of North Thurston in the second round. and again, they go in. It was a momentum boost.” Schumacher said Romero should not have been given the time to shoot. “We had the last shot and shot too early,” he said. “Then they bang the 3.” Whatever momentum Herm- iston had at the half drained away in the third quarter as Kathryn Hollenberg scored 11 of her 13 points. The Braves went on a 20-14 run in the third, taking their first lead of the game at 43-41 on a basket by Regan Clark. Kendall Dowdy got an offen- sive rebound and basket to tie the game, and Sydney Seavert added a free throw with 27 sec- onds remaining to put Hermis- ton back on top 44-43 with one quarter to play. “The momentum shifted with the leadership of Regan Clark,” Romero said. “She was the fac- tor. When we played them at Kamiakin, she didn’t make an impact. Today, her leadership controlled the floor.” Kamiakin took the lead for good with 6:31 left in the game with a basket by Hollenberg. Hermiston pulled within 53-48 with 3:50 remaining, but could not catch the Braves. “Kamiakin played great,” Moss said. “They have really progressed as the season went on. They were ready and we didn’t match their energy.” The Bulldogs finished their season at 14-9. “Afterward, we didn’t talk about the game,” Moss said. “I didn’t want this game to take away from our season. We made waves in the MCC. I could not have asked for a better team.” Romero led the way for the Bulldogs with 13 points and nine rebounds. She ended her career with 974 points and will go down as one of the top players at Hermiston. “I cried for like 20 minutes,” Romero said after playing her last game. “This is frustrating, but it’s one of those times you have to get past. These are my best friends and I love each and every one of them.” Jayden Ray added 10 points for the Bulldogs, while Dowdy had seven and six rebounds. Bai- ley Young added five points and seven rebounds. Freshman Nikole Thomas led the Braves with 16 points and 10 rebounds. “We battled and competed today,” Schumacher said. BOX SCORE Kamiakin 13 10 20 17 — 60 Hermiston 22 8 14 6 — 50 KAMIAKIN — Thomas 16, Clark 11, Hollenberg 13, Davis 12, Schumacher 3, Malloy 4, Lujan 1. HERMISTON — Heideman 6, K.Young 5, Ray 10, Seavert 1, Dowdy 7, Hernandez 3, Romero 13, B.Young 5. 3A STATE WRESTLING Losing is not an option By ANNIE FOWLER SPORTS EDITOR Up until two weeks ago, Trevor Wagner had not lost a match in six weeks. The Hermiston junior chalks this up to one thing — he hates to lose. That’s the same mental- ity he took into the 3A state wrestling tournament this past weekend at the Tacoma Dome in Tacoma, Washington. “You have to win the first one to get to the next one,” said Wagner, who finished fourth at state last year at 160 pounds. “Just focus on what you need to do at the right time. I don’t know what their skill level is. I just go out and do my best.” Hermiston coach Kyle Lar- son said Wagner had a good base when he showed up as a freshman. “He is a lot like his older brother (Andy),” Larson said. “They started young. He is a gamer. He’s a competitor. He grew up with his older brother and other alumni, and he had to compete to be part of the crowd. He likes to please the crowd and get them into it. He’s a little unconventional, but he’s figured out 95% of his opponents with that style.” Wagner, who sported a 30-8 record, opened state action against senior Patrick MaGough of Nathan Hale (14- 5) at 160 pounds. “We want him to focus on each match as it comes,” Lar- son said. “Twelve years on the mat has made him able to compete with the best of them. He is miles ahead of the aver- age wrestler.” Wagner will be joined at state by Hunter Dyer (132), Sam Cadenas (220), Dustyn Coughlin (285), and Macy Morgan (235) in the girls tournament. Discipline is key Wagner, who also is a stand- out football and baseball player, has been wrestling for 12 years. He figured with two years of high school left, he might as well finish what he started. Staff photo by Ben Lonergan Hermiston High School wrestler Trevor Wagner poses for a portrait in the high school’s wrestling room on Wednesday night. HH file photo Hermiston’s Trevor Wagner flips Pasco’s Travis Thorn during the 170-pound matchup at Hermiston High School on Jan. 23, 2020. Wagner won the match 10-8 in overtime. “As long as I have been doing this, I should be a national champion,” Wagner quipped. “Wrestling is easily the most physically and men- tally demanding sport of the three. You get put through a lot.” Wagner, who has wrestled at 170 pounds most of the sea- son, dropped to 160 for the post-season. He won the district title, then placed second at region- als after dropping a 15-4 major decision to top-ranked Nolan Casey of Peninsula. Wagner is ranked No. 2. The move puts Wagner in a different weight class than Southridge’s Ryan Stayrook, who is at 170. Wagner beat Stayrook in their Mid-Colum- bia Conference match, as well at Riley Cissne of Chiawana, who is headed to the 4A state tournament at 160. “Our coaches have said we have one of the toughest dis- tricts and regionals,” Wagner said. “When you get to state it will be easier. Cissne is the toughest kid I wrestled in the MCC, 100%. Skilled guys are always hard to wrestle — they know how to get out of posi- tions. The guy with the best technique always wins.” Of Wagner’s eight losses prior to state, none were to an MCC opponent. He lost two matches at the Muilenburg Tournament in La Grande, two at Tri-State, two at Gut Check, one at Oregon City, and the one at regionals to Casey. The last match he lost before regionals was Jan. 4 at Gut Check. “This is the best year I have had in my high school career,” Wagner said.
