A8 • HERMISTONHERALD.COM
WEDNESDAy, FEbRuARy 26, 2020
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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.