Third place for Lady Wolves

ANDREW CHRISTIANSEN
Reporter

     The Lady Timberwolves made life easier for themselves by winning their final game at Mabton, on Thursday. The 68-65 victory put the Timberwolves into third place and sends them to play Columbia-Burbank this Thursday, in the first round of the double elimination, league tournament.
Goldendale fell behind early due to Mabton’s Ana Jimenez’s hot hand. Jimenez missed just one shot in the first quarter, scoring 11 points off 3-4 shooting beyond the three-point line.
     Goldendale shaved a point off the Mabton lead in the second quarter, behind Monica DeRushe’s eight points, while Jimenez was contained and shot just three times for two points.
     The fourth quarter was all Goldendale, as the Timberwolves out-rebounded Mabton, 11-5 and out-scored them 24-14. Whitney Wing took a rare three-point shot at the buzzer and made it 52-47.
     Mabton got close in the final quarter, trailing 66-65 with 46 seconds left in the game. But dominance on the boards from Kayla Graff (six fourth quarter rebounds) and Sadie Shattuck (four, fourth quarter rebounds) helped secure the win for Goldendale, as Mabton missed their last two shots.
     The win sends Goldendale into the playoffs on a positive note, after being thumped 59-41 by Granger on the previous Tuesday. Granger’s quick defense prevented the Wolves from getting off many clean shots, while three Spartans scored in double digits.
     First round playoff opponent, Burbank was 11-1 in league play, tied with Connell, but due to drawing a higher number for seeding, they are second place in the SCAC east. The winner of that first round game will play the winner of Granger versus Mabton. The loser will meet the loser of the Granger, Mabton game, creating the real possibility for a third match-up of Mabton and Goldendale.

Two SCAC titles and four slots at Mat Classic for Timberwolves

ANDREW CHRISTIANSEN
Reporter

     Aaron Ferch and Nick Dumolt won SCAC regional championships at Zillah last Saturday, and will lead a strong group to State, including Caleb Ferch, who was second at Zillah and Jeremy Wolfe who qualified for State with a third place finish. In addition, brothers Johnathan and Billy Monroe will go to State as alternates.
     Goldendale’s senior wrestlers checked off another objective on their way to the state Mat Classic tournament in Tacoma, by leading their team to a respectable fourth place finish at the regional match. With just nine wrestlers on the squad, sending six to regional was a feat in itself, but qualifying all six for State indicates just how strong the team really is.
     Wolfe, a senior, will make his third appearance at State. He wrestled in the 103 pound division in 2006 and 2007, finishing sixth and fourth, respectively. Wolfe is one of six 2007, 103 pound medalists who will compete at 112 pounds at State. Skylor Davis, of Zillah, won the 112 pound division at the regional tournament, followed by Hernan Cortez, of Royal. Davis was third and Cortez was fifth at the State 103 tournament last year.
     Caleb Ferch is making his second appearance at State, finishing eighth in the 135 pound division, last year. Ferch had a good battle with Royal’s Angel Ledezma for the district 152 pound title on Saturday, and for the second year in a row, finished second. Ledezma will be one of the class favorites at State, finishing second as a 145 pounder in 2007. Ferch will tangle with Curtis Johnson, of Castle Rock, in his opener at State. Johnson wrestled, but did not place at State last year in the 145 pound division.
     Aaron Ferch was an alternate at State in 2006 and finished eighth in the 140 pound division last year. Ferch fell behind early in the regional 160 pound title match against Chris Strawn, of Riverview. A deciding moment occurred in the second round when Ferch reversed Strawn at the edge of the mat, just beating the whistle that ended the round. From that point on, Ferch was in control and rode out an 8-3 win. The two wrestlers finished second and third at last year’s regional, when Strawn defeated Ferch 8-0 in the semifinals. Strawn did not place at State in 2007.
     The 160 pound division has two returning wrestlers at State, including Scott Phillips, of Warden. Phillips lost a close, 8-6 match against Ferch in this year’s semi-final at Zillah, finishing third. Phillips was fourth at 160 pounds at State in 2007.
     Dumolt, the fourth senior on the squad, along with the Ferch twins and Wolfe, had an incredible year. He somewhat reluctantly decided to wrestle at 171 pounds. Dumolt wrestled as a 140 pounder last year, winning his first trip to State, where he missed the medal round with a 1-2 record. Back in December, when Dumolt still had in mind wrestling at 160 pounds, he had a tough 171 pound match with a very strong Zach Lewis, of Royal. Dumolt won with a pin. Several wins later, Dumolt accepted the idea that he would stay at 171, and he has been dominating the division in SCAC ever since, including three pins over wrestlers from Wahluke, Zillah and Cle Elum on Saturday. The jump from “also ran” at 140 pounds to one of the top seeds at 171 pounds in just one year, is a remarkable accomplishment.
     Regional team scores: Royal 244, Warden 162.5, Granger 122, Goldendale 90, Connell 87, Zillah 76.5, Riverview 73, Kiona-Benton 71.5, Cle Elum 71, Mabton 61, Naches Valley 38, Highland 32.5, Columbia-Burbank 30, Wahluke 6.

TLG girls claim second seed in 1B

     Second place in the Columbia Gorge 1B league was settled long ago on the boys side of the ledger, but it came down to TLG’s 76-38 romp over Bickleton, Saturday night, to secure that spot for the Lady Mustangs. They made it two wins over the Pirates with a win on Monday night that played a little closer.
     The fact TLG was in this position had to be disappointing, given their experience and expectation of challenging Sunnyside Christian this year. However, everyone is 0-0 as the league tournament is about to get started and TLG still has a shot at the Knights.
     Monday’s game with Bickleton had been delayed more than once by weather. With the score 25-24 for TLG at the half, it was anyone’s game.
     The third quarter was one of missed opportunities as the teams scored a combined eight points. The Mustangs made the shots they needed in the fourth quarter, including 7-10 from the foul line to hold onto the victory.
     Bickleton is also in the playoffs, but the position was still to be decided as The Sentinel went to print. A Tuesday win over Yakama Tribal will give Bickleton third place by virtue of a number draw to break the tie with Klickitat.
     The significance of the top four places only affects the opening round match-ups, as the games will be played on a neutral court in Goldendale.
     Much more is at stake on the boys side, where the fourth and final spot was up for grabs between Yakama Tribal and Bickleton. The Pirates could have helped their cause if they could have stalled out a one-point lead against TLG on Saturday night. Colton Smith stole the ball and scored the game winner on a layup that kept them from falling into last place.
     Monday’s repeat game was held at TLG and this time the Mustangs blew the game open with a 21-8 second quarter. Brad Woodruff led TLG with 16 points and Dannon Cavanaugh added 12. The Pirate’s Cody Loomis led Bickleton with nine points, unable to duplicate his 20 point performance from Saturday night.
     Yakama Tribal showed that they can be a dangerous opponent, as Dillon Metzker and Anthony Eyle scored 14 and 13 points, respectively, against the Vandals.
     Metzker scored six points and ran the offense for the Eagles in the opening quarter, but Klickitat played nearly error free, and were able to open up a 10 point lead behind the shooting of a red hot, Hershel Sanchey. Sanchey shot 5-6, including two three-pointers, for 12 of his 22 game points.
     Eyle scored 12 of his 13 in the fourth quarter, and dealt out five assists. The Eagles made a run on Klickitat as the game wound down, but the Vandals were in no jeopardy of losing, as they built a 19 point lead at the end of three quarters.
     Earlier last week, Klickitat took a shot at Sunnyside Christian and beat them over the final three quarters, but could not overcome a 14 point first half deficit. The final score was 53-41. While the game had no impact on the league standings, it went a long way to prove to the team that they can play with the Knights.
     Sanchey and Jeremy Moss shared the scoring honors for Klickitat with 11 each. Moss also pulled down 10 rebounds and Sanchey had four steals.
     The Lady Vandals found the going more difficult against the Knights, losing 66-26, but they were able to lick their wounds with a convincing 57-44 win over Yakama on Friday.
     The Knights cleared the benches and had 12 players score against Klickitat, as they roared to a 50-7 halftime lead. Klickitat got their points from Kali Linville with 12 and Samantha Brewer with 10.
     That was also the scoring combo for Klickitat against the Eagles, with 13 points from Zoe Lindner to boot. The only down side of the game was a knee injury to Laura Justman, who may miss the playoffs.
     There are two playoff berths available to the Greater Columbia 1B division this year. Playoffs begin at Goldendale on Feb. 13 and continue on Feb. 15 at Zillah. The final spot will be determined in the double elimination tournament, on Saturday, also at Zillah.