The Cashmere Bulldogs boys wrestling team delivered an impressive performance Saturday at day two of the District 5 Tournament at Connell High School, finishing second overall with 315 team points behind district champion Wapato Wolves. With the top seven finishers in each weight class earning state berths, Cashmere will send 13 wrestlers to the Mat Classic, set for Feb. 20-21 at the Tacoma Dome.
The Bulldogs crowned four District 5 champions, all juniors.
At 165 pounds, Jance Novak dominated the bracket. The defending state champion recorded first-round falls in both the quarterfinals and semifinals before earning a technical fall in the championship match. Novak will be aiming for his second consecutive state title next weekend.
Mack Pell captured the 126-pound district title with a commanding performance. After pinning his quarterfinal opponent in the first round, Pell won by technical fall in the semifinals and secured the championship with a major decision. Pell finished second at state last season.
Marshall Pell was equally dominant at 132 pounds, winning all four of his matches — two by fall and two by technical fall — to claim the district championship. He placed fourth at state last year.
Grey Jacobson rounded out the Bulldogs’ champions at 190 pounds. Jacobson pinned every opponent he faced, including a first-round fall in the championship match over Maverick Myers of Zillah, avenging an earlier-season loss. Jacobson finished fifth at state last season and will look to improve on that mark at the Dome.
Several Bulldogs earned third-place finishes. Freshman Kolton Weeks placed third at 144 pounds in his first district tournament, going 5-1 and defeating several experienced upperclassmen along the way.
Sophomore Jacoby Tait, who placed third at state last season, finished third at 190 pounds. He went 3-1, with all three victories coming by first-round pin. His lone loss was to teammate Jacobson in the semifinals.
Junior Zennon Cortes battled back from an early loss to place third at 175 pounds. After falling in the quarterfinals to Jack Bohlke of Naches Valley, Cortes won four straight matches, including a third-round pin over Bohlke in the third-place rematch, finishing 5-1 in the tournament.
Junior Ulysses Betancourt also placed third at 285 pounds. After receiving a bye into the quarterfinals and dropping his opening match, Betancourt won five consecutive matches to secure his podium finish.
At 106 pounds, junior Tony Rodriguez placed fourth overall. He opened the tournament with two pins before battling his way to a fourth-place finish.
Cashmere had several fifth-place finishers as well. Sophomore Zavien Eaves went 4-2 at 126 pounds to qualify for state. Junior Kaiden Huber placed fifth at 138 pounds, compiling a 4-2 record with two technical falls, a pin, and a 10-3 decision in the fifth-place match.
Junior Logan Lindsay finished fifth at 144 pounds with a 4-2 record that included a third-round pin in the fifth-place match. Senior Andrew Ratliff also placed fifth at 157 pounds, going 4-2 with a first-round pin in his final match to secure his state berth.
Sophomore Kenyon Shabazz placed eighth at 138 pounds and will serve as a state alternate.
Overall, it was a strong showing for Cashmere, which will look to build on last season’s fifth-place team finish at the Mat Classic when competition begins next Friday in Tacoma.
