The Dalles competes at Don York wrestling tourney

The Riverhawks, guided by first-year Coach Jacob Abrams, had seven boys grapplers competing but they don’t have anyone on their girls’ team now after senior Maisie Bandel-Ramirez dislocated her collarbone in practice last week. Bandel-Ramirez qualified for the state tournament last year in the 130-pound division. She had a 6-1 record and was focusing on reaching state again this year before her season-ending injury.

“Maisie has her sights set on wrestling in college, so this was a real bummer for her,” said Abrams.

The coach was pleased with his team’s effort at Don York.

“I think this was the best wrestling that we’ve seen out of the team this year,” he said. “It was definitely the toughest tournament of the year with mostly Class 6A and 5A teams. Julian had a tough third-place match with a Pendleton guy, so it was a good meet for him. Harley Scott was looking really good, and he had his best wrestling of the entire season. Freshman Josh Brackenbury (0-2) didn’t win any matches, but he wrestled tough in the 160-pound class.”

In addition to Moorehouse, who is 13-4 this season, the Riverhawks had strong efforts from the freshmen duo of Harley Scott and Alexander De’latorre, and junior Isaiah Salazar. Scott won two-out-of-four matches in the 126-pound class. De’latorre had three consecutive pins in the 160-pound bracket before he suffered an injury and was unable to continue competing. Salazar, a first-year wrestler, went 2-2 and won a match for the first time ever. Another first-year Riverhawk wrestler, Roman Fields (195), also won for the first time.

Of Moorehouse’s performance, Abrams said: “Julian lost to him (Perkins) in a match earlier this season and he almost beat him on Saturday. Julian had him on his back and he had a nice takedown and he wrestled him really tough. It was really exciting seeing Isaiah and Roman get their first wins ever.

“This is definitely a rebuilding year for us and we’re trying to keep all the freshmen and sophomores together training in the offseason. We have a bunch of good eighth graders that will come into the program next year, too, so we’re hoping to have 12 to 13 solid guys that we can compete a little better with next season.”

The Riverhawks will next compete Friday at Forest Grove High School.