Caribou Chatter
Doug Flanagan
Velazquez, CTL grapplers ready for regionals
By Doug Flanagan
Feb. 11, 2011
Cashmere High School senior Roman Velazquez entered this wrestling season with high expectations, and he should have; after all, he did win a state championship last year.
Sure, Velazquez likes to win, which is good, because he’s done a lot of winning over his prep wrestling career. But the prospect of earning medals isn’t his sole motivator.
Velazquez is wired to not accept anything but the absolute best from himself at all times, no matter what he’s doing. As such, his toughest competitor usually isn’t the grappler on the other side of the mat; it’s his own lofty standards.
“He’s a competitive person,” said Cashmere coach Russ Elliott. “He takes a lot of pride in the way he wrestles, and he wants to perform as well as he can every time he goes out there. He wants to win, and he works hard to win.
"He goes out there with a lot of confidence. I’m not sure if he wants to win a state title this year any more or less than he did last year. He’s just looking to do the best he can.”
Velazquez’s efforts have been rewarded this season as the Bulldog grappler has turned in another outstanding campaign. He enters this weekend’s regional tournament with a 30-1 record, with his only loss coming to Ellensburg’s Tyler Coates, who finished sixth in the 2A 160-pound bracket at Mat Classic last year.
Along the way, Velazquez has beaten several former state champions, including Tonasket’s Keegan McCormick and Othello’s Amando DeLeon.
“He’s done a real good job of dealing with the pressure that comes along with being the No. 1 guy,” Elliott said. “He’s in a tough weight bracket (171 pounds). He’s faced a lot of state placers and done really well. It’s easier to wrestle from the underdog spot because when you’re on top, everyone’s gunning for you. He’s exceeded my expectations because he’s just been dominating these kids.”
Velazquez took first place at last weekend’s Caribou Trail League district tournament and will be one of 10 Bulldog wrestlers that will wrestle in Tonasket this weekend.
Ethan Visser (103 pounds), Randall Chipman (135 pounds) and Dillon Miller (140 pounds) joined Velazquez as district champions. Cashmere finished third as a team, behind Omak and Tonasket.
“Dillon is really talented. He’s got all the tools – quickness, speed, technique,” Elliott said. “He’s wrestled well all season, and we look for him to place high at this tournament and hopefully next week (at state). Randall has wrestled all year long as well, and hopefully will continue to do so.”
The six CTL squads will compete with teams from the Northeast A League, which features traditional wrestling powers Riverside, Colville and Lakeside.
“It’s a tough league,” Elliott said. “I don’t know how (we’re going to do). I try not to look at it too closely. It’s going to be a tough battle. We’ve got three seniors (Velazquez, Chipman and Miller) that are pretty solid, but beyond that, you just kind of hope for the best. I think if we wrestle hard, we have a chance to get some guys through.
"We’re not going to be in the running for any kind of team title, so right now we’re trying to get each kid individually in peak shape to compete and try to advance to the state tournament.”
The Pioneers, who won the district team title by a wide margin, are advancing 16 wrestlers to the regional tournament, including district champions Cody Harvill (119 pounds), Michael Huckins (125 pounds), Michael Goble (130 pounds), Brenden Aguilar (145 pounds), Jordan Velasco (215 pounds, last year’s state-runner up) and Brad Ives (285 pounds).
District runner-up Tonasket advances 11 grapplers to regionals, including district champions Jared Stedtfeld (112 pounds) and Dustin Silverthorn (160 pounds), and McCormick, last year’s state champion at 171 pounds who lost to Velazquez in the district finals.
“(Our second-place finish at district) was respectable, but not as good as we were shooting for,” said Tigers coach Dave Mitchell. “We intend to kick butt and take names (at regionals) and get as many guys to state as possible.”
Chelan had to deal with some lineup shuffling at the start of the year due to some injuries and eligibility issues, but was able to gel later in the year to finish fourth at districts and qualify 12 grapplers for the regional tournament.
“For us to have 12 wrestlers with the opportunity to make it on to state exceeds all of my expectations,” said Goats coach Jay McGuffin. “I am very happy with how competitive we were (at the district tournament). No one gave up or gave in. Everyone pushed the pace and used their physical shape as an advantage when the match came down to the wire.”
Two of Chelan’s 12 qualifiers are district champions, the squad’s captains – Jorge Villasenor (152 pounds) and Cole Schwartz (189 pounds).
“Jorge has put himself in a good situation by being No. 1 seed in regionals,” McGuffin said. “I know what his goals are for the year, and let me tell you, they don’t end at regionals.
“Cole’s district championship didn’t come as easy as Jorge’s did, but it was just as rewarding. Cole got down early to Dylan Green (in the 189-pound district title match), but he did not give up or give in. Cole stayed patient, waited for his opportunity, and boom, he scored a two-point takedown in the third period to take a one-point lead. Cole, knowing that he needed to ride Green out for the win, did just that and secured the district title.”
Okanogan is sending four wrestlers to Tonasket, and Cascade qualified one.
