Cascade wrestlers find tough competition at state

It was a tough state tournament for Cascade wrestlers. Only senior 145-pounder Daniel Claros made it to the second day. Freshman 106-pounder Juan Carlos Martinez and senior 285-pounder Arthur Drake lost both matches on the first day.
“It was kind of what we expected. Juan Carlos Martinez had a tough tournament. The same with Arthur Drake. All three guys did a good job and tried their best. Daniel Claros was able to move onto the next day and was able to be on the podium. He took eighth,” said Cascade Head Coach Jesus Sandoval.
Drake wrestled a top seed in his first match, Nathan Flores of Forks. He was pinned in the second round. In the consolation match, he wrestled Jonathan Adrewjski of Connell.
“He went into overtime against a wrestler from Connell. It was a really close match,” Sandoval said. “Arthur got desperate in overtime and shot right away, but missed, so the kid went around him and scored.”
Martinez wrestled Andy Fry of Montesano in the first round. Unfortunately, he was pinned in the first round. In consolation, he wrestled Marvin Clamo of Nooksak Valley.
“He stayed with him fairly well until the second round when he got stuck and got pinned,” Sandoval said. “Being a freshman and around all those people, he was really nervous. He told me that. It was a really different atmosphere. I say, you’re a newcomer to state. Just the fact of trying their best, I’m happy with that.”
Claros wrestled Dakota Whitaker of Tenino in the first round. Claros pinned Whitaker in the first round. In the second round, he wrestled Jonathan Sanchez of Mount Baker. Sanchez won 4-1.
In consolation, he wrestled Brent Hollatz of Montesano. Claros won 8-6. The next match Claros wrestled Karsten Jensen of Klahowya. Jensen pinned Claros in the second round.
“The second day he did not have his best day. His bracket was set up in a good way so he could move on. He lost that first match on the second day, which was a big upset. I was positive Danny could win that match. He lost for seventh and eighth,” Sandoval said.
Overall, Sandoval said he’s happy with what he saw.
“We were able to be on the podium again. The last time was Michael Sorensen four years ago. Once you get to state, it’s just a different tournament. Anything can happen there. There were a lot of upsets in many weight classes,” Sandoval said. “Happy to have someone representing Cascade High School on the podium.”
Looking back, Sandoval said he hoped a couple more guys could’ve qualified for state.
“That’s what I had in mind. You have to make it happen to be there. Wrestling is a sport, if you’re not having a good day, you’re going to have an upset,” Sandoval said. “Our goal was to have some guys represent us at state. We did. One of our goals was to win league. Unfortunately, Chelan took it again, but we were right there with them.”
The program is doing well, he said, and people can see that.
“We are making progress and that is what matters to me. If we keep working, eventually we’ll have good results. I’m hoping all the kids I had this year can stick with it,” Sandoval said. “I think we also need work with the younger kids, middle school, youth wrestling club. It will be tough to be successful if we don’t start with the younger kids.”
Sandoval wants to establish a program for the little kids, so when they go from middle school to high school, they are ready to compete for state as freshman.
Ian Dunn can be reached at 548-5286 or editor@leavenworthecho.com.