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Martinez opens season with Mars title
Kurtis J. Wood/sports@qvpr.com
Gabriel Martinez won his match in Warden and won the Bob Mars Classic last Saturday in Kennewick.
It might be too early to tell who is heading to the Tacoma Dome, but it is not too early to tell Gabe Martinez is on a mission.
The junior is already 4-0 on the season after opening the year with a win in Warden and a title at the 2011 Bob Mars Tournament in Kennewick in the 106-pound class.
In his match in Warden, Martinez built a 12-2 first-period lead before pinning the Cougar wrestler at the three-minute, 20-second mark of the second round. He is a steak and pototo type wrestler, who used a half nelson for the pin.
“Basics win matches,” Martinez said. “That’s how I placed at state - nothing fancy.”
He carried that momentum into Saturday with a pair of pins in the second and third rounds to reach the title match. His first fall was against Kamiakin’s Tyler Almaguer in the second round and the second pin was in the third over Trey Long of Moses Lake. In the finals, he faced Manny Martinez of Othello and won 3-0.
Martinez was not the only placer in Kennewick. Christian Alejandrez placed third, Antonio Melendez was fifth and Uriel Heras was sixth.
Alejandrez (113) picked up two pins over Brice Julian of Kennewick and Eduardo Rodriguez of Wapato, before falling to eventual champion Chris Montelongo of Chiawana 7-0. He took third after a 7-2 decision against Othello’s Anthony Barrera.
Melendez (170) had an 8-3 win over Michael Etherton of Kennewick, but fell to eventual champion Cruz Del Angel of Kiona-Benton 23-6. He bounced back with a 1-0 win over Edwin Gastulem of Richland and placed fifth with a pin over Alfredo Ramirez of Chiawama in the third round.
Heras (132) opened with a 14-3 major decision over Jacob Norton of Southridge, but fell to Brandon Gonzalez of Chiawana 8-5. Heras came back with a 7-0 win over David Marquez of Wenatchee and a 4-2 win over Anthony Barajas of Moses Lake. He took sixth after losing to Matt McCallum of Kiona-Benton 7-3.
Warden 49, Quincy 25
The Cougars had two returning state champions and four other state placers in the lineup last Friday. The Jacks might have lost the match, but won some key battles in the middle - especially at 132 pounds.
That big win came from Heras. The senior was pitted against returning state champion JP Martinez. For more than two periods, it looked as though Martinez was going to win, as he built a 6-2 lead. But Heras never quit and found his opening toward the end of the match. After pulling within 6-4, Martinez got an escape for a three-point lead. Throughout the match, Heras was contemplating new moves, but passed up on each opportunity. Then he just went for the win in the final few seconds.
“I was thinking of moves I wanted to try,” he said. “But I didn’t think I could do them.
“The final move I tried was when I was down by three. So I went for a head and arm and caught him.”
He was awarded the pin one second before the buzzer at 5:59.
“We knew we were going to have tough matches, because they are really good and placed at state last year,” Heras said.
Warden 49, Quincy 25
182- p. Steven Gomez, 3rd. 195-Adam Hansen (W) p. Ian Allen 2:55. 285-Matthew Deleon (W) p. Diego Garcia, 1st. 106-Martinez (Q) p. n/a 2nd. 113-Alejandrez (Q) p. n/a, 2nd. 120-Javier Tapia (W) p. John Lindquist, 2nd. 126-n/a (W) d. Hector Avalos, 8-3. 132-Heras (Q) p. Martinez, 3rd. 138-Gerry Benitez (Q) d. n/a, 3-0. 145-Isais Jiminez (Q) md. n/a, 12-4. 152-n/a (W) p. Andy Vargas, 2nd. 160-n/a (W) md. Cade Wallace, 13-4. Hector Camacho (W) p. Meldendez, 3rd.
