QUINCY VALLEY POST-REGISTER |
PARTNERS |
AFFILIATED SITES |
|||
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
Copyright 2008 World Publishing Company. All rights reserved. |
|||||
Silvas emerging for Quincy grapplers
At the beginning of the season, Quincy High School wrestling coach Manny Ybarra thought that Tim Silvas could be a major force for the Jackrabbits in his senior year.
"Timmy is not going to surprise just some people, but last year's state placers," Ybarra told the Post-Register in early November. "He's aggressive and he's a senior."
So far, Silvas has done exactly what Ybarra thought he would do. In doing so, Silvas has provided depth to a squad that looks primed to contend for a Central Washington Athletic Conference championship.
After winning the 125-pound bracket at the Cheney Invitational last weekend, Silvas ran his season record to 12-1. At the tournament, Silvas beat Kenny Sanders of Ellensburg, who took fourth place in last year's Mat Classic at 125 pounds, and Deer Park's Drew Acorn, the defending 103-pound state champion, in the title match.
Silvas' potential to thrive has been limited over the past couple of seasons due to injuries, but it appears as if all of the hard work he's put in to improve on the mats is paying off.
"Silvas has always been good, but he's always been hurt," Ybarra said. "I am not knocking football, because I have been a football guy in the past. But he kept getting hurt in football, and as a result he hasn't been able to wrestle. This year, he decided not to play football so that he wouldn't get hurt, and he's been healthy so far. We're crossing our fingers.
"He's beat (several) guys that are ranked in state or took state last year. That's a measuring stick for him. He's been a big surprise to a lot of people because they aren't that familiar with him."
One of the nice things about Silvas is that he's shown he can be versatile — he's done well when Ybarra has chosen to wrestle him in the 130-pound bracket.
Silvas went on a family vacation in late December and missed tournaments in Cashmere and Vashon Island. The Jacks are certainly glad to have him back.
• Apparently it's not just the Quincy boys basketball team playing close games; last Saturday, the total margin of victory in the four CWAC contests was 14 points.
The close games are definitely a sign of league-wide parity; that parity is evident in the league standings — Toppenish is on top at 5-1, followed by Wapato at 4-1, Prosser at 3-2 and a whopping six other teams right behind at 3-3.
"There won't be anybody that runs away with our league this year," said Quincy head coach Wade Petersen. "It'll be pretty nip-and-tuck all the way to the end, I think, for everybody."
There are a couple of reasons why the league might be so even this season. First of all, defending state champion Ephrata got an unlucky break when it learned that junior Patrick Simon would miss the entire season with a foot injury. The 6-foot-8 Simon, who has verbally committed to Washington State, probably would've been the league's best player this year. With him, the Tigers might have already established themselves as the league's elite team. Without him, they've been brought back to the pack a bit.
Secondly, a lot of the teams in the CWAC play similar styles. They don't feature a lot of height, so they rely on outside shooting and their transition games for points. If teams are playing similar styles of basketball, a lot of the time the outcome of the game comes down to which team can execute late in the fourth quarter and avoid killer turnovers. That's been the case so far this season.
Kudos to the Jacks, though, for posting their second blowout win of the season last Friday, a 62-40 victory over winless East Valley. That was a game Quincy needed to have, but more importantly, it put a team away decisively when it had the chance. The Jacks weren't showing that finisher's mentality consistently earlier in the season.
Quincy has two key games this weekend — on Friday it hosts Wapato, and Saturday the Jacks host rival Ephrata.
• OK, so the results of the Quincy girls basketball team's games from last weekend look ugly. There's really no getting around that. That's the bad news. The good news is that the Lady Jacks are still in decent position in the league standings — at 2-4, they sit in seventh place in the CWAC — and their schedule is due to ease up just a bit in the coming weeks. Quincy has already played league-leading Prosser (5-0), the favorite to win the league title; East Valley (5-1), a traditionally strong program; and an improved Othello (4-2) squad.
This weekend, Quincy takes on Wapato (3-2) on Friday and Ephrata (3-3) on Saturday. If the Lady Jacks can rebound and post a couple of wins, they're going to jump a notch or two in the standings and put the two losses from last weekend in their distant memories.
Contact Doug Flanagan at reporter@qvpr.com or through Facebook:
Doug Flanagan's Profile
Create Your Badge
COMMENTS
B13:
Silvas does have great potential. Hopefully he can finally stay healthy. Initially when I found out that he went to Mexico for two weeks with his family I was worried he would lose some important mat time. However, in retrospect, maybe it will end up being a good thing cause the time off might be the very thing that keeps him healthy. Other than health Silvas needs to remain aggressive and smart. If I remember right there have been times when he has resorted to freestyle throws (one of which cost him a win) where it was ill advised and inappropriate given the score and time in some matches. The best wrestlers are not always the most physically gifted, but more often than not, think well when they're tired and under pressure (Probably the defining difference between a champion and a good competitor in most if not all sports). If he stays smart and disciplined the sky is the limit. If I had to put money on it, Silvas is one of three guys on the team that have a legitimate shot at a state title this season. Good Luck Timmy! Leave it all on the mat!
