The Grays Harbor College women’s wrestling team was well represented in the latest national rankings.
The Chokers are ranked No. 4 in the most recent Team USA Wrestling Community College National Rankings, as voted on by community college coaches.
Eight Chokers are ranked nationally in their respective weight classes, led by sophomores Tatum Pine (136) and Quinn Lacy (235), who both earned national No. 1 rankings.
Pine is a two-time All-American and last season’s runner-up at the Junior College National Championships.
Lacy is also a two-time All-American and was the runner-up at the 2020 NWCA National Championships.
Grays Harbor’s Grace Miller (143) and Sila Fotu (235) were ranked No. 2 in their weight classes while freshman and former Aberdeen standout Justice Valenzuela (190) is ranked 11th.
Defending community college national champion Indian Hills (Iowa) is ranked No. 1 as a team with Umpqua (Oregon) and Big Bend (Washington) rounding out the top three.
The full rankings can be found at teamusa.org/USA-Wrestling/Features/2021/December/09/Community-college-womens-rankings.
Grays Harbor individual rankings are as follows:
101 — Leilani Samoy (Kahuku, HI), No. 3
109 — Maryum Ajaz (Windsor, Ontario, Canada), No. 6
116 — Alexis Rivera (Post Falls, ID), No. 9
130 — Marissa Riojas (Toppenish, WA), No. 4
130 — Dallas Gomez (Las Vegas, NV), No. 6
136 — Tatum Pine (Las Vegas, NV), No. 1
143 — Grace Miller (Hood River, OR), No. 2
143 — Jocelyn Fierro (Gilroy, CA), No. 5
143 — Andrea Jones (Toledo, WA), No. 7
190 — Justice Valenzuela (Aberdeen, WA), No. 11
235 — Quinn Lacey (Shelton, WA), No. 1
235 — Sila Fotu (Farrington, HI), No. 2
PREP BOYS BASKETBALL
Castle Rock 50, Montesano 49
Montesano nearly pulled off an improbable comeback in a 50-49 loss to Castle Rock on Wednesday at Castle Rock High School.
The Bulldogs (0-5 overall) rallied from down 15 points to hold a 3-point lead with less than two minutes to go in the game, but turnovers and missed opportunities led to a one-point loss down the stretch.
Montesano fell behind early after what Bulldogs head coach Mike Stoddard dubbed “a bad start,” falling behind 10-0 to open the game and trailing 21-9 by the end of the first quarter.
But behind offensive performances from senior forward Caydon Lovell and sophomore forward Tyce Peterson, Montesano began to crawl back into the game and cut the Rockets lead to 30-21 by halftime.
The Bulldogs defense held Castle Rock to 20 points in the second half, one point less than Montesano scored in a fourth-quarter rally that saw the Bulldogs briefly take the lead before the Rockets pulled away in the end.
“We’re really proud of them,” Stoddard said of his team. “They battled back, never gave up and learned a lot about themselves. They showed themselves that they can compete in this district.”
Lovell — Monte’s only senior on the roster — led the way with 14 points and nine rebounds.
Peterson scored 11 for the Bulldogs with sophomore forward Camden Taylor leading Monte with nine rebounds.
Montesano guard Jaxson Wilson and Christian Olson led Monte with five assists apiece.
Montesano hosts La Center at 7 p.m. on Friday.
Montesano 9 12 7 21 — 49
Castle Rock 21 9 10 10 — 50
Chief Leschi 74, Raymond 64
Raymond dropped its second consecutive league game with a 74-64 loss to Chief Leschi on Wednesday in Raymond.
Raymond (2-2, 1-2 2B Pacific) held a six point lead after one quarter but a lack of defensive urgency was ultimately its undoing, according to Seagulls head coach Derek Rask.
“I thought we came out strong in the first (quarter). We were executing defensively and challenging Leshi’s shooters,” Rask said. “We let up defensively the rest of the game, which was disappointing. (The Warriors) played really hard defensively and that was the difference in the game.”
Chief Leschi (5-0, 2-0) outscored Raymond 49-28 in the second and third quarters combined.
Morgan Anderson led Raymond with 29 points.
Tre’ Seydel scored 19 points and grabbed eight rebounds for Raymond.
Raymond faces Forks at 7 p.m. on Friday in Forks.
Raymond 15 16 12 19 — 62
Chief Leschi 9 24 25 16 — 74
Northwest Christian 53, South Bend 34
South Bend dropped its third league game of the season with a 53-34 loss to Northwest Christian on Wednesday in Lacey.
South Bend (1-3, 0-3 2B Pacific) shot 13-for-51 (26%) from the field and was led by sophomore Branson Williams, who had a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds.
Ty Reidinger added nine points and eight rebounds while Jacob Carlson scored four points and had nine rebounds for South Bend.
South Bend committed 18 turnovers in the game.
Other scores
Prep Girls Basketball
Tumwater 75, Aberdeen 37