Ilwaco girls wrestling

Womack earns district wrestling crown

Two will wrestle at state; two are alternates

MONTESANO — Had there been a podium at district wrestling, Bailey Womack would have stood on top of it.

The Ilwaco sophomore won the championship at 135 pounds and will advance to the WIAA 2B state tournament at the Tacoma Dome Friday.

Traveling with her will be classmate Lylla Carlile, who placed sixth at 100 pounds. Two alternates will be Keowah Iyall at 110 and Ophelia Wise at 115, who placed ninth in their weight classes.

“Not everything turned out the way I had hoped as the season nears the end. However, I couldn’t be more proud of the girls,” said head coach Frank Womack.

“The finals match was the match of the day for sure against rival Riley Tjepkema from Forks,” he said. Bailey Womack scored the only points in the first round with what her coach called “a perfect takedown,” then won with a pin in the second.

Carlile’s success pleased the coach, too. “As a first-year wrestler, she has continued to show growth and determination,” Womack said.

Iyall has also impressed. “As a second-year athlete, she has come a long way and has 16 victories for her senior year. I wish we had one more year with her on the team,” the coach said.

Wise, another sophomore, has racked up 17 wins this season. “Once again as a second-year athlete she has come so far, and I’m looking forward to having her back next year,” Womack added.

The tournament saw the end to three team members’ seasons. Kaylee Anderson at 110 and Dalilah Leibham at 120 placed 10th. Second-year wrestler Anderson also had 17 season wins while Leibham, in her first year, had eight. Newcomer Halle Manning, who wrestled at 130, had to scratch because of an injury in practice. But she attended the meet and supported her teammates. “It was a major bummer for us as Halle has really started to fine tune her skills,” said the coach.

Last year was the first time the Fishermen girls fielded enough athletes to form a team; Womack and Angel Salas advanced the furthest, concluding their seasons at the 2024 district meet. Previously IHS girls have wrestled as individuals; the last district champion was Serena Kuhn, who went to state as a senior in 2020. Kuhn has been an assistant coach with the squad for the past two years.

Naselle wrestling

Baines pins three, secures state qualification

MONTESANO — Coach Chris Wood called Saturday “a great day in Naselle history.”

Three freshmen wrestlers in their first season traveled to the district meet at Montesano, looking for a chance to advance to state.

Pania Baines had three pins and one loss to place third in the 190-pound division and secure her place in the bracket at the WIAA 1B/2B state championships at the Tacoma Dome this Friday.

Classmates Seven Tucker and Cheyenne Engelson wrestle in the same 135 division. They found themselves facing each other at the beginning of the day, with Engelson emerging with the win. Later, they wrestled again for the ninth-place alternate spot at state and Tucker prevailed.

Last fall, student-athletes and parents asked the Naselle-Grays River School Board to restart the wrestling program. Junior Jason Gardner, also in his first year on the mat, qualified for state last week.

Ilwaco boys basketball

The Ilwaco Fishermen basketball team lost to Toledo 72-38 in the 2B District 4 playoffs on Feb. 12, sending the Fishermen to a loser-out matchup, where they rebounded with a 49-43 victory over Raymond/South Bend.

In the game against the Ravens, Ilwaco held a slim (15-13) halftime lead.

“It was a defensive affair in the first half,” reflected Ilwaco head coach Eric McMillan.

“Both of our teams struggled to buy a bucket in the half court and really only scored off of the fast break. It took us a little while to get going, but after talking things over at halftime, we were able to find some rhythm in the third quarter.”

In the third, both teams exchanged leads three times before Ilwaco sophomore Chase Cunningham (2) and freshman Haddox Hazen (1) hit back-to-back three pointers, giving the Fishermen a 29-28 lead they would never relinquish.

“We had gotten some good opportunities in the first half on the break, just weren’t as aggressive attacking the basket as we should have been, which we did in the second half,” McMillan said. “Being able to get the ball down the floor and beat RSB back before they could set up their zone defense was huge as we got some easy buckets in transition.”

RSB senior Chris Quintana (4) would finish with a game-high 21 points, his final in a Raven uniform. Joining Quintana are seniors Isaac Schlueter (3), Juan Orozco (10), Nolan Miller (30) and Fernando Jiminez (34).

Ilwaco junior Jacob Gordon (10) finished with a team-high 17 points. Ilwaco junior Dylan Pelas (11) had an astounding 15 rebounds to go with six points.

“It was really a physical and back-and-forth game, but we were able to work the clock a bit with a couple of minutes left and RSB had a couple of fouls to give,” McMillan said.

“Jacob Gordon came up clutch and was able to go 5-for-6 from the free throw line to ice the game. Really proud of our guys for pulling out a hard fought game. Spencer Needham was contesting shots well in the paint, Cooper Petit played some excellent defense and ran the floor well in transition, Dylan Pelas seemed to grab just about every rebound out there, and Jacob Gordon and Chase Cunningham were able to push the ball up the floor and kept RSB on their heels.”

Up next: Ilwaco will face Onalaska in a loser-out district playoff game on Feb. 19 at 7:30 p.m. at Castle Rock High school.

Naselle girls basketball

The Naselle girls basketball team lost to Wahkiakum 50-37 in the opening round of districts on Feb. 12 in Cathlamet.

Up next: Naselle will face Columbia Adventist Academy in a loser-out district playoff matchup on Feb. 18 at 7:30 p.m. at Raymond High School.

Naselle boys basketball

The Naselle boys basketball team lost to Wahkiakum 63-48 in the opening round of districts on Feb. 12 in Cathlamet.

Up next: Naselle will face Oakville in a loser-out district playoff matchup on Feb. 17 at 7:30 p.m. at Raymond High School.

Willapa Valley boys basketball

The Willapa Valley boys basketball team beat Oakville 68-31 in the opening round of the district playoffs on Feb. 12 in Menlo.

Up next: Willapa Valley will next face Wahkiakum on Feb. 17 at 7:30 p.m. at Adna High School, with the winner advancing to the district championship Feb. 22.

Willapa Valley girls basketball

The Willapa Valley girls basketball team edged Oakville 42-39 in the opening round of districts on Feb. 14.

Up next: Willapa Valley advances to face Pe Ell on Feb. 18 at 6 p.m. at Adna High School, with the winner advancing to the district championship on Feb. 22.

Pe Ell girls basketball

The Pe Ell girls basketball team beat Mary M. Knight 55-27 in the opening round of districts on Feb. 14.

Up next: Pe Ell advances to face Willapa Valley on Feb. 18 at 6 p.m. at Adna High School, with the winner advancing to the district championship on Feb. 22.

Pe Ell boys basketball

The Pe Ell boys basketball team lost to Ocosta 50-40 in the opening round of districts on Feb. 12.

Up next: Pe Ell will face Taholah in a loser-out district playoff game Feb. 17 at 6 p.m. at Raymond High School.

Raymond/South Bend girls basketball

The Raymond/South Bend girls basketball team defeated Onalaska 49-45 in their first district game on Feb. 11., advancing to face Rainier on Feb. 18, with the winner moving on to the district championship on Feb. 22.

Up next: Raymond/South Bend will face Rainer Feb. 18 at 7:30 p.m. at Kelso High School.

Raymond/South Bend boys basketball

The Raymond/South Bend boys basketball team’s season came to an end with a 49-43 district playoff loss to Ilwaco on Feb. 15.

The Ravens, who finished the season 9-11 and ranked 31st among the 54 2B teams in the state, will lose five players to graduation, including Chris Quintana (4), Isaac Schlueter (3), Juan Orozco (10), Nolan Miller (30) and Fernando Jiminez (34).