Ilwaco head coach Eric McMillan draws up a play during a timeout against Ocosta.

Ilwaco junior high wrestling

The middle school Rain Belt Western Division Championship was held Saturday, Dec. 14 at Ilwaco Gymnasium, where hundreds of youth wrestlers in grades 6, 7 and 8 representing 11 schools participated during the day-long tournament.

Ilwaco earned a team championship for the junior high girls, led by:

***(7th grade) Olivia Eakin 1st place 100lbs***

**(7th grade) Hazel Minerd 2nd place 110lbs**

**(8th grade) Aila Soule 2nd place 115lbs**

The Ilwaco boys junior team finished as runners-up as a team to the champions Willapa Harbor — a combination of Raymond, South Bend and Willapa Valley. Rainier was third place. Individual Ilwaco boys junior high place winners included:

*(6th grade) Dakota Duffy 3rd place 75lbs*

*(8th grade) Dean Schauer 3rd place 85lbs*

***(7th grade) Emron Semeli 1st place 105lbs***

**(7th grade) Waylon McCafferty 2nd place 125lbs**

**(8th grade) Liam DeConto 2nd place 130lbs**

**(8th grade) Jayden Crawford 2nd place 140lbs**

**(8th grade) Christian Meza 2md place 180lbs**

*(8th grade) Sterling Lake 3rd place 190lbs*

***(8th grade) 1st place Byron Petit heavyweight***

“They did do well overall, we have a lot of kids who I believe have bright futures in the sport,” said Ilwaco youth wrestling coach Jerry Matzen III. “Taking first place as a team for girls and second as a team for boys, I’m very pleased with the performance. This is a team that didn’t have a lot of prior experience.”

Among the participating schools in the season-ending tournament were Ilwaco, Willapa Valley, Pe Ell, Rainier, Onalaska, Mossyrock, Ocosta, North Beach, Adna, Winlock and Toledo.

Ilwaco varsity wrestling

The Ilwaco boys wrestling squad took to the mats in Warrenton Saturday, placing fourth out of 10 teams.

Wade Smith (165 pounds), Ezekiel Sanches (132) and Mark Ragan (138) led the way with second-place finishes.

Blake Bell (106), Claudio Mendez (144) and Marcus Lynch (215) placed third in their divisions. Colten Vandermeulen was fourth at 106.

Up next: The Fishermen will travel to Astoria Dec. 18 and Nestucca, Ore., Dec. 21.

Ilwaco boys basketball

A short-handed Fishermen basketball team was held to their lowest point total in four years in a 53-37 loss to Ocosta on Wednesday (Dec. 11), dropping the Fishermen to 0-2 on the season.

Ilwaco, playing without starting guard Jacob Gordon, struggled to find an offensive rhythm in the first two periods, trailing 24-18 at the half. It would be as close as the Fishermen would come, as the Wildcats pulled away for a 16-point win over the final two periods. Ocosta senior Kayden Turner scored a game-high 20 points, including five three-pointers.

The last time the Fishermen were held to 37 points or less was a 63-35 loss to Toutle Lake in 2020.

Up next: Ilwaco (0-2) will host Warrenton on Saturday, Dec. 21.

Naselle girls basketball

The Naselle girls basketball team climbed to 4-1 overall, including winning three of their four games games last week.

After holding off Ilwaco 65-59 on Monday for the Bear River Belt, Naselle (4-1) beat Mary M. Knight 48-19 on Tuesday, then lost a non-league game to Raymond/South Bend 67-49 on Thursday before topping Taholah 36-30 on Friday, giving Naselle sole possession of first place in the 1B Columbia Valley League at 2-0 and completing an early-season gauntlet for the Comets.

“The first quarter was flat by both teams,” said Naselle coach Marie Green following the narrow 36-30 win over Taholah on Thursday. “No one could really buy a bucket. But after a slow start, we kept moving along and found some rhythm.”

Aubrey Katyryniuk scored a game-high 17 points for Naselle, followed by Brianna Johnson with eight.

“This was the girls’ fourth game this week and all of them were tough,” continued Green. “But the girls showed that they could still play even when tired. I could not be more proud of how well the girls have played in the last eight days.”

Up next: Naselle (4-1) will next travel to Willapa Valley Thursday, Dec. 19.

Naselle boys basketball

The Naselle boys basketball team tipped off their season with an impressive 68-47 league victory over Taholah on Friday, Dec. 13.

“Really a team effort,” said Naselle head coach Bill Olsen. “Leith Chadwick played well in his first varsity start. Trajon Ford played his best game as a Comet [and] the two juniors came up big for us! Jack Strange was close to a triplet-double with 10 points, 9 rebounds and 8 assists, and Jacob Lindstrom coming off a football injury was solid with 16 points and 11 rebounds. This was a league game for us.”

Up next: Naselle (1-0) will travel to Chief Leschi on Wednesday, Dec. 18 before returning home for key league clash with Willapa Valley on Friday, Dec. 20.

Raymond/South Bend boys basketball

The Raymond/South Bend boys basketball team slipped to 0-3 on the season after losing to Elma 67-62 and King’s Way Christian 76-43 last week.

Up next: Raymond/South Bend (0-3) will travel to take on Crescent on Monday, Dec. 23.

Raymond/South Bend girls basketball

After a season-opening setback to Napavine, the Raymond/South Bend girls basketball team has reeled off three straight wins, including Elma (58-27), Toledo (58-24) and Naselle (76-49), improving to 3-1 overall on the season.

Up next: Raymond/South Bend (3-1) will host Toutle Lake on Wednesday, Dec. 18.

Willapa Valley boys basketball

The Willapa Valley boys basketball team rebounded from close, back-to-back early-season losses to CAA (51-50) and Hoquiam (53-51) by winning three straight games last week, including Wahkiakim (54-51), North Beach (74-39) and Pe Ell (56-30), climbing to 3-2 overall on the season.

Up next: Willapa Valley (3-2) will travel to take on Naselle on Friday, Dec. 20.

Willapa Valley girls basketball

The Willapa Valley girls basketball team evened their season record (2-2) after splitting their games last week, including beating Mary M. Knight (43-35) and losing to Pe Ell 51-28.

Up next: Willapa Valley (2-2) will host Naselle on Thursday, Dec. 19.