The Evergreen State College wrestling team turned in a strong showing at the Pacific Open on Sunday, Jan. 25, highlighted by a championship performance from sophomore Horacio Godinez.
Godinez captured the title at 141 pounds, leading a group of seven Geoducks who competed at the tournament hosted by Pacific University. Evergreen also saw freshman Alex Fenwick and freshman Cole Torres earn runner-up finishes in their respective weight classes, while junior Hassan Abdi placed fourth.
Godinez cruised through the 141-pound bracket with a perfect 3–0 record. After opening with a bye, he pinned Fermin Carrillo at 1:17 in the quarterfinals, then followed with a dominant 17–1 technical fall over Carter Nix of Clackamas Community College early in the second period. In the championship bout, Godinez sealed the title by pinning Cael Sanders of Umpqua Community College at the 2:23 mark.
With the win, Godinez improved to 29–3 on the season. He has now won three tournaments this year, finished second once, and placed third twice. Godinez is currently ranked No. 19 in the NAIA at 141 pounds.
Fenwick battled his way to a second-place finish at 149 pounds, going 4–1 on the day. He opened the tournament with a 12–9 victory over Joseph Downing of Southwestern Oregon Community College, scoring a late reversal to secure the win. After a quarterfinal loss to unattached wrestler Nico Yazzolino, Fenwick rebounded in the consolation rounds with a pair of falls and a 19–12 decision before pinning Mazon Townsend at 4:09 to claim third place.
Torres also impressed at 184 pounds, earning second place and marking his second top-three finish in as many weeks. He opened with a dramatic comeback pin over Nico Sigrah of Treasure Valley Community College, then advanced with a 22–7 technical fall over Amin Qouchbane of Clackamas CC. Torres dropped his semifinal match before rallying with two more pins in the consolation rounds, including a 51-second fall in the third-place match.
At 157 pounds, Abdi finished fourth after opening with a bye and recording a pin over unattached wrestler Layronz Fraser in the quarterfinals. He fell in the semifinals to Kellen Kolka of Umpqua CC, then bounced back with another pin before dropping the third-place match by major decision.
The Evergreen State College will return to action on Thursday, Feb. 12, hosting a dual match at the Costantino Recreation Center. The match is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m..
