WENATCHEE — The Moses Lake Chiefs made it out of the regular season as the team to beat in the Columbia Basin Big Nine.

They’re still the team to beat.

The CBBN Columbia Division champs added another accolade Saturday, beating out Wenatchee for the Class 4A district title in the Panthers’ home gym.

Moses Lake scored 316.5 points by advancing nine wrestlers into the finals, five of which brought home titles. The Panthers, whose only regular season loss came against the Chiefs, had five finalists and three champions to score 277 points.

“(The Chiefs) have good wrestlers. There’s not much you can do about it,” said Wenatchee wrestler Nick Hunt, who won the 152-pound championship.

“Wenatchee has been coming at us all season, and we wouldn’t have expected anything less,” Moses Lake coach Jamie Wise said. “We pushed more into the finals, and that was big.”

Richland was third in the team standings with 154 points, followed by Pasco (131) and Kennewick (122). Eastmont and Southridge tied for sixth with 120 points each.

In addition to Hunt, Brian Nygard (171 pounds) and Jacob Sealby (189 pounds) won their repsective weights for the Panthers.

“Three champions — you can’t complain about that,” Wenatchee coach Ed Valdez said.

Hunt earned a 4-2 decision over Pasco’s Cody Rush in the finals.

“Once I got a takedown, I knew I just had to wrestle smart,” Hunt said. “When you get the first takedown in a match, you should always win that match. In front of a home crowd, during my senior year, my last time in this gym, there was no way I was losing this match.”

Sealby thwarted several escape and reversal attempts to shut out Walla Walla’s Eric Eastman 4-0 in the 189-pound final.

“I knew (Eastman) was going to be tough, so I just tried to stay in position,” Sealby said. “(Once I got a lead), I just tried to ride him and not get a stall call.”

Nygard was all business after outlasting Kamiakin’s Giovanni Pina 3-2 in the title match.

“It’s time to focus on regionals now,” he said.

Wenatchee’s Lucas Sealby lost a rough-and-tumble match

9-5 to Moses Lake’s Brian Chamberlain in the 215-pound finals, and Chief Nico Moreno took a 15-2 major decision over Panther 140-pounder Hilario Farias in the title round.

Wenatchee qualified 12 wrestlers for next weekend’s regional tournament, including third-place finishers Joe Cordes (112), Justin Valdez (145), and Dakota Long (160).

“We wrestled well. We didn’t win the tournament, but I think gained a little bit towards our real goal (of advancing wrestlers to Mat Classic),” Ed Valdez said. “We just have to keep improving.”

Eastmont was led by Josh Alvarez, who lost a 7-0 decision to Moses Lake’s David Peralez in the 125-pound final.

“(Alvarez) really wrestled well. His takedowns have been really clean,” Eastmont coach Ken Hoyt said.

Three other Wildcat wrestlers — Jacob Martinez (third, 285 pounds), Johnny Martinez (fourth, 215 pounds), and Joey Caron (fifth, 171 pounds) — qualified for regionals.

Class 1A

Cashmere won the most battles Saturday, but Omak won the war. The Bulldogs had four individual district champions, but that wasn’t enough to dethrone the defending champion Pioneers, who scored 295.5 points for the district championship.

Cashmere was second at 258, and Tonasket was third with 231. Tonasket and fourth-place finisher Chelan each had three individual district champions.

Omak sent eight wrestlers to the championship match in their respective weight classes, but only two — Dylan Green at 189 and Jordan Velasco at 215 — came away with victories.

With the exception of Chelan slipping from second to fourth, the order of finish this year was the same as the order a year ago.

Class 2A

Othello won the district team title with 300 points, easily outdistancing second place Selah, which had 242.5.

Quincy’s Manny Ybarra was a district champion at 130 pounds.

Class 1B/2B

Oroville won just two individual titles on Saturday, but that was also enough for a district championship. The Hornets scored 180 points to beat second-place Liberty Bell (142.5) and third-place Selkirk (139).