Staff photo by E.J. HarrisPendleton's Jamal Vann wrestles Summit's Nick Giesler in the 220 pound weight class Friday at the district tournament in Hermiston.

HERMISTON — The Hermiston Bulldogs road to a fifth-straight wrestling state championship began on Friday, as they hosted the Class 5A District 4 wrestling tournament at The Dawg House.

After Day 1 of the tournament, the Bulldogs find themselves in second place with 147.0 points — just one point behind Redmond at 148.0 points and ahead of Mountain View at 127.0 points. Hermiston coach Kyle Larson said he liked the effort his team put forth on Friday.

“I think our guys are wrestling real well,” he said. “We’ve got a few upsets today … it’s awesome when you get wins like that because it’ll get those guys fired up and that snowballs into everybody else and gets them fired up to wrestle above their potential.”

Hermiston finished the day with 19 of their 23 wrestlers still alive in the bracket, 15 of which will wrestle today in the semifinal round which is the highest total in the district. The Bulldogs are doubled up five weight classes in the semifinals, including Alice Todryk and Ruben Madrigal at 106, Adrian Tuia and Wade Kirkpatrick at 145, Valen Wyse and Julio Leiva at 170, Corey Mason and Kenny Bevan at 220, and Beau Blake and Emilio Landin at 285.

Larson said he was especially fired up for Mason on Friday, as his win by fall over Pendleton’s Jamal Vann was redemption for Mason, who lost to Vann in the Bulldogs and Buckaroos’ dual match last week.

“That’s awesome to see when guys redeem themselves with wins like that,” Larson said.

Hermiston senior CJ Hendon was perhaps the most impressive Bulldog on Friday, as he won both of his matches by fall and in lightning-quick fashion. He pinned Pendleton’s John Swaggart in 33 seconds and then Ridgeview’s Rogan Prescott in 36 seconds.

All in all, Hermiston won 17 matches by fall, which meant a lot of bonus points in the standings for Hermiston.

“I think the reason we are where we are right now is because our guys are going out there and getting pins and bonus points,” Larson said, “not just going for decisions. And when we’re not getting pins, a lot of them are getting major decisions and all of those bonus points just keep adding up for us.”

The Pendleton Buckaroos had a solid day on the mats, as they currently sit No. 4 in the standings with 84.5 points and still have 17 of the 24 wrestlers competing on Day 2. However, only four of those 17 are in the semifinal round — Alex Rendon at 132, Jeff Kovach at 138, and both Morgan Holcomb and Scott Chambers at 160.

Kovach and Holcomb were the stars of the day for Pendleton, with Kovach winning by a 20-5 technical fall and by a pin at the 4:42 mark, and Holcomb won both of his matches with quick pins.

Pendleton has 13 wrestlers competing in the consolation bracket today, as they are still gunning for a shot at qualifying for the state tournament. Those 13 wrestlers could also be big for Pendleton in the team standings, earning the Buckaroos plenty of points to gain some ground on third place Mountain View who has 127 points as well as getting some breathing room from Bend (80.5 points) and Hood River Valley (65.5).

Action resumes today at the Dawg House with semifinals starting at 10 a.m. and then consolation bracket action picks up at 2 p.m. The fifth/sixth place matches and third/fourth place matches then follow at 4-4:30 p.m., and then the championship matches will start at approximately 5:30 p.m.

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5A Special District 4

Team Standings – Day 1

1. Redmond 148.0

2. Hermiston 147.0

3. Mtn. View 127.0

4. Pendleton 84.5

5. Bend 80.5

6. Hood River 65.5

7. Summit 64.5

8. Ridgeview 34.0

9. The Dalles 4.0