Down double figures multiple times on Tuesday night proved to be too much to overcome for the Warriors, falling to Columbia White Salmon 69-57 in a Class 1A District 4 pigtail contest at White Salmon High School.
At one point, Rochester cut the margin to six with three-and-a-half minutes left in regulation. The size and athleticism overwhelmed a youthful Warriors club. Still, they made it to the district tournament and head coach Caleb Sells left the gym with plenty of pride.
“Kids (fought) and as a coach, you can’t ask for a better complement than that,” Sells said. “We played a good game, executed well.”
Tyson Canales finished with a game-high 25 points and Clayton Knutson added 16 while Emmitt Mancuso chipped in nine. The Warriors (3-18) say goodbye to three seniors in Le’Shawn Hines, Devin Gravett and Zander Miller.
The freshmen group of Canales, Knutson, Peter Hayden, Owen Driver and Marshall Turnquist are expected to anchor the 2026-27 Rochester roster.
“The future is definitely exciting,” Sells said. “They were forced to grow up a lot. By the last three-to-four weeks, they were playing like sophomores. Too bad our season is ending now.”
