Three weeks into the wrestling season, Sweet Home is 8-8 in dual meets, which is not a position the Huskies are accustomed to find themselves in.
But Coach Steve Thorpe said he’s not overly concerned by what appears to be a slow start, particularly after watching his team beat two top 5A schools at an eight-team dual tournament at Lebanon last week.
“We wrestled pretty good at times,” he said. “For still not being at full strength, we got to look at some improvements we’re making.”
Sweet Home opened at Lebanon by beating Eagle Point, the No. ___-ranked 5A team in the state, 54-24 Tuesday, Dec. 20, then followed that up with a 52-25 win over Hood River, before falling 41-30 to Crook County and 48-27 to Cascade. On Wednesday, the Huskies fell 37-33 to Lebanon and 52-21 to Dallas, both ranked among the top teams at the 5A level, before beating Sprague 44-31.
Tyler Cowger, wrestling mostly at 152 pounds, finished 7-0 for the Huskies.
“His consistency is pretty good right now,” Thorpe said of the junior. “He’s wrestling hard, training hard, and the results are coming out in successes he’s having on the mat.”
Freshman 106-pounder Tyler Schilling went 6-1, his only loss a technical fall to Crook County’s Trayton Libolt, to whom Schilling had lost 7-6 in the Huskies’ first tournament of the year three weeks ago. Thorpe said the youngster “just got down early and panicked.”
On the other end, junior Zach Gill also went 6-1 at heavyweight, losing only to Cascade’s Caylan Stark in a match that included an “illegal” head butt and a stalling call against Gill, Thorpe said, but also pinned Manny Valdovinos of Eagle Point, the No. 1-ranked 5A heavyweight in the state.
“We’re still waiting for some experienced people to hit their stride, but we’re getting different people to step up,” he said. “Zach Gill had a good tournament. Justin Nicholson is wrestling well. Raul Hernandez won a couple of matches and he’s improving.
“David Skeen is spotting weight (at 220), wrestling up at that position very unselfishly for the team. He wrestles hard every time. Dylan Elder pinned the No. 7-ranked kid in the state (Clifford Baxter), from Sprague.
“We’re getting some different results out of different kids.”
Still missing from the line-up last week were Trever Olson and Colton Schilling, both veteran, experienced wrestlers who would likely account for an extra 15 to 24 points against most teams.
“We’re getting people healthy,” Thorpe said. “That was a very, very tough tournament to be in. As we start hitting our stride, we will be all right. Going out of the break at .500 is not something I’m used to, not something I like, but we definitely know where we need to improve and we have guys willing to work hard to get better.”
The Huskies will be back in action Wednesday and Thursday, Dec. 28-29, at the Westview Duals, then will open Sky-Em League wrestling at Junction City Jan. 5.
Lebanon Invitational
Sweet Home Match Results
Sweet Home 54, Eagle Point 24
106 – Tyler Schilling (SH) pinned Loren Dean (EP) 1:29; 113 – Justin Nicholson (SH) pinned Gonzalez (EP) 1:31; 119 – Orlando Delacruz (EP) pinned Erik Garcia (SH) 1:08; 126 – Scottie Stockman (SH) pinned Eddie Perez (EP) 1:51; 132 –Callashan (EP) pinned Dylan Elder (SH) 1:20; 138 – Hunter Bidwell (SH) pinned Hammond (EP) 1:11; 145 – Ty Harvey (SH) pinned Lucas (EP) 3:07; 152 – Tyler Cowger (SH) dec. Travis Woods (EP) 4-0; 160 – Raul Hernandez (SH) dec. Edward Martinez (EP) 10-6; 170 – Alex Armstrong (SH) pinned Caleb Ash (EP) 5:33; 182 – Johnny Wilkerson (EP) pinned Chance Jucutan (SH) 1:48; 195 – Wade Paulus (SH) pinned Trevor Olsen (EP) 1:05; 220 – Valle (EP) pinned David Skeen (SH) 1:51; 285 – Zach Gill (SH) pinned Valvovinos (EP) 5:50.
Sweet Home 52, Hood River 25
106 – Tyler Schilling (SH) maj. dec. DeHart (HR) 12-4; 113 – Justin Nicholson (SH) pinned Yaburra (HR) :35; 119 – Mallon (HR) pinned Erik Garcia :31; 126 – Dylan Elder (SH) won by forfeit; 132 – Scottie Stockman (SH) pinned DeHart (HR) 1:08; 138 – Peterson (HR) dec. Ty Harvey (SH) 9-7; 145 – Tyler Cowger (SH) pinned Kavanaugh (HR) :42; 152 – Cesar Zarate (HR) pinned Ian Search (SH) 1:10; 160 – David Brunk (HR) maj. dec. Raul Hernandez (SH) 17-6; 170 – Alex Armstrong (SH) won by forfeit; 182 – Ben Terry (SH) pinned Castillo (HR) :47; 195 – Wade Paulus (SH) won by forfeit; 220 – Breedlove (HR) pinned David Skeen (SH) 1:38; 285 – Zach Gill (SH) won by forfeit.
Crook County 41, Sweet Home 30
106 – Trayton Libolt (CC) TF Tyler Schilling (SH) 16-0; 113 – Justin Nicholson (SH) pinned Johnny Avina (CC) 3:59; 119 – Grayson Munn (CC) pinned Erik Garcia (SH) :46; 126 – Colbran Meeker (CC) dec. Scottie Stockman (SH) 6-0; 132 – Ryder Shinkle (CC) pinned Dylan Elder (SH) 1:40; 138 – Dawson Barber (CC) dec. Ty Harvey 9-6; 145 – Tyler Cowger (SH) pinned Brendon Harkey (CC) 2:29; 152 – Alex Urrea (CC) pinned Ian Search (SH) 1:15; 160 – Tyler Rockwood (CC) dec. Raul Hernandez (SH) 6-2; 170 – Dean Smith (CC) dec. Alex Armstrong (SH) 4-1; 182 – Chance Jucutan (SH) pinned Roberts (CC) :45; 195 – Wade Paulus (SH) pinned Blasius (CC) :44; 220 – Rhett Smith (CC) pinned David Skeen (SH) 1:34; 285 – Zach Gill (SH) pinned Jason Williams (CC) 1:50.
Cascade 48, Sweet Home 27
106 – Tyler Schilling (SH) pinned Reisteier (C) 5:29; 113 – Justin Nicholson (SH) pinned Krocker (C) :45; 119 – Erik Garcia (SH) won by forfeit; 126 – Spencer Crawford (C) dec. Scottie Stockman (SH) 5-2; 132 – Travis Bledsoe (C) pinned Ryan Adams (SH) 1:10; 138 – Marcus Andrews (C) pinned Hunter Bidwell (SH) 1:22; 145 – Tyler Cowger (SH) dec. Ryan Dozler (C) 4-2; 152 – Chance Beggs (C) pinned Ian Search (SH) :48; 160 – Raul Hernandez (SH) pinned Becker (C) 5:50; 170 – Tyler Howe (C) pinned Alex Armstrong (SH) :51; 182 – Soto (C) pinned Chance Jucutan (SH) :58; 195 – Cody Crawford (C) pinned Wade Paulus (SH) 1:45; 220 – Dustin Johnson (C) pinned David Skeen (SH) 1:23; 285 – Caylan Stark (C) dec. Zach Gill (SH) 5-4.
Lebanon 37, Sweet Home 33
106 – Tyler Schilling (SH) pinned Brian Lacey (L) :40; 113 – Nelson (L) dec. Justin Nicholson 15-13; 119 – Charlie Vandetta (L) pinned Erik Garcia (SH) :40; 126 – Scottie Stockman (SH) dec. Sussa (L) 9-4; 132 – Dylan Elder (SH) pinned Newport (L) 1:06; 138 – Ty Harvey (SH) dec. Austin Kleint (L) 8-4; 145 – Tamen Privatski (L) won by forfeit; 152 – Tyler Cowger (SH) pinned Kiante Davis (L) 5:43; 160 – Garrett Urrutia (L) maj. dec. Raul Hernandez (SH) 16-3; 170 – Alex Armstrong (SH) dec. Ocon (L) 6-1; 182 – Daniel Aranda (L) pinned Chance Jucutan (SH) 4:55; 195 – Wade Paulus (SH) pinned Ferrer (L) 1:25; 220 – Keaton Scavone (L) pinned David Skeen (SH) 1:23; 285 – Zach Gill (SH) pinned Heorauf (L) 1:14.
Dallas 52, Sweet Home 21
106 – Tyler Schilling (SH) dec. Cody Bibler (D) 7-4; 113 – Matt Hoffenbredl (D) TF Justin Nicholson (SH) 15-0; 119 – Tyler Renfro (D) pinned Erik Garcia (SH) 1:06; 126 – Cody Renfro (D) dec. Scottie Stockman (SH) 10-3; 132 – Brady Anderson (D) pined Dylan Elder (SH) 1:39; 138 – Gunnar Wyatt (D) pinned Hunter Bidwell (SH) 4:45; 145 – Wyatt Passantino (D) pinned Ty Harvey (SH) 1:15; 152 – Tyler Cowger (SH) pinned Holmallist (D) :46; 160 – Josh Christenson (D) maj. dec. Raul Hernandez (SH) 21-8l; 170 – Jack Dunnagan (D) maj. dec. Alex Armstrong (SH) 13-1; 182 – Tyler Payne (D) pinned Chance Jucutan (SH) 4:45; 195 – Wade Paulus (SH) pinned Naughton (D) 2:03; 220 – Sipe (D) pinned David Skeen (SH) 3:24; 285 – Zach Gill (SH)( pinned Rorem (D) 1:02.
Sweet Home 44, Sprague 31
106 – Tyler Schilling (SH) won by forfeit; 113 – Justin Nicholson (SH) pinned Vaughn (S) 1:07; 119 – Kaleb Raber (S) pinned Erik Garcia (SH) 1:01; 126 – Scottie Stockman (SH) pinned Yasyf Sorenson (S) :58; 132 – Dylan Elder (SH) pinned Clifford Baxter (S) :41; 138 – Zach Zehner (S) pinned Ty Harvey (SH) :36; 145 – Alex Funk (S) pinned Ian Search (SH) :48; 152 – Tyler Cowger (SH) TF Ridling (S) 16-0; 160 – Nick Hall (SH) pinned Adana (S) 1:02; 170 – Williams (S) maj. dec. Alex Armstrong (SH) 16-5; 182 – Chance Jucutan (SH) pinned Syngal (S) :26; 195 – Brandon Griffin (S) won by forfeit; 220 – Everett (S) dec. David Skeen (SH) 7-3; 285 – Zach Gill (SH) dec. Max Hollis (S) 6-3.