Scott Swanson
Sweet Home wrestling coaches couldn’t decide on a worthy recipient of the Pat and Ernie Baxter Outstanding Wrestler Award for the team’s awards banquet Saturday night, March 6, at Community Chapel.
So they chose all five of the nominees: Paige Chafin, Colby Gazeley, Jacob Landtroop, Jacob Sieminski and Kyle Sieminski.
“It’s hard not to give it to all five of our state champions,” Coach Steve Thorpe explained as the awards were handed out.
The event was attended by nearly 200 people who came together to celebrate a year in which the Huskies’ girls program exploded in numbers and stature in the state, and the boys placed second as a team.
“The growth of women’s wrestling and what has happened with women wrestling women, it has become so incredible,” Thorpe told the crowd. “It has become another way for these young ladies to get the avenue of what wrestling provides for them. It has made me a better coach.”
He said that “one of the smartest things I did with this group of young ladies is we brought in Coach (Gracie) Stutzman. These young ladies, they have their own coach.
“Just be fully aware that there’s no modifications made for these ladies in our practices. In our morning workouts they do the same run. There’s the same expectation. They cry a little bit sometimes, but so do I. But what they have done and the growth they’ve had and how they have added to our program has been incredible. ”
He noted that the girls were runner-ups at the Oregon Classic, won the Linn County championship, were third in the OSAA South Region championships and tied for first, beating defending state champion Thurston at the Northwest Duals.
“They absolutely embody, gave us a new threat.”
Thorpe told the crowd that the last few years have been “really difficult in a lot of ways,” but that the wrestling program has pushed “kids to do something that is really beneficial for them.”
“We tell these kids, ‘As soon as you walk through those doors, you don’t have to worry about anything else. You just have to worry about wrestling. And it’s been really nice for me to do that as well.”
Rookies of the Year were Landtroop, who became the fourth freshman in Sweet Home history to win a state title as a rookie, and Kendra Jamison, who started wrestling this year and finished fifth in the state championships.
“It’s very hard not to give it to a freshman who is state champ for 300-some odd days,” Thorpe said.
Assistant Coach Tomas Rosa said Landtroop stood out in an “exemplary” class for freshmen.
“He does what we tell him. It doesn’t matter if it’s ‘turn your assignment in this way,’ ‘change this,’ ‘eat that,’ go on this style of run instead of that.’ His ability to make the adjustments right there – no second guessing – really sets the tone.
“Jacob was able to use that and, obviously, turn in an incredible performance at state.”
Landtroop was also named “Most Improved” along with Zoey Erevia for the girls.
Landtroop was a junior varsity wrestler midway through the season, but after cutting weight and steadily improving – and, according to coaches, carefully following directions on the mat, won the state title at 113 pounds.
Erevia, Thorpe said, “improved” and grew as a leader.
“She’s a fun person to be around and she’s become pretty darn tough,” he said.
The Iron Award formerly known as the Ironman Award, presented to wrestlers whom, as Thorpe put it, “you can bend me but you can’t break me,” went to seniors Jesse Jamison, who suffered a torn ligament while playing football and had to miss his senior season after undergoing surgery, and Christian Gregory, who battled through multiple injuries to finish sixth in state.
During the traditional segment of the evening in which seniors are given the chance to speak, Jamison acknowledged that it was tough not being able to compete, but he expressed appreciation for being able to be part of the team, “all these great young men and women,” and thanked the coaching staff for being “father figures.”
He recalled being told by departing wrestlers to “wrestle every match like it’s your last, because you don’t know when it’s gonna be over.”
“And you know, I’ve got to live by that after that.”
Jamison, who finished second in the state last year and was aiming for a championship this year, will likely move on to wrestle at Umpqua Community College, Thorpe said.
Jamison told the crowd that wrestling’s not a “simple sport where you can walk on and be normal.”
“It’s something different. It teaches you a lot of things. It teaches you to push through the hard times. It teaches you that you always have family wherever you go.”
He said that, through participation on the national team and in tournaments, “I’m able to walk up to other wrestlers from different places and able to, like, have that family connection with them.”
He said he will always remember Sweet Home.
“You guys stood behind me when I got hurt. It was very, very unselfish of you guys. And I’d like to thank this whole community for standing by me. Thank you very much. It’s been an honor wrestling for Coach Thorpe and this awesome coaching staff.”
The Workhorse Award, to wrestlers who “consistently shine through, every day” among the hard workers in the program, went to Gazeley, Kami Hart and Ryker Hartsook.
The Extra Mile Award, which goes to a member of the community who “does the extra things that make us better,” as Thorpe put it, went to Tiffany Sieminski.
Most Takedowns went to Kaden Zajic for the boys and Chafin for the girls. Exact numbers were unavailable.
Most Falls went to Chafin for the girls, with 33, and Kyle Sieminski for the boys, who pinned 36 opponents this season.
The Norm Davis Scholar Athlete Award, which goes to the wrestler with the highest GPA multiplied by net team points scored, went to Chafin for the girls and Hartsook for the boys.
Chafin was a four-year letter winner for the girls.
Kami Hart, who finished as the regional champion, earned her third letter, and Kaylene Zajic earned her second letter.
First-year letter winners were Ivy Dewitte, Zoey Erevia, Kendra Jamison, Miah Miller, Kelsie Rush, Natalie Templin and Riley Watkins.
Four-year letter winners for the boys were Colby Gazeley, Christian Gregory, Jesse Jamison and Kyle Watkins, who finished his high school career as a state runner-up and a four-time state place-winner.
Third-year letters went to Charlie Crawford, Jake Sieminski, Trenton Smith, Ethan Spencer, Tucker Weld and Kaden Zajic.
Second-year letters went to Evan Ashcraft, Daniel Goodwin, Ryker Hartsook, Evan Jensen,Tanner McMahon, Jayce Miller, Kyle Sieminski and David Steagall.
First-year letter winners were freshmen Kayo Ebbs, Jacob Landtroop, Laird Pettner, and Ashton Swanson, sophomore Alex Reed and senior Ezra Martin, who decided to wrestle with some encouragement from his buddy, Jamison.
Rosa noted that for a freshman to letter “is a big deal in this program.”
“We have an old bus driver that graduated in the 1970s. He always tells us when we get on the bus, ‘Do you know, lettering for the Sweet Home Husky wrestling program was one of the biggest accomplishments, I can say, from my time in high school.’
“Just know that we expect a lot out of all of you guys in the future.”