It was, Sweet Home Coach Steve Thorpe said, one of the greatest tournament finishes of his coaching career.
Sweet Home’s wrestling team, which had lost three dual matches to both Henley and Crook County this season, and twice to 5A power Dallas, roared out of the blocks Friday at the prestigious Reser’s Tournament of Champions at Liberty High School in Hillsborough, and kept the pedal to the metal Saturday to come away second out of 24 of some of the best wrestling teams in Oregon from 2A Culver to 6A Roseburg.
Roseburg finished with 254 points, with Sweet Home a distant second at 151.5, followed by Dallas (143.5), Hermiston (126.5), Henley (118) and Cascade (117.5). Crook County was 10th, with 105.5 points.
“Quite honestly, what can you say?” Thorpe asked, philosophically Monday. “That has to be place up there with some of the best ones Sweet Home has had.”
The Huskies got an individual championship from Colton Schilling at 120 pounds and second-place finishes from Tyler Cowger at 145 and Wade Paulus at 195.
Heavyweight Zach Gill got knocked out of the championship bracket by PJ Shubert of Pendleton, the third-ranked wrestler in the 5A division, then battled back through the consolation bracket to meet Shubert again in the final, pinned him, and took home third-place honors. .
It wasn’t just the place-winners who wrestled well, Thorpe noted.
“We entered 13 varsity wrestlers and 11 scored points, and they did it with pins,” he said. “We pinned people.”
Raul Hernandez pinned his first two opponents at 152 pounds before being knocked out, but not before setting the standard for his teammates, Thorpe said.
“When you have a guy like Raul, who in the first round pins the No. 8 seed, what’s the expectation? That’s when guys start believing in themselves. We finished eight points ahead of Dallas, which had whipped us twice in duals.
“I have to tell you that the leadership we’re getting out of a few guys – Colton Schilling, Ty Harvey and Tyler Cowger are really starting to come around.”
Schilling, who has been wrestling for five weeks after coming off the injured list, avenged a loss two weeks ago to Henley’s Ronnie Bresser, beating Bresser 2-0 in the 120-pound final.
“He’s starting to hit his stride,” Thorpe said.
Cowger pinned his first three opponents, competing a string of 20 straight wins by fall, before settling for a decision in his fourth match, against Keith Nichols of Canby, ranked second in the state in the 6A division, whom Cowger beat 4-2.
“It’s hard for me to wrap my head around 20 pins in a row, especially at 145 pounds,” Thorpe said.
Paulus pinned his way to the final match at 195 pounds before losing 8-5 to Jacob Turek of Hillsborough, second-ranked at 6A, who knocked him out of the Reser’s Tournament last year Thorpe said.
“Wade wrestled his heart out,” the coach said. “He showed a lot of toughness in that match.”
The Huskies’ place-winners pinned every Crook County opponent they faced, Thorpe said. The Cowboys are the No. 1-ranked 4A team in the state.
Thorpe also credited junior varsity placewinners Tyler Schilling, who finished second in the 106-pound division despite an injured elbow that kept him out of the varsity tournament; Nene Mauer, who “came out of nowhere” to place third at 113 pounds; and David Skeen, who was fifth at 195 pounds – an “incredible” finish for him.
The Huskies earlier, on Thursday night, defeated Cottage Grove 72-9 and South Eugene 78-12. Thorpe said Alex Armstrong’s 170-pound match against No. 3-ranked Josh Stanley of Cottage Grove was notable in that Armstrong lost, but only by a 7-2 score.
“I think the fans got their money’s worth, watching Alex wrestle the No. 3 kid in the state,” Thorpe said.
Armstrong went on to win his first match by injury default at Reser’s and then pin his next opponent.
The Huskies will face Cascade and Central at 4:30 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 1, in a match that was rescheduled because of weather. Then, on Thursday, they will travel to Philomath for another 4:30 p.m. match.
Thorpe said he reminded his team after the Reser finish to keep their sights dialed in on the regional meet and the state tournament in February.
“I’m proud of what we did,” he said. “But we really haven’t done anything yet. What happens in February is what matters.
This just lets you know anything’s possible.”
Reser’s Tournament
of Champions
Team Scores – (1) Roseburg 254.0; (2) Sweet Home 151.5; (3) Dallas 143.5; (4) Hermiston 126.5; (5) Henley 118.0; (6) Cascade 117.5; (7) McNary 114.0 (8) David Douglas 110.0; (9) Pendleton 109.0; (10) Crook County 105.5; (11) Redmond 89.0; (12) Sprague 84.0; (13) Oregon City 80.0; (14) Hillsboro 79.5; (15) Grants Pass 73.5; (16) West Albany 68.0; (17) Newberg 65.5; (18) Crater 63.5; (19) Culver 59.5; (20) Canby 58.5; (21) Eagle Point 47.0; (22) Sherwood 43.0; (23) Nyssa 42.0; (24) Westview 37.5.
Sweet Home Results
106 – Justin Nicholson def. Matt Peterson (Hillsborough) 9-7 (OT); lost 10-0 to Trayton Libolt (Crook County); in consolation, def. Zach Tracy (Camby) 4-2; lost by TF Chad Jones (Roseburg). Champion: Casey Coulter (Grants Pass).
113 – Anthony Hardee lost 9-3 to Brad Howard (Crook County); in consolation, lost by fall to Favion Remior (David Douglas) 3:08. Champion: Zech Bresser (Henley).
120 – Colton Schilling pinned McKinnon Bennett (Grants Pass) :36; pinned Keegan Gallardo (Newberg) :41; pinned McKennan Buckner (Crook County) 3:32; def. Ronnie Bresser (Henley) 2-0. Champion.
126 – Scottie Stockman lost 10-4 to Spencer Crawford (Cascade); in consolation, pinned Garrett Heckenberg (Sherwood) 1:52; pinned Andrew Mason (West Albany) 4:56; lost 2-1 to Brady Andersen (Dallas). Champion: Peter Russo (Newberg).
132 – Ty Harvey lost 20-8 to Devin Reynolds (McNary); in consolation, pinned Alek Callahan (Eagle Point) 1:19; pinned Alex Harnsberger (Hillsborough) 1:46; lost 9-8 to Vagif Afrasov (David Douglas). Champion: Tyler Berger (Hermiston).
138 – JT Weld was pinned by Marcus Andrews (Cascade) 4:38; in consolation, pinned Jordan Moyes (Nyssa) 2:47; lost by TF to Tyler Montague (Crater). Champion: Reed Van Anrooy (Roseburg).
145 – Tyler Cowger pinned Robert Cudaback (Hillsborough) 1:59; pinned Kody Gray (Crater) 2:38; pinned Alex Urrea (Crook County) 2:51; def. Keith Nichols (Canby) 4-2; lost 11-3 to Hector Mandera (Roseburg). Champion: Mandera.
152 – Raul Hernandez pinned Jerry DeLaFuenta (Crater) 5:11; pinned Logan Robertson (Newberg) 5:16; lost by TF to Abraham Rodriguez (Hermiston); in consolation, lost 4-0 to Zach Voit (Westview). Champion: Josh Christensen (Dallas).
160 – Nate Melcher lost by TF to Javier Mandera (Roseburg); in consolation, lost 9-5 to Calab Ash (Eagle Point). Champion: Mandera.
170 – Alex Armstrong won by injury default over Mason Harris (Crook County); pinned Luke Lockwood (Canby) 1:55; lost by fall to Tyler Otis (Roseburg) 2:31; in consolation, lost 3-2 to Alex Cisneros (Nyssa). Champion: Ryker Smith (West Albany).
182 – Chance Jucutan lost by fall to Jackson Soto (West Albany); in consolation, pinned Cody Ratliff (McNary) 1:21; pinned Ben Kociemba (Hillsborough) 2:40; lost by fall to Ihog Odighizuwa (David Douglas) 1:48. Champion: Brandon Griffen (Sprague).
195 – Wade Paulus pinned Kyle Stone (Hermiston) :16; pinned Caleb Snodgrass (Canby) :47; pinned Rhett Smith (Crook County) no time listed; lost 8-5 to Jacob Turek (Hillsborough). Champion: Turek.
220 – No Sweet Home entrants.
285 – Zach Gill pinned Mike Skidmore (Henley) 4:08; pinned Manuel Davila (Grants Pass) 1:36; lost by fall to PJ Shubert (Pendleton) 3:45; in consolation, pinned Jerome Massad (David Douglas) :48; pinned Jason Williams (Crook County) :48; def. Manny Valdovinos (Eagle Point) 6-2; pinned PJ Shubert (Pendleton) :48 for consolation championship. Champion: Marq Randall (Roseburg).
Sweet Home 72, Cottage Grove 9
106 – Tyler Schilling (SH) won by forfeit; 113 – Justin Nicholson (SH) won by forfeit; 120 – Colton Schilling (SH) won by forfeit; 126 – Scottie Stockman (SH) pinned Noe Villalobos (CG) 1:33; 132 – Ty Harvey (SH) pinned Body Allen (CG) :26; 138 – Tyler Cowger (SH) pinned Jacob Sanger (CG) :51; 145 – Trever Olson (SH) pinned August Ensminger (CG) 3:38; 152 – Raul Hernandez (SH) won by forfeit; 160 – Nate Melcher (SH) pinned Gary Jones (CG) :31; 170 – Josh Stanley (CG) dec. Alex Armstrong (SH) 7-2; 182 – Chance Jucutan (SH) pinned Shane Barker (CG) 1:04; 195 – Wade Paulus (SH) pinned Daniel Noll (CG) :32; 220 – Kyler Lehman (CG) pinned David Skeen (SH) 1:41; 285 – Zach Gill (SH) pinned Mason Nowak (CG) 1:24.
Sweet Home 78, South Eugene 12
106 – Tyler Schilling (SH) won by forfeit; 113 – Justin Nicholson (SH) won by forfeit; 120 – Colton Schilling (SH) pinned Caleb Petersen (SE) :17; 126 – Scottie Stockman (SH) pinned Dennis Calciano (SE) 1:00; 132 – Ty Harvey (SH) pinned Parik Richarson (SE) 1:53; 138 – Tyler Cowger (SH) pinned Shane Roaln (SE) 1:38; 145 – Trever Olson (SH) pinned Honor Lenoue (SE) :50; 152 – Double Forfeit; 160 – Raul Hernandez (SH) pinned Brendan Lindsey (SE) 2:35; 170 – Alex Armstrong (SH) won by forfeit; 182 – Chance Jucutan (SH) pinned Garret Haley (SE) :29; 195 – Wade Paulus (SH) won by forfeit; 220 – Austin Scarle (SE) pinned David Skeen (SH) 3:04; 285 – Zach Gill (SH) won by forfeit.