Coach Steve Thorpe, reflecting on the events of last Thursday, concluded that it was a great night for the sport of wrestling.
Seven seniors participated in their last home meet. That alone would have been worth the price of the ticket, especially considering it was against Cascade, with whom the Huskies have a good, healthy competitive history.
But it was also on a night when the Norm Davis Wrestling Room was dedicated, starting with a moving tribute by Alex Paul to the man whose personal contribution to Sweet Home wrestling was monumental. Thorpe thought the honor went beyond Davis’ success in wrestling, but that his life provided an example of what a person can achieve from humble beginnings.
The team also recognized Debi Temple, a long time volunteer in the program, who helped organize the dedication ceremony and senior night.
The fans didn’t realize before the meet that the seniors continued the tradition of speaking to their teammates to give their perspective of what the wrestling program means. Matt Harkey stated that many programs might have a few good wrestlers but also many poor wrestlers. In the Sweet Home program, Harkey stated, there are no poor wrestlers. Other seniors who spoke were Jeb Koechig, Rob Martin, Donny Cliver, Tomas Rosa, Bryan Corliss, and Hance Woody.
From the beginning, Sweet Home seemed inspired from the events of the night. Woody at 171 opened with a pin in the second round. After finding himself in a vulnerable position, Woody gained an advantage and rolled his opponent into a pinning combination. That seemed to set the tone for the night: close matches that turned on the slightest of errors.
Cliver, who in his first year of wrestling as a senior, has worked his way into the number one slot for the Huskies at 189. He showed why when he took Darin Frey, perhaps the number one rated wrestler in this classification in district, down to the last moments. Cliver led 4-2 going into the final round, but Frey came back with an escape and takedown to take an edge. After letting Cliver escape, the more experienced Frey worked for another takedown and pinned Cliver with just 5 seconds to go.
In one of the better matches of the night, Jesse Aitken overcame a first round minor con-cussion after receiving a hard crossface, a move administered again, this time illegally, in the third round that cost White a point. Aitken, who said he saw a white flash after the first hit, found himself in trouble both in the first and second round but fought through it to take a second round lead. Aitken finally caught White in a mistake, a mistake made when White, who leg rode Aitken too high, tried to pull back with a front head lock.
“I had adrenalin going which kept me clear for awhile,” said Aitken, who patiently looked for his opening to squeeze into him. “I just go at my own pace and try to wear the other guy down. This just keeps me going in league and helps my seeding.”
Thorpe says that Aitken, who went 4-0 this week with 4 pins including a victory over the number three ranked 4A 189 pounder from Sprague, is an example of an athlete who brings a lot more to the table than just wrestling technique.
“There’s no flash about anything he does,” said Thorpe. “But he’s a 4.0 student, a great person, friend, and teammate. He is consistently doing what he’s supposed to be doing.”
The Sweet Home dominance at the upper weights continued with Rob Martin picking up another fall in the second round. However, it wasn’t easy for Martin, who said he was too hyped up over the events of the night which got him out of his match plan.
“I want to physically dominate, but I was trying to do too much,” said Martin, who trailed afterthe first period 6-1. “Then I settled down and wrestled my match.”
Martin, now 25-2 with all his victories and defeats by pins, established himself quickly with a near fall followed by the pin at 3:37.
With those wins and three forfeits on the way, the Huskies began to cruise, finally ending up with a lopsided 58-21 victory over the Cougars. John Sutten and Bryan Corliss picked up easy first round pin victories while Jon Farris picked up a second round pin. Trevor Tagle put on a late surge to defeat a tough opponent, 13-4.
The Cougars’ other points came on a pin in the last match at 160, a forfeit at 152, and a 5-3 decision by Tyler Phillips, the Cascade coach’s son, over Shane Vandehei at 112, in a match that will probably be a preview of the district finals in that class.
The forfeiture at 152 came about when Tomas Rosa wrestled an exhibition match two weight classes up against Ben Burlison rather than accept a forfeit in his own weight class. The match went back and forth with Rosa leading by a single point after two rounds. Eventually the weight difference came into play late in the third round after a lot of moves by both wrestlers. Burlison ended up winning 10-6 with a late reversal, letting Rosa escape, and then the final takedown.
But Thorpe points to Rosa’s action as an example of the leadership he has been getting from his seniors.
“He’d rather wrestle two weights up than walk out on the mat and get a forfeit,” said Thorpe.
“I’m proud of their leadership. A lot of them had to learn how to use their voices as well as their actions. We are fortunate to have them.”
The Huskies defeated West Albany and South Salem but lost to Sprague in a four team dual meet earlier in the week. Then, last Saturday, in the South Albany Invitational for individual competition, Vandehei and Rob Martin came away as champions while Rosa finished second. As a team, Sweet Home finished fourth as a team, despite having four weight classes vacant to allow some wrestlers time to recuperate from injuries.
The Huskies go on the road to Molalla for their last league match. The district championship follows the week after.