Sweet Home’s wrestlers competed over the weekend at two large tournaments, hosted by Westview High School, which attracted some of the top teams in the Northwest.
“It was definitely the toughest tournament we’ve been at this year,” Coach Steve Thorpe said. “There were more Washington schools than we’ve had before. It brings out some of the best in the Pacific Northwest.
“I’m getting to put my kids against some incredible competition. And they’re also learning to handle two-day events.”
The boys finished second in the 30-team Rose City Championships, held Friday and Saturday, Dec. 13 and 14, which limited teams to two competitors per weight. Sophomore Jesse Landtroop was an individual champion for the Huskies at 120 pounds.
Thurston was the top team finisher, with 407 points, followed by the Huskies (359.5) and Newberg (280). Both Thurston and Newberg were pre-season top picks in their divisions.
Landtroop won all his matches, before reaching the final, by major decision, tech falls and pins. He defeated Mason Hakki of Thurston 8-3 to win the title.
Junior Tytus Hardee was Sweet Home’s other finalist, taking second at 126 pounds.
Third-place finishers were sophomore Keegan Jefferson at 106; junior Luke Rosa at 175, and senior Ashton Swanson at 190.
Finishing fourth were sophomores Riley Vaughn at 120 and Kyle Zajic at 165, and senior Jacob Landtroop at 175.
Junior James Hearick was fifth at 150 pounds.
Also scoring points for Sweet Home were Cael Stevenson, 3-2 at 126 pounds; Dillon Davis, 3-2 at 132; Jasper Victor, 3-2 at 138; Conner Spencer, 2-2 at 138; Russell Dickerman, 3-2 at 144; Wesley Raynor, 2-2 at 157; Jackson Knight, 3-2 at 157; Martin Chelstad, 4-2 at 165; Elijah Cruz, 4-2 at 190; Dylan Sharp, 4-2 at 215; Jeremiah Steagall, 3-2 at 215; Colton Bennett, 3-2 at 285; and Liam Martin, 3-2 at 285.
“I’m very proud of how our guys competed, especially how we competed on the backside of the bracket,” Thorpe said. “Guys who lost that match on Saturday morning had to win the next three and the people who lost before that had to win more just to stay alive.”
War of the Roses
The girls finished ninth in the 30-team War of the Roses, held Saturday, Dec. 14.
Bailey Chafin was an individual champion for the Huskies at 125 pounds, pinning her way through the bracket and finishing with a victory in 1:01 over finalist Olivia Engel of Kelso, Wash.
Kelso, Wash., was the team winner, as Washington teams swept the top four spots. Dallas was Oregon’s top placer, in fifth, followed by Thurston in sixth. Sweet Home was the next-highest Oregon placer.
Alizeah Weikel and Emmaline Durrett were Sweet Home’s only other placers.
Weikel was fourth at 115 pounds, pinning her first three opponents before losing 16-1 to Emerson Woods of Mercer Island, Wash. Weikel then pinned Desirae Martinez Castanon of Aloha in 21 seconds before forfeiting the consolation final due to an injury to Savannah Dufault of Richland, Wash.
Durrett was the consolation champion at 235, winning four straight after losing her opener to Madisyn Cardens of Skyview, Wash.
Other scorers for Sweet Home were Avery Temple, who went 2-2 at 100 pounds; Natasha Marin, 3-2 at 105; Amelia Sullens, 2-2 at 110; Lyla Ventura, 3-2 at 110; Bella Rico, 2-2 at 130; Tabitha Brzezinski, 1-2 at 135; Madi Looney, 3-2 at 145; Eturnyti Allison, 2-2 at 155; Samantha Villa, 1-2 at 155; Rylie Hollingsworth, 1-2 at 155; and Emma Pangle, 2-2 at 190.
“I’m very proud of how we competed as a team and how our coaches covered 11 mats, with sometimes six or seven kids going at once,” Thorpe said. “I’m pretty proud of our improvement over the past couple of weeks.”
The Huskies host their first home match Wednesday, Dec. 18, and then selected wrestlers will travel Friday to Reno, Nev., to compete in the Reno Tournament of Champions over the weekend.