The Husky wrestlers finished a little farther back in the pack than they are used to Friday and Saturday, finishing ninth in the 31-team Cottage Grove Invitational.
Sweet Home was missing two regular varsity wrestlers, Taylor Tagle and Kris Newport, due to injuries, and Coach Steve Thorpe pulled Jack Perry out midway through the tournament for the same reason and another due to illness.
“You know, there are a lot of excuses as to why we finished ninth,” Thorpe said. “It’s great to have a tournament of this caliber right now but it’s not the end of the world. It’s more important to keep guys healthy, to keep them going.”
Matt Grove finished sixth at 112 pounds after forfeiting his last match to avoid exceeding the 40-match limit before districts; Mitch Grove finished fourth at 119 after also forfeiting for the same reason; Brad Pitts tied for fifth at 152 and Marc Callagan was fourth at 215. Tyler Holly wrestled up a weight at 125 and finished one match short of placing, Thorpe said.
“We got all of our young kids matches,” he said. “It was a good time for us to kind of have a bad tournament. It’s hard to get on pace when you’re forfeiting and pulling kids out. “We’re ready to build from there.
The momentum has to be up by Friday, he said, because Philomath is coming to Husky Gym at 6 p.m. on Friday for a showdown that will determine who wins the league dual-meet title, and Thorpe says the Warriors have wrestlers who are expected to give Sweet Home a run for its money.
“Philomath is a tough team, one of better teams they’ve had,” he said. “We’ll have to win a couple that we shouldn’t and we’ll have to let the chips lie.”
Specifically, Blake Woosley (fifth in the state at 103 pounds), Allen Neufield (ninth at 125), Marcus Hartwig (10th at 130), Bryce Dryden (seventh at 152) and Josh Erickson (10th at 171) are all ranked in the top 10 in the state, Woosley, Dryden and Erickson ahead of any Sweet Home wrestlers.
In dual-meet action on Thursday at home, Sweet Home swept Taft 78-0 and nearly did the same to Cascade, 66-9, both severely undermanned teams.
Sweet Home 66, Cascade 9
103 €“ Junior Galicia (C) def. Scottie Stockman (SH) 8-3; 112 €“ Matt Grove (SH) won by forfeit; 119 €“ Mitch Grove (SH) won by forfeit; 125 €“ Kris Newport (SH) pinned Rardin (C) 2:24; 130 €“ Marshall Arndt (SH) pinned Frankie Guida (C) 1:03; 135 €“ Taylor Tagle (SH) won by forfeit; 140 €“ Kyle Hummer (SH) pinned Victor Perez (C) 2:48; 145 €“ Brock Crocker (SH) pinned Joseph Swinehart (C) 1:12; 152 €“ Jack Perry (SH) won by forfeit; 160 €“ Brad Pitts (SH) won by forfeit; 171 €“ Both teams forfeited; 189 €“ Anthony Albright (SH) pinned Anthony Sanchez (C) 1:36; 215 €“ Mark Callagan (SH) pinned Curtis Minks (C) :58; 285 €“ Marcus Cuellar (C) pinned Logan Clark (SH) 1:52.
Sweet Home 78, Taft 0
103 €“ Scottie Stockman (SH) won by forfeit; 112 €“ Matt Grove (SH) pinned Dustin Parker (T) 1:12; 119 €“ Mitch Grove (SH) pinned J. Cox (T) 2:47; 125 €“ Kris Newport (SH) won by forfeit; 130 €“ Marshall Arndt (SH) won by forfeit; 135 €“ Taylor Tagle (SH) maj. dec. Patrick Ryan (T) 10-2; 140 €“ Kyle Hummer (SH) pinned Sam Raines (T) :44; 145 €“ Brock Crocker (SH) TF over Keifer Riddle (T) 17-1; 152 €“ Jack Perry (SH) TF over Cody Cox (T) 18-2; 160 €“ Brad Pitts (SH) pinned Mitch Wilcox (T) 1:56; 171 €“ Colton Woody (SH) won by forfeit; 189 €“ Anthony Albright (SH) won by forfeit; 215 €“ Marc Callagan (SH) maj. dec. Khrys Bahr (T) 11-2; 285 €“ Logan Clark (SH) pinned David Smith (T) :20.