Reach out and touch someone Sunday, January 28, 2007

Sean Connolly of Westview High School lifts Tyrel Peasley of Burns in the 130-pound championship match at the Reser's Tournament of Champions in Hillsboro on Saturday. Although Connolly appeared to throw his opponent around the mat for much of the match, Peasley won the title.

Wrestling is all about physical contact, and sometimes that contact is more, um, intimate than others. It puts high school boys in touch with each other in ways that would never be seen off the mat. And we're not just talking about the little pat on the butt you might see on the football field ...

The Reser's Tournament of Champions is an annual invitational meet that features the top wrestling schools in Oregon regardless of classification (1A/2A through 6A). Twenty schools from Pendleton to Grants Pass competed in the event, which bills itself as one of the toughest wrestling tournaments in the country.