Reser's TOC Champions Sunday, January 27, 2008

The Reser's Tournament of Champions wrapped up Saturday at Liberty High School in Hillsboro. The tournament is billed as the toughest meet in Oregon, as it features the top schools of all sizes from across the state. Here are some images of the winners (seeds in brackets).

Canby's (4)Jeff Helbling tries to force (2)Howie Mole's shoulders to the mat Jan. 26 in the 215-pound title match at the Reser's Tournament of Champions in Hillsboro. Helbling beat the Crook County senior 12-7.










Tillamook's (4)Bubba Owens controls Cleveland's (6)Shaun Palikiko in the 285-pound championship match. Owens won 3-0.










Hermiston's (2)Ben Jorgensen (right) controls Sprague's (1)Alex Kostenborder in the 103-pound title bout. Jorgensen won 3-1. (below) Kostenborder suffers at the hands of Jorgensen in the final.












Culver's (2)Jake Nelson (left) can't find a winning move against Newberg's (1)Tommy Siciliano in the 112-pound final. Siciliano scored early against Nelson and then held on for a 9-4 win.









Hillsboro High School's Mikey Rodriguez (left) congratulates Gresham's John Reese after the unseeded wrestlers met in the 119-pound title match. Reese won 7-4.










Roseburg's (1)Mitchell Lofstedt celebrates as the crowd jeers after he beat Culver's (2)Miguel Baltazar 7-5 in the 125-pound championship match. Baltazar nearly tied the match with a takedown in the dying seconds, but the wrestlers were out of bounds. (below) Baltazar grapples with Lofstedt in the final.













Canby's Zach Lowry manhandles Thurston's Ryan Arand in the 130-pound championship. Lowry, the third seed in the bracket, beat the top seed 5-2 to take the title.









Cleveland's Eric Luna (right) takes down Mike Cowell of Grants Pass in a tangle of arms and legs in the 135-pound title match. Luna, the third seed in the bracket, beat his unseeded opponent 5-0.









(1)RJ Pena of Sprague keeps (2)Sam Mecham's arms under control in the 140-pound title match Jan. 26 at the Reser's Tournament of Champions. Pena, one of the top-rated high school wrestlers in the country, pinned four opponents in five periods to reach the championship, where he recorded a technical fall at 3:58 against the Roseburg sophomore.




[Note: Canby's (1)Travis Newton was awarded the 145-pound title by forfeit over (7)Joey Chandler from Newberg.]

(3)Mitch Sturdevant of Newberg (left) grapples with Burns' (1)Joe Drinkwater in the 152-pound final. An escape conceded by Sturdevant was all Drinkwater needed to win the match, 1-0.















Newberg's (1)Alec Ortiz goes upside-down against Hermiston's (2)Randy Larson in the 160-pound championship. Ortiz pinned Larson at 1:44.










Canby's (2)Austin Rasch keeps Newberg's Josh Chandler under control in the 171-pound final. Rasch beat his unseeded opponent 11-4 to win the title.










(2)Ryland Geiger of Scappoose looks for an answer to (1)Taylor Johnson's attack on his leg in the 189-pound final. Geiger won a decisive 12-6 victory over his opponent from Redmond.


Newberg won the team title with 193.0 points. Hermiston was second with 142.5, just ahead of Canby's 139.0. Roseburg (130.0) and Crook County (127.0) rounded out the top five.

More information is available on the Westview Wrestling website.