OSAA state wrestling championships Thursday, March 12, 2009

Time for me to play a bit of catch-up. These images are from the title bouts at the state wrestling tournament Feb. 28 at Memorial Coliseum.

[right] Rosario Resendez-Rios (top) turns Colby Byers of Wallowa in the class 2A/1A, 112-pound final. After finishing second the past two years, the senior from Irrigon High School became a state champion with a 10-8 decision. (Additional photos of Colby Byers in action are available here.)













[below] Crater's Brock Gutches (right) topples Hermiston's Cody Britt in the class 5A, 152-pound final. Gutches pinned his opponent at 2:15 to capture his second state title.


[below] Bryce McMahon of Hermiston (top) tries in vain to turn Eric Luna Feb. 28 at the state wrestling tournament in Portland. McMahon lost to the Cleveland senior 6-0 in the 140-pound title bout. For Luna, it was his third state title in as many years.






[below] If you're in the front row of a group shot, and there are 20 cameras pointed at you, for God's sake, please keep your fingers out of your nose.

State wrestling tournament, day 2 Saturday, February 28, 2009

Wrestlers and spectators come and go from Portland's Memorial Coliseum Feb. 27 between bouts at the state wrestling tournament. The 12,000-seat arena--formerly the home of the Trail Blazers--was dedicated in 1961.








Jeremiah Pine of Umatilla struggles to escape Brice Haskell's grasp on Feb. 27 in what would prove to be the last match for the Viking wrestling program.

[If you've been following my photos in the East Oregonian, you'll note that one appeared twice in today's online edition. One of them should have looked like this. -ed.]




[left] Thurston's John Hedge gets a nose adjustment as he tries to pin Pendleton's Mike Savage in the 135-pound semifinal. [below] Hedge (bottom) strains to keep his shoulders off the mat against Savage. Hedge held off the attack to win 11-6.

State wrestling tournament, day 1

Cleveland senior Shaun Palakiko makes quick work of Pendleton's Sheehan Barnhart, pinning him in just 15 seconds Feb. 26 in the first round of the class 5A, 285-pound bracket at the state wrestling championships in Portland. Palakiko is the defending heavyweight champion.

The state wrestling tournament kicked off at Portland's Memorial Coliseum Thursday with the early rounds of the class 4A, 5A and 6A brackets. With the class 3A and 2A/1A wrestlers, who joined them Friday morning, there are more than 1100 athletes participating in the event.

Hermiston 145-pound wrestler Ethan Parks (right) winces as he lands awkwardly on his left arm early in his first round match against Ashland's Jake Scarminach. Parks continued the match but lost 8-0.

No doubt all these kids are tough, but special mention has to go out to Hermiston's Ethan Parks. The senior, who was sidelined with an injury for most of the season, expected to do well at the tournament. But just seconds into his first round match, he landed awkwardly on his left arm as he was taken to the mat by Ashland's Jake Scarminach.

After consuming his entire two-minute injury allotment, I thought he was done for the year, but he resumed his match. Though he was obviously in pain and his arm was basically useless, Parks managed to survive the full length of the match. He lost 8-0, but prevented his opponent from picking up any bonus points.

The tournament continues through Saturday night. Full results are posted on the OSAA website.

[right] Hermiston senior Dillan Massey takes Crater's Jeremiah Swing to the mat en route to a 9-0 win in the first round of the class 5A, 160-pound bracket. [below] Quayde Fisher of Illinois Valley (left) tries to grab Dalton Sheets's leg in a hard-fought 10-9 over the McLoughlin senior in the first round of the class 4A, 135-pound bracket.

More Reser's Tournament photos Thursday, January 29, 2009

Newberg's Tommy Siciliano jumps for joy after beating Hermiston's Ben Jorgensen with a takedown in the final second of the 119-pound title match at the Reser's Tournament of Champions Jan. 24 in Hillsboro.

The 119-pound match between Newberg's Tommy Siciliano and Hermiston's Ben Jorgensen was one of the best match-ups on the card last weekend at the Reser's Tournament of Champions in Hillsboro. Both were champions in lighter weightclasses last year (Siciliano at 112, Jorgensen at 103) and both are two-time state champions.

And they didn't disappoint. Jorgensen was up 5-4 with 6 seconds left on the clock when the action was stopped to clean up some blood. When the pair reengaged, Siciliano scored a 2-point takedown in the final second of the match (right) to win the title.

[left] Newberg's Peter Russo ties up Brady Fischer's arm in the 112-pound final. Russo beat his Oregon City opponent 2-0 to take the title. [below] Crater's Brock Gutches (top) grapples with Brandon Griffin of Sprague in the 160-pound final. Gutches won the match 4-1.














[above left] I brought my new 11-16mm f/2.8 lens to the match ... generally a bit too wide for wrestling, I think, but there is an image to be made if all the pieces fall into place. Here, Seth Honl of Scappoose (black) grapples with Roseburg's Sam Mecham en route to a 3-1 win in the 135-pound championship.

Full results from the 2009 tournament can be found here.

R.J. Pena gets it done on the mat Monday, January 26, 2009

R.J. Pena of Sprague High School (front) lifts Josh Cate of Burns in the 145-pound final at the Reser's Tournament of Champions Jan. 24 in Hillsboro. Pena won the title by fall at 3:12. The senior, who recently signed with Oregon State University, pinned all four of his opponents at the tournament.

R.J. Pena is undoubtedly the best high school wrestler that Oregon has seen in recent memory. Maybe longer than that. Quite possibly a lot longer.

He's ranked no. 1 in the nation at 152 pounds, and the no. 5 recruit overall, and it's easy to see why: he just doesn't lose.

The senior is already a three-time state champion. He holds two titles from the Reno Tournament of Champions which draws wrestlers from across the country. And now, he is a four-time champion at the Reser's Tournament of Champions, the toughest meet in Oregon.

Pena doesn't just beat his opponents, he dominates them. Everybody gets pinned. Most don't make it past the first round.

Wrestling at 145 pounds at the Reser's tournament last weekend, Pena pinned his opponents at 1:30, 1:27, and 1:23 en route to the title match. There, Josh Cate of Burns pushed him into the second round before falling at 3:12.

It's hard to see how anything short of an injury will prevent him from becoming a four-time state champion. The state wrestling tournament is Feb. 26-28 at Memorial Coliseum in Portland.

I'll post more images from the Reser's TOC later this week.















[left] R.J. Pena puts Josh Cate's shoulders to the mat at 3:12 in the 145-pound final at the Reser's Tournament of Champions Jan. 24 in Hillsboro.

Wrestling finals Tuesday, February 19, 2008

Randy Larson of Hermiston gets ready to take down Eagle Point's Robby Mannenbach Saturday night in the 171-pound final at the 5A state wrestling tournament in Portland. Larson scored a technical fall in the third round to win his first state title.








Daryl Watkins of Corvallis celebrates after beating Crook County's Micah Perry Feb. 16 in the 5A, 160-pound final at the state wrestling tournament in Portland. The second-seeded senior edged out his opponent 6-5 to take the title.

I wasn't shooting this match, but it was so close that you knew there would be some good jubilation at the end of it so I grabbed my camera and moved closer to the mat. I just wish I'd shot it vertical ...




Hillsboro's David Noah is consoled by coach Adam Reese Feb. 16 after losing the 103-pound final 5-0 to Hermiston's Ben Jorgensen at the 5A state wrestling tournament in Portland. Jorgensen, the defending state champion, beat Noah in the 2007 semifinals by the same score.


You can read more about the Hermiston winners here. Click the related links at the bottom for more stories and photos.

OSAA State Wrestling Championships Thursday, February 14, 2008

Lebanon's Amy Bloom tries to get Marshall's Huyen B Hoang off her back Feb. 14 at the 5A state wrestling tournament in Portland. The 112-pound junior may be the only girl among more than 1,100 wrestlers competing at the tournament.

The state wrestling tournament started this morning at Memorial Coliseum in Portland. It continues through Saturday evening. You can find the latest information on the OSAA's website.


(left) Lebanon's Amy Bloom gives a tearful handshake to the opposing coach after losing her first-round match 6-4 to Huyen B Hoang of Marshall. The coach told her that she had nothing to be ashamed of.

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.

Reser's TOC Day 1 Friday, January 25, 2008

Fourth-seed Thomas O'Connor of Glide (top) beats Canby's Aaron Maxwell Jan. 25 in the first round of the 160-pound bracket at the Reser's Tournament of Champions in Hillsboro. Hundreds of wrestlers from 23 schools of all sizes and all parts of Oregon are competing in the two-day event.








(right) Gresham's Nick Roberts (black) grapples with Glide's Kyle Fields Jan. 25 in the first round of the 171-pound bracket. Roberts, who was not seeded, upset his fourth-seeded opponent to advance to the quarterfinals.

Newberg is in the lead after championship round 2, with Roseburg and Hermiston close behind.

Don York Wrestling Tournament Sunday, January 20, 2008

More than 350 high school wrestlers gather on five mats at Cleveland High School Jan. 19 for the Don York Tournament.

The Don York Tournament is named for the man who coached the Cleveland HS wrestling team in the 1970s and early '80s. Seventeen schools from Portland and the Willamette Valley sent their varsity and junior varsity squads to the two-day event.




(right) Springfield's Corbin Clontz (top) grapples with Zach Murphy of Centennial Jan. 19 at the Don York Tournament at Cleveland High School. Murphy won the match 6-4 to advance to the 125-pound semifinal. (below) Chris Major of McKay High School struggles to keep his shoulders off the mat in his consolation bracket match against Milwaukie's Cody Faulhaber. Major avoided the fall, but lost the match 11-8.