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Phoenix comes back to win 3A state title By Don Hunt PORTLAND � The consolation bracket isn�t the most appealing place to be at a state wrestling tournament. The crowds are small, the glory is negligible and dreams of winning an individual state title have previously vanished. But this is often the area in which a team seizes the momentum needed to win a state championship. The Phoenix Pirates did just that Saturday at Memorial Coliseum, charging from 12� points back at the start of the day to overcome Sweet Home for the coveted first-place trophy. The Class 3A title was the seventh for coach Harry Mondale in his 32 years at Phoenix. Mondale also has seven runner-up finishes. The Pirates piled up a state-record 190 points, while Sweet Home finished with 156.5. Coquille wound up in third place with 152 points, followed by Cascade with 108, Estacada 105.5 and Illinois Valley 101. "I told the kids this morning that the consolation bracket was our avenue to the championship," Mondale said. "And they responded." Tyler McCarty (135) and Brandon Sousa (145) collected individual titles and Greg Brown (189) claimed second, but it was the Herculean efforts put forth by 152-pounders Forest Jacobs and Kyle Kaufman and 171-pound Brian Murphy in the consolation rounds that cemented the championship. Murphy and Jacobs each won three matches Saturday to grab third-place finishes while Kaufman won two matches before losing to Jacobs in the 152-pound third-place match. Ryan Staten (145) added a fourth, Kevin Cowley (103) chipped in with a seventh and George Pearce took eighth, giving the Pirates nine state placers. "These tournaments are usually won through the back door," Mondale said in reference to the consolation bracket. "We had a bad round the other day (in the quarterfinals), but the kids who lost fought back hard in the consolation rounds. "I couldn�t be more proud of guys like Kaufman, Jacobs and Murphy. Those kids sucked it up and put us over the hump." Murphy exemplified the effort. One day after suffering an 8-6 overtime loss to Illinois Valley�s Ryan Emery, Murphy beat his Skyline Conference counterpart 5-4 in the third-place match. Murphy spent most of this season at the junior varsity level, competing behind teammate Shawn Farrell. "I�m just so excited to be here," Murphy said with a grin. "Two weeks ago, I was a JV nobody, and now I�m third at state." Murphy and Emery were tied 4-4 heading into the third period before Murphy wiggled free for an escape with 45 seconds remaining for the win. McCarty, meanwhile, posted a 6-4 victory over Tillamook�s Trevor Hall in the 135-pound title match, while Sousa put an exclamation point on his high school career by pinning Burns� Troy Mackey in the 145-pound championship bout. Brown suffered a 1-0 loss to Banks� Abe Ewing in the 189-pound title match. For Sousa, the individual crown was particularly satisfying considering he finished second as a freshman and junior and fourth as a sophomore. "This makes my high school career complete," said Sousa, who used a far-side cradle to pin Mackey. "And getting the pin was icing on the cake." McCarty, who also took second at the tournament last year, held a 5-1 lead early in the third period but was penalized a point for locking hands and then gave up two more when Hall got a reversal. That cut McCarty�s advantage to 5-4. Hall then gave up an intentional escape to make it 6-4 with the hope he could take down McCarty in the final seconds and force an overtime. But McCarty stayed tough on his feet to get the win and the title. "This is something I�ve wanted since I was a little kid," said McCarty, who improved his season record to 40-1. "I came close last year, and that just motivated me even more. I spent a lot of time wrestling during the off-season." Rogue River�s Nick Minard came up short in his bid for a title as he dropped a 6-4 decision to Coquille�s David Granger at 119 pounds. Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.