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Crater, Phoenix take first-day mat leads PORTLAND � Crater and Phoenix put themselves in prime position to make runs at state wrestling championships on the opening day of action Thursday at Memorial Coliseum. And Eagle Point isn�t far off the pace. After two rounds of championship-bracket action, Crater � the three-time defending champion � led the Class 4A competition with 48 points. It was followed by Canby at 44.5, Newberg and Oregon City at 43, Hermiston at 42 and Eagle Point, in sixth, at 39.5. Points scored in late consolations were not available at press time. In the Class 3A tournament, Phoenix took a commanding lead with 68 points. Only two other teams eclipsed 40 points: Coquille with 46 and Estacada with 44. Illinois Valley was seventh with 27 points. Crater lost only two of its 16 wrestlers and advanced six to the championship quarterfinals. "I�m real happy with the way we wrestled," said Comets coach Greg Haga. "Tomorrow will be the tell-tale day. It�s the round that really starts racking up points. We hope we can stay with people on the championship side of the bracket and hope our numbers on the consolation side make the difference." Crater�s Chris Dearmon notched a big victory when he upended No. 3 seed Derek Duff of Reynolds, 9-5, in the second round at 275 pounds. "The guy came out and did a lot of upper body stuff and Chris threw him and caught him for five," said Haga. Dearmon could meet teammate Ben Tibbetts, the No. 2 seed, in the semifinals today. "That means one of them would be in the top six and the other would be in the finals," said Haga. "To me, that�s not a bad thing. They both understand the situation." Levi Wisdom of the Comets had a tough draw and lost 8-1 to the No. 3 seed at 152 in the second round. He rebounded in the consolations to defeat Jarrod Miller of Grants Pass by eight points, securing an extra team point in the process. Another Comet, Brandon Anders, came from eight points behind at the start of the third round in consolations against David Posey of Hood River and won 13-11 at 130. Justin Samples of Crater lost 7-5 to the top seed at 189 in the first round and "wrestled back tough," said Haga. Eagle Point�s Justin Winner, the No. 7 seed at 125, was upset in the first round, but the Eagles got a lift when Andrew Larsen, a sophomore, pulled off an upset. Larsen decisioned the No. 5 seed a t119 pounds. Phoenix advanced 11 into the quarterfinals and had all four of their combatants who dropped into the consolation round win. "We had a good round," said Pirates assistant coach Joe Hagler of consolations. "All 15 of our kids are still alive. That�s pretty amazing, actually." While the Pirates got strong performances out of those they expected to � top seeds Tyler McCarty (135 pounds) and Brandon Sousa (145) and No. 2s Jesse Clark (125), Forrest Jacobs (152) and Shawn Farrell (171) � there also was a major surprise. George Pearce got a first-round bye at 140, then knocked off No. 3 seed Rusty Arp of Burns, 10-6. Arp recorded a takedown to put Pearce in a hole early, but the Pirate started the second period on top and took control with a couple of near falls. "He turned kid on his back a couple of times and that changed the momentum of the match," said Hagler. Phoenix is off to a nice start, but Hagler noted the big point round is today, and some Pirates have tough draws, including Nick Acord at 160 and Greg Brown at 189, who face No. 1 seeded opponents today. Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.