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photo by Andy Atkinson/Mail Tribune Roseburg's James Lybarger, left, and EP's Darek Smith fight. Crater's Toney finds spotlight at district meet By DON HUNT Scott Toney just might be the best athlete at the Southern Oregon Conference district wrestling tournament. And among the least well-known. Because he wrestles in the same weight class as teammate Mike Whitehead -- the No. 2-ranked 189-pounder in the state -- Toney has languished in the shadows of junior varsity competition most of the winter. He's been like the supporting actor alongside Ben Affleck. Or the backup act to Jewel. Or Tiger Woods' caddie. No matter what Toney does, the spotlight always seems to shine elsewhere. "It's been a little frustrating having to wrestle on JVs, because on almost any other team I'd be on the varsity," Toney says. ``But the good thing about district is, the JVs get to compete. I'm getting my chance." photo by Andy Atkinson/Mail Tribune Crater's Scott Toney shoots for a takedown against Klamath Union's Aaron Harroun. And Toney made the most of his opportunity Friday at North Medford High. The junior three-sport standout pinned Ashland's Bryan Morris in the opening round, then pounded out a 14-2 victory over Klamath Union's Aaron Harroun. Toney's teammates were no less impressive. The defending state champion Comets advanced 15 wrestlers into this today's semifinal round, which begins at 11 a.m. As expected, Crater jumped to the front in the team standings with 190 points. Grants Pass is second with a narrow 170-167 advantage over Eagle Point. Roseburg is fourth at 114, followed by Klamath Union, 68; North Medford, 67; South Medford, 54; and Ashland, 3. The two wins will put Toney squarely in the limelight today when he squares off against Jake Leair of Grants Pass, the state's No. 1-ranked 189-pounder. The uninformed will give Toney about as much chance as Ken Starr in a beauty pageant. But Toney's teammates know better. They know he has a 27-3 record this season, with two of the losses coming to Whitehead. They know he's a sprinter and shot-putter in track, an honorable-mention all-conference linebacker in football and strong enough to bench-press more than 300 pounds. If the world only knew, someone would nickname him "Toney the terrible." "He's tough on his feet and tough to take down," says Whitehead, Toney's workout partner for the past two years. "And he's aggressive. He's not the kind of guy you want to get on the mat with if you're not ready to go." Toney would undoubtedly be a better wrestler if he devoted more attention to the sport. But he likes football and track just as much, and he's one of the rare modern-day athletes who can excel at all three. Toney was a starting linebacker and fullback for the Comets in football last fall. And last spring he ran the 100-meter dash in a respectable 11.5 seconds and threw the shot put 47 feet, good enough for fourth place in the SOC district track meet. "Football is probably my favorite sport but I wouldn't want to give up any of them," Toney says. "You meet different friends and coaches in each sport and I like competing in all of them." Toney is especially anxious to get to the Class 4A state wrestling tournament -- he needs to finish among the top three in his weight class -- after narrowly missing out a year ago. With a state tourney berth on the line, Toney led North Medford's Josh Hartley 4-3 late in the final period, only to give up stalling and escape points in the final 20 seconds and drop a 5-4 decision. "That match has been on my mind this whole season," Toney says. "To be that close to the state tournament and not get there was hard to take. "But the thing it did was make me work harder. I'm more motivated because of it." Despite his second-fiddle status, Toney isn't far from an unbeaten season. His losses to Whitehead have come by 5-3 and 3-2 margins in the finals of the Rogue Valley Invitational and Crater Classic. His other loss came at a tournament in California when he was disqualified for an illegal slam. He led his opponent 10-2 at the time of the stoppage. Toney has been ranked as high as No. 4 in the state at 189, but his last loss to Whitehead dropped him to No. 9. "The top-ranked guys in the state (Leair and Whitehead) come from this conference," Toney says. "I'd just like to get to the (state) tournament and see how I stack up against the rest of the state." In addition to Toney and Whitehead, other Comets advancing into today's semifinal round were Andy Oman (103), Chad Griffin (112), Morgan Hawkins (119), Joey Morgan (125), Jayson Stratton (130), Justin Godley (135), Joe Green (140), Nathan Reed (145), Shane Webster (152), Matt Lee (160), Tanner Hillyer (171), Cameron Fjarli (215) and Burk Thomas (275). Grants Pass, meanwhile, advanced 13 wrestlers to the semifinals and Eagle Point 12. One of the most exciting matches Friday came at 171 pounds, where Eagle Point's Evan Pogue squeaked out an 11-9 overtime win over South Medford's Mike Murphy. Pogue held a 9-6 lead late in the third period, but Murphy scored an escape and takedown in the final seconds of regulation to force the sudden death overtime. Pogue, however, registered a quick takedown in the extra session to settle the matter. South Medford's Jason Kruggel (103) and Steve Himmelman (112) moved on the semifinals, as did North Medford's Corey Sweet (140) and Brian Backstrom (275). SOC wrestling results Championship bracket SECOND ROUND 103 -- Andy Oman, C, d. Jason Hoy, GP, 13-3; Morgan Edenstrom, EP, tech. fall Jason Kruggel, SM, 16-1; Morgan Edenstrom, EP, won by forfeit over Cody Lathrop, C; Joe Rossknecht, GP, d. Chris Jensen, NM, 11-0. 112 -- Chad Griffin, C, pinned Jacob Leonardo, EP, 5:07; Steve Himmelman, SM, d. Josh Tarolli, NM, 10-7; Grant Cannon, GP, d. John Gall, EP, 4-2; Todd Knutson, KU, d. Wes Hunt, C, 10-2. 119 -- Lance Wolters, GP, pinned Brandon Anders, C, 5:35; Derek Jaramillo, EP, pinned Jeff Jones, R, 2:49; Adam Neilson, KU, pinned Joel Oiler, R, 1:41; Morgan Hawkins,C, pinned Joel Sequeira, GP, :56. 125 -- Mark Pyle, R, d. Mike Watts, GP, 8-1; Joey Morgan, C, d. Mike Lopez, EP, 7-3; Justin Yarbrough, R, pinned Brad Gutches, C, 1:19; Jeremy Mclean, GP, pinned Nick Kezer, EP, 3:30. 130 -- B.J. McFall, EP, pinned Ben Rader, R, :59; Matt Scheick, KU, d. Bob Pool, C, 5-2; Levi Fuller, GP, d. Scott Stockton, EP, 8-5; Jayson Stratton, C, d. Jacob Bean, SM, 9-5. 135 -- Justin Godley, C, pinned Eric Chase, GP, 1:55; Levi Thomas, R, d. Brian Govi, SM, 1-0; Tom Martin, GP, pinned Trevor Harris, KU, 1:22; Ryan Bray, EP, d. Travis Robinson, R, 5-1. 140 -- Jeremy Conner, GP, pinned Bryce Morgan, EP, :26; Corey Sweet, NM, pinned Dave Alonzo, SM, 1:23; Darek Smith, EP, d. James Lybarger, R, 3-1; Joe Green, C, d. Shad Thomas, NM, 11-0. 145 -- Dustin Forrest, R, pinned Levi Wisdom, C, :53; Chuck Martin, GP, tf. Lucas Schauffler, EP, 21-6; Nathan Reed, C, d. Joel Gibson, NM, 11-3; Matt Bray, EP, d. Billy Fish, GP, 8-0. 152 -- Shane Webster, C, pinned Derrick King, GP, 1:19; Jed Brewer, R, d. John Whitaker, NM, 11-4; Dan King, KU, pinned Randy Wilkerson, R, 3:40; Jamie Mannenbach, EP, pinned Pete Brown, C, 1:16. 160 -- Matt Lee, C, pinned Corey Wolfer, KU, :47; Bret Thomas, EP, d. Ty Turner, R, 3-0; Jesse Heppner, EP, d. David Trujillo, KU, 5-4; Kim Ray, GP, d. Shawn Bachstrom, NM, 4-0. 171 -- Tanner Hillyer, C, d. Brant Gausnell, R, 8-5; Evan Pogue, EP, d. Mike Murphy, SM, 11-9; Justin Klatt, GP, pinned Paul Mann, KU, 3:33; Jason Welch, EP, d. Justin Samples, C, 7-1. 215 -- Cameron Fjarli, C, pinned Brent Rhodes, NM, 3:40; Jeremy Sprague, R, d. Tony Delack, GP, 4-2; Trenton Ray, GP, pinned Anders Vetch, C, 3:44; Carlos Alverez, EP, pinned Spenser Gausnell, R, 1:55. 275 -- Burk Thomas, C, pinned Willy Kingry, R, 1:40; Brian Chase, GP, d. Scott Hoffman, NM, 5-1; Blake Cam, EP, d. Austin Etchison, C, 3-1; Brian Bachstrom, NM, d. Chris Folsom, R, 7-3. Consolation bracket SECOND ROUND 103 -- Cody Lathrop, C, d. Chris Jensen, NM, 6-2; John Baker, NM, pinned Brian Walker, R, 2:31; Justin Winner, EP, pinned Steve Blitzer, KU, :17; Jason Hoy, GP, pinned Ian Rasmussen, SM, :57. 112 -- Wes Hunt, C, d. Garret Melton, R, 10-5; John Gallo, EP, pinned Greg Hamilton, KU, 3:08; Josh Tarolli, NM, d. John Peckem, R, 13-6; Jacob Leonardo, EP, pinned Tim Schmidt, NM, 2:27. 119 -- Joel Sequeira, GP, d. Brendon Keene, KU, 17-5; Donnie Jackson, SM, pinned Joel Oiler, R, :57; Brian Hayes, EP, d. Jeff Jones, R, 14-0; Brandon Anders, C, d. Matt McCoy, SM, 10-1. 125 -- Nick Kezer, EP, pinned Carolyn Christensen, A, 1:01; Brad Gutches, C, pinned Luke Chandler, KU, 4:08; Mike Lopez, EP, pinned Chris Mellema, SM, 2:48; Mike Watts, GP, pinned Ryan Staten, NM, 2:35. 130 -- Jacob Bean, SM, pinned Jack Blum, NM, 1:26; Scott Stockton, EP, pinned Gerod Aleshire, A, 1:32; Bob Pool, C, d. Adam Bancroft, NM, 3-0; Brian Mahoney, KU, d. Ben Rader, R, 8-6. 135 -- Travis Robinson, R, pinned Shane Ivie, KU, 1:27; Trevor Harris, KU, d. Jason Adams, EP, 9-8; Brian Govi, SM, d. Rudy Ramirez, C, 5-4; Eric Chase, GP, pinned Alan Borelli, NM, :41. 140 -- Shad Thomas, NM, d. Brian Goecke, R, 6-4; James Lybarger, R, pinned Byron Nork, KU, 1:56; Dave Alonzo, SM, pinned Loren Hull, KU, :56; Bryce Morgan, EP, tf. Matt Mettler, GP, 17-1. 145 -- Billy Fish, GP, pinned Tim Miner, NM, 1:59; Joel Gibson, NM, pinned Kevin O'Shea, SM, 3:35; Lucas Schauffler, EP, d. Brody Shelby, R, 12-1; Levi Wisdom, C, pinned Adam Vassallo, KU, :54. 152 -- Pete Brown, C, d. Vic Shelton, EP, 3-2; Randy Wilkerson, R, pinned Ty Haggard, A, 3:03; John Whitaker, NM, pinned Derrick King, GP, 1:08; Roy Blower, GP, pinned Curt Stout, NM, 1:59. 160 -- Cameron Whipp d. Shawn Bachstrom, NM, 7-4; David Trujillo, KU, pinned Brock Smith, NM, 2:16; Ty Turner, R, pinned Ryan Goff, C, 2:38; Corey Wolfer, KU, pinned Josh Gausnell, R, 3:45. 171 -- Justin Samples, C, d. Shawn Lazareff, A, 13-3; Paul Mann, KU, d. Evan Goulette, GP, 10-0; Mike Murphy, SM, pinned Brant Gausnell, R, 2:29; Frank Falino, R, pinned James MacCormack, A, 2:35. 215 -- Jesse Hawkins, EP, d. Spenser Gausnell, R, 6-4; Anders Vetch, C, pinned Roman Rodgers, KU, 1:00; Tony Delack, GP, f. Dan Kennedy, KU,; Brent Rhodes, NM, pinned Peter Tomayo, A, 2:30. 275 -- Chris Folsom, R, pinned Mike Brabbin, EP, 2:48; Austin Etchison, C, pinned Filo Rodriguez, KU, 1:15; Scott Hoffman, NM, d. Jason Bybee, KU, 2-1; Willy Kingry, R, pinned Daniel Timmons, A, 1:25. Today's Sports Index Mail Tribune Copyright� The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford,