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Crater rolls to fifth straight title Crater�s Shane Webster tosses Eagle Point�s Jamie Mannenbach in the 171-pound championship in Saturday�s district meet By Kris Henry It wasn�t supposed to be Crater�s year. The early-season rankings showed it and the Southern Oregon Conference prepared for it. The only problem was, nobody took the time to clear that with the three-time defending state champs. Showing the poise that has become expected from a Greg Haga-led wrestling team, Crater used its superior depth and unfaltering determination to claim its fifth straight district title and 10th in 12 years. "I think at the beginning of the year there were a lot of doubters and a lot of people who counted this group of kids out," said Haga. "Probably the thing I�ll remember most is how much these kids improved from Dec. 6 when we wrestled Eagle Point to today." The Comets pulled away from Eagle Point early and held on at the end to beat the Eagles by 56 points, 410-354. Roseburg finished a distant third at 230�, followed by Grants Pass (183�), North Medford (81�), Klamath Union (78), South Medford (60) and Ashland (34�). Crater found much of its inspiration in the aforementioned 37-18 dual meet loss to Eagle Point early in the season. The Eagles went on to hold down the No. 1 ranking for a good portion of the season, while the Comets hovered close by with a defining memory of that loss. "When we lost the dual we remembered seeing signs saying �Eagle Point 2001 state champions� and that just pumped us up," said Crater senior Shane Webster. "It�s not that easy to win a state title and I�m not sure they understood what it took to be a state champ. None of them have been on a state championship team. It takes a lot more than just a sign." What it takes is bodies, and that�s what Crater and Eagle Point will send to Portland in droves for the Feb. 22-24 meet at Memorial Coliseum. The Comets will take 16 to the state tourney while Eagle Point counters with 13, including seven district champions. "You always want to finish strong and obviously the goal is to win the district tournament," said Eagle Point coach Brad McBee. "We didn�t accomplish that goal but we had a good third-fourth round and won seven out of nine in the championship finals so I�m real happy with that." The Eagles stand to ride the momentum of their head-to-head confrontations with Crater wrestlers. Eagle Point won seven of nine semifinal matches against Crater, and went 5-for-7 in the championship finals. "I�d like to have had a better round in the finals but some of them did a great job just to get there," said Haga. Only Webster at 171 and Cody Ponder at 103 could break the championship run by the Eagles, with Webster earning a 26-11 technical fall over James Mannenbach and Ponder pinning Justin Sheile at 3 minutes, 39 seconds. Webster, the nation�s top wrestler at his weight, remained undefeated on the season and improved to 119-2 over the past three seasons. Both losses came at the Clovis West tournament in his sophomore season. Webster�s domination thus far has shown no bounds, with the senior allowing only three takedowns this year. He is on pace to become Crater�s first three-time state champion. "That just makes me work harder," said Webster. "The more (of a reputation) you get the more people want to beat you to make a name for themselves. I have to be ready every time and can�t take anyone lightly." Eagle Point�s Blake Cam (275) is also on pace to repeat his state championship after winning his second straight district title with a rugged 1-0 win over Crater�s Ben Tibbetts. Cam went on the aggressive from the start and never allowed Tibbetts an opening in a very physical heavyweight bout. "I wanted to go as hard as I could," said Cam. "I don�t know if I accomplished that but a win�s a win no matter how you get it. He�s definitely improved a lot." Chet McBee (145) and Justin Winner (125) each earned their second straight district titles for the Eagles, with Andrew Larsen (119), John Gallo (140), Darek Smith (152) and Joe Lewis (112) adding their first titles. Also earning district titles were Crater�s Justin Samples (189),, North Medford�s Norris Bier (215), Roseburg�s Levi Thomas (160) and Mike Watts (130) and Joey Rossknecht (135) of Grants Pass. Although the Comets struggled to cap off their run with championships, they managed to separate from Eagle Point with a number of solid efforts in the consolation rounds. "The JV did it for us," said Webster. "They bar-none won the tournament and deserve a lot of credit." Also deserving of credit was Haga and his staff, who were afforded that luxury when the SOC coaches named Haga coach of the year. "Some years it�s deserved more than others," said Haga. "This year we�ve worked hard. The whole coaching staff has really earned it. "We beat a team that I wasn�t real sure at the start of the year we had a shot beating." The Eagles weren�t sure that could happen, either. "We thought we had a real shot at winning districts this year," said Cam. "We had a few kids get beat that shouldn�t have gotten beat, but that happens. We�ll just have to forget about it and go on to state and hopefully do better there." Reach reporter Kris Henry at 776-4488, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.