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McBees� end journey with a title By Kris Henry The long and winding road that brought Brad McBee and his son Chet to the Oregon wrestling scene certainly has had its bumps over the past two seasons. The style of the coach and his standout son have endeared themselves to some, ruffled the feathers of others. To steal a thought from the late Frank Sinatra, the McBees have done it their way. And judging by the ovation Saturday night when Chet McBee claimed his first state championship as a senior and the Eagles rose to third place in the Class 4A team standings, Eagle Point fans wouldn�t have it any other way. There�s no telling what might have happened had the McBees stayed in Kansas, but its hard to imagine a more emotional setting than Saturday night�s championship finals. With Chet in his first state final and Brad sitting matside trying to guide his son to the ultimate prize in his final attempt, the 145-pound match was something to behold. Chet trailed 3-1 and 4-3 before finally taking charge against Sprague�s Chris Mortenson to score an 8-5 win. Once the victory was secured, the emotional side of father and son came out in what had to have been building ever since Brad taught Chet his first move many years ago. "It�s kind of doubly sweet for me," said the father and coach. "It would be great to just be a spectator and watch him, in fact it probably would be a hell of a lot easier." Anything had to be easier than Chet�s enthusiastic celebration following his win. One back flip took the crowd by surprise once the clock struck zero. A second was for a photographer who begged the young man to do it again. A race up through the Memorial Coliseum stands was for a mother and sister who have been by Chet�s side every step of the way as well. "I�ve been wanting to do that since I was 6-years-old watching four timers from Kansas do it," Chet said of his post-match flip. "It�s just something I�ve always wanted to do but I never wanted to do it unless it was a state title." The flip couldn�t have summed up the McBees� season more appropriately. A much-debated altercation at the Rogue Valley Classic involving the McBees, Phoenix coach Harry Mondale, Pirate 145-pounder Brandon Sousa and a handful of others matside had many wondering whether Southern Oregon could handle a double dose of McBee. To their credit, Brad and Chet ensured a second incident would not be up for debate, justified or not. With the focus solely on wrestling, both made it clear they know a little something about the sport and are deserving of the praise afforded them in Eagle Point. "It makes up for everything," Chet said of Saturday�s victory. "A state championship is a lifelong dream. After 14 years of wrestling it never seemed like I could quite get it all there to get to the big one. I guess this was the time to happen in my senior year. There were a couple bruises along the way to keep me honest, but this week it�s just been about going out and having fun." (BULLETS HERE PLEASE AND BOLD ENSUING CAPS) THE FUN PROVED FLEETING FOR the likes of Eagle Point�s James Mannenbach and Crater�s Ben Tibbetts. Both Southern Oregon wrestlers spent the year in the shadow of their top-ranked counterparts, never truly getting a chance to show that each truly is deserving of championship fanfare. All the glory went to Crater�s Shane Webster and Eagle Point�s Blake Cam as the dominating duo earned repeat state championships. For Mannenbach, his season appeared doomed once Webster stepped up in weight to 171. When the No. 1 ranked wrestler in the nation joins your ranks, it�s hard to remain optimistic about your chances. Yet Mannenbach remained true to the 171 pound class, never considering a step up to 189 for a more realistic shot at a state title. The record will show Mannenbach suffered two technical falls and a championship fall at the hands of Webster this season. What it needs to show is no one else even came close to the Eagle Point senior, who posted two double-digit wins, a fall and an 8-3 decision in the state tourney. "Jamie Mannenbach would have probably been a state champion in any other weight or any other year but when you have the best wrestler in the country in your weight class that�s what happens," said Eagle Point coach Brad McBee. The same holds true for Tibbetts, whose life would have been made much eaiser without the presence of Cam at heavyweight. Tibbetts truly only had one close match prior to the championship final, and that was a 2-1 double overtime win over James Messenger of St. Helens, who seemed more willing to run and hide from the Comet than anything else. Unlike Mannenbach, however, Tibbetts always gave Cam a run for his money before falling short each time. The tandem met four times, with Saturday�s 3-0 deficit the largest margin of victory for Cam. Yet sadly, the tears that flow for second-place finishers don�t come with an asterisk supporting the mountain each had to climb. One can only hope that each knows they did their best, against the best, and nothing more can be asked. 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.