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Phoenix looks to dominate By Don Hunt Harry Mondale looked at the talent pool coming into his program four years ago and knew there was no way he could retire anytime soon as the Phoenix High wrestling coach. The freshmen-to-be were a loaded group, as good as Mondale had seen since he became the Pirates head coach in 1969. Those freshmen are now seniors, and the Pirates hope to reward their longtime mentor with his seventh state championship next week in Portland. First, though, the Pirates will go after their 16th Skyline Conference title in the past 18 years when they strap on their singlets today in Cave Junction. The Skyline district tournament, to be contested at Illinois Valley High School, kicks off at noon today and picks up at noon Saturday. "This senior group might be as good as I�ve ever had," Mondale says. "They�re hard workers, good athletes and good role models for the younger kids." Three of the seven � Tyler McCarty (135), Brandon Sousa (145) and Kyle Kaufman (152) � enter the tournament as No. 1 seeds. The other four � Jesse Clark (125), Forest Jacobs (152), Shawn Farrell (171) and Keanon Ferguson (215) � come in as No. 2 seeds. The Pirates took runner-up honors at the 3A state tournament last season and were ranked No. 1 most of the way this winter until Sweet Home passed them up last week. Mondale is using the demotion as motivation. "I guess we haven�t been working very hard in our wrestling room lately," Mondale says, tongue in cheek. "Apparently, the word got out that we�ve been slacking off." The Pirates are a big favorite to beat back the rest of the Skyline field, although upstart Illinois Valley can�t be overlooked. The Cougars, ranked ninth in the state poll, came within 10 points of Phoenix (39-29) in their dual meet last week. Like Phoenix, Illinois Valley enters the tourney with four No. 1 seeds � Matt Britt (125), Eddie Middleton (130), Jesse Camp (140) and Ryan Emery (171). However, the Pirates boast seven No. 2 seeds compared to just one for the Cougars. "We don�t have the depth that Phoenix has but we�ve got some tough kids," Illinois Valley assistant coach Colin Wilson says. "Our goal is to get eight or nine kids to the state meet and see where that takes us." Three wrestlers in each weight class will advance to the 3A state tournament. In the past, only the top two have qualified. "Those third-place matches on Saturday are going to be very intense," Mondale says. "Those are the matches that separate the men from the boys, and hopefully it�ll give us a chance to get some extra kids to state. "What this district meet is all about is getting kids to state." Mondale has 12 wrestlers seeded first, second or third, and four others seeded fourth. Rogue River has a pair of top seeds in Nick Minard (119) and Brandon Glasscock (275), while Brenden McLean (189) carries top billing for North Valley. Reach reporter Don Hunt at 776-4469, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.