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Round 1 goes to Eagles photo by Andrew Mariman By Don Hunt CENTRAL POINT � Brad McBee was hired as the Eagle Point wrestling coach last season for three basic reasons: (1) To restore respect to the program, (2) beat Crater and (3) win a state championship. McBee conquered the first objective last winter and Wednesday night his Eagles soared over the second hurdle as they pinned a 37-18 dual meet defeat on the Comets before a crowd of 1,275 at Crater High. "It�s too early to be drawing any conclusions about what�s going to happen later but this is still a big win for our program," McBee said. "Any time you beat the three-time defending state champion, it�s big." The Eagles, who beat Crater in a dual meet for the first time in five years, won nine of the 14 weight classes and picked up falls from Justin Winner at 125 pounds and James Mannenbach at 189. Crater coach Greg Haga knew his Comets faced an uphill battle, especially since Wednesday marked his team�s season-opener while Eagle Point had wrestled in a tournament in Nevada. "We got taken to the woodshed and spanked with a switch," Haga said. "It�s been a long time since anyone has pounded us like that in a dual meet. "But now we know where we stand and how much work we�ve got to do. We�ll take it like a man and move forward." The Comets got off to a good start when freshman Cody Ponder jumped to a 7-2 lead after one period and held on for a 10-9 victory over Justin Sheile at 103 pounds. But if Crater was going to spring an upset, it needed several more victories in the lower weights. Instead, EP�s Joe Lewis registered an 8-4 win over Nate Gipson at 112, Andrew Larsen bagged an 11-1 victory over Clancy Finchum at 119 and Justin Winner stormed from behind to pin Dustin Anders at 125. Suddenly, the Eagles had a 13-3 lead and their crowd was buzzing with excitement. "The 125-pound match really swung the momentum their direction," Haga said. "It put us in a big hole." Anders bolted to a 4-0 lead over Winner in the opening minute of their match and led 8-2 early in the second period. But Winner, who placed eighth at the Class 4A state meet at 103 pounds last season, closed within 9-6 by the end of the period and then caught Anders 11 seconds into the third. "He put his legs in, I grabbed his arm and stacked him on his shoulders," Winner said. "It felt great." Wes Hunt finally stopped the bleeding for the Comets with an exciting 12-10 victory over Jake Leonardo at 130, but the Eagles rattled off three more wins in succession to grab a 25-9 advantage. That was a deficit the Comets weren�t going to overcome. Due to strategic maneuvering, one of the night�s most anticipated matches never came about. Crater�s Shane Webster and Eagle Point�s Mannenbach, the state�s No. 1- and No. 2-ranked wrestlers at 171, never met. McBee moved Mannenbach up a weight, hoping he would pin his opponent and clinch the team win for the Eagles. And Mannenbach did just that, sticking Covey Baack one second before the end of the first period. Webster, meanwhile, never did get to wrestle and for that matter, neither did Eagle Point�s Chet McBee, who is ranked No. 1 at 145. "I think everyone here would have loved to see Webster and Mannenbach go at it, me included," Brad McBee said. "But they had an outside chance to win the last four matches if we don�t make the switch and then we could have lost the whole deal. "The team comes first." In a battle of the state�s top-ranked heavyweights, defending state champion Blake Cam eased to a 3-1 victory over Ben Tibbetts. 103 � Cody Ponder, C, d. Justin Sheile, 3-0; 112 � Joe Lewis, EP, d. Nate Gipson, 8-4; 119 �Andrew Larsen, EP, d. Clancy Finchum, 11-1; 125 � Justin Winner, EP, pinned Dustin Anders, 4:11. 130 � Wes Hunt, C, d. Jake Leonardo, 12-10 (OT); 135 � Morgan Edenstrom, EP, d. Brandon Anders, 6-3; 140 � Jason Adams, EP, d. Jeremy McLaughlin, 8-3; 145 � Chet McBee, EP, won by forfeit; 152 � Bob Pool, C, d. Christian Mannenbach, 5-3. 160 � Rudy Ramirez, C, d. Tyson Nelson, 7-4; 171 � Shane Webster, C, won by forfeit; 189 � James Mannenbach, EP, pinned Covey Baack, 1:59; 215 � Justin Samples, C, d. Jake Phillips, 7-4; 275 � Blake Cam, EP, d. Ben Tibbetts, 3-1. 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 � 2000 Mail Tribune, Inc.