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Click Here 42 °F Forecast | Road Cams Saturday, January 31, 2004 Today's News | Classifieds | Autos | Homes | Jobs | Tempo | Health | Community | Home Delivery SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map EXTRA Newspaper in Education Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People CLASSIFIEDS Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Find a Rental Place an ad eSouthernOregon Automotive Communities Entertainment Publications Recreation Calendar CUSTOMER SERVICE Frequent Questions Advertising Information Home Delivery Employment Contact Us Media Kit Network Affiliate Email Story to a Friend December 19, 2003 South Medford�s Charlie Gitzen, top, attempts to pin North Medford�s Kyle Badger in the 275-pound match. Gitzen went on to pin Badger. Mail Tribune / Jim Craven Gitzen gets ’em for South Panther heavyweight debuts with fall, setting up teammate Aguilar for match-winning pin By KRIS HENRY Mail Tribune South Medford junior Charlie Gitzen might as well hang up his singlet now — his career on the mat may not get any sweeter than what the heavyweight wrestler experienced Thursday night. In his first-ever match for the Panthers, the happy-go-lucky Gitzen landed a crucial pin to help South rally past North Medford, 34-29, in fierce Southern Oregon Conference action. Gitzen plodded onto the mat at South Medford High to the chants of "Charlie, Charlie," and left to an even more deafening version after pinning North’s Kyle Badger, another first- year wrestler. "I was so nervous when I came out," said Gitzen. "I didn’t know what was going to happen." Six weeks of conditioning to finally "slim down" to 280 pounds gave rise to Gitzen’s excitement. Further, the must-win scenario — South trailed 29-22 and only two matches were in the balance — nearly caused his heart to beat out of his chest. Advertisement Gitzen was initially set back on his heels when Badger stole his game plan and made the first aggressive move, but it didn’t take long for the Panther to regroup. Within 30 seconds, Gitzen had Badger on his hip and then taken to the mat. Gitzen leaned back with all his might trying to gain a pin, but Badger held him off for a three-point near fall that gave the South wrestler a 5-0 lead. The next time, however, Badger wasn’t as fortunate as Gitzen rolled him over his hip early in the second period and finished off the pin in a time of 3 minutes, 16 seconds. "That first time, I thought I was going to have him but he just started wiggling out," said Gitzen. "The second time was pretty sweet. I was curling him up as hard as I could. I had his head and his leg and I was just trying to do everything I could to get the pin." With Gitzen opening the door for a South victory, sophomore 103-pounder Juan Aguilar sealed the deal with a first-round pin of North’s Tyler Fair in 45 seconds. "It was intense," Aguilar said of the match-winning finale that gave South its first SOC win in three attempts. "I’ve never been in that position before. I was just hoping to get out with the win, and I did." Aguilar improved to 7-0 in only his second year of wrestling but found more joy in watching his opposite weight go to 1-0. "That was amazing," Aguilar said of Gitzen’s win. "Charlie did absolutely perfect, and I was proud of him. We didn’t think we were ever going to get him down to weight, so it was exciting to have him out there for the first time." So much so that South head coach Ken Thompson had to race down the line of chairs to keep his exuberant wrestlers and assistants off the mat following Gitzen’s pin. "He’s just worked his butt off," Thompson said. "I’m so happy his first time out he could get a big win for us like that." It was an image Thompson never would have pictured when Gitzen approached him about wrestling this season. "The very first time he came in, we put him on the scale and he was 308 and I just shook my head," said the coach. "I said to him, ‘Do you realize how far you have to go?’ and he had no idea." Given a goal of 280, Gitzen worked for six weeks in the weight room — and just about anywhere else he could find. While his teammates were in Camas, Wash., at a tournament last weekend, Gitzen was out ice skating for three hours at the RRRink. "It’s gotta be a dangerous thing out there," Thompson said of Gitzen on skates. "I wouldn’t want to see him coming my way." A much better image for Thompson was having the match come down to Aguilar. "I had no doubts there with Juan," said the coach. "Once Charlie got the win, I knew we were there." Although the last few matches had the fans on pins and needles, North Medford coach Kacey McNulty said the tide didn’t turn there. "I don’t know if the tide was ever turned in any direction," said McNulty, whose team dropped to 0-2 in SOC duals. "They came out pounding us and finished pounding us." South led 19-7 after six of the 14 matches, but a decision by North’s Brad Barrows at 145 and a major decision by Chris Platt at 152 trimmed the Tornado’s deficit to five points. South’s advantage was bumped up by one point when Ryan Folsom of North was penalized for not having his shoelaces taped down before stepping onto the mat. The infraction cost the Tornado a team point and Folsom a critical match point as South’s Jon Lang went on to win the 160-pound affair 10-8 in overtime. Rob Folsom got momentum on North’s side with a second-period pin of Landon Robertson, and teammate Cory Oxford earned a 16-3 major decision over Brian Heindrichs to give the Tornado its first lead at 23-22. Tim Endecott scored North’s final points with a pin in 41 seconds over Marshall Adrian to put the Panthers in a bind with a 29-22 deficit. "For three years now, these duals have been really intense, really exciting," said Thompson. "There at the end, it came down to kids who were equally matched. We just got the better of it." 103 — Juan Aguilar, SM, pinned Tyler Fair, :45; * 112 — Ace Snyder, SM, dec. Cory Coghill, 7-1; 119 — Jon Ulrey, NM, dec. Jerry DeBoer, 4-2 OT; 125 — Chris Helman, SM, pinned Tyson Weston, 1:58; 130 — Sylvan Ulrey, NM, major dec. Mike Cortez, 13-2. 135 — Travis Harvey, SM, major dec. Chris Oetinger, 13-1; 140 — Joe Ziegler, SM, pinned Louis Herron, 2:42; 145 — Brad Barrows, NM, dec. Alex Brummer, 9-3; 152 — Chris Platt, NM, major dec. Mike Pacheco, 11-3. 160 — Jon Lang, SM, dec. Ryan Folsom, 10-8 OT; 171 — Rob Folsom, NM, pinned Landon Robertson, 3:45; 189 — Cory Oxford, NM, major dec. Brian Heindrichs, 16-3; 215 — Tim Endecott, NM, pinned Marshall Adrian, :41; 275 — Charlie Gitzen, SM, pinned Kyle Badger, 3:16. * starting weight Reach reporter Kris Henry at 776-4488, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright © 1997-2004 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions Website Feedback 3 WEEKS FREE! ADVERTISERS A D V E R T I S E R S RESOURCES Oregon Road Conditions & Cams SPECIAL SECTIONS Auto Finder Job Finder Home Finder Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Tempo Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Since We Asked Food for Thought Wellness Connection Outdoor Journal Moving to Southern Oregon? Volunteer Opportunities Prime Times