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Crater looks to retain crown By Kris Henry There�s no way around the fact that wrestling is a numbers game when it comes to tournaments, especially on the first day. How many wrestlers advance to the semifinals and remain in contention in the consolation bracket directly relates to how strong your chances are at claiming the championship. Gunning for its 10th title in 12 years, Crater set itself up nicely by advancing 19 wrestlers into today�s championship semifinals to open a 24-point cushion over second-place Eagle Point at the Southern Oregon Conference district tournament. "That�s part of the battle, but (today�s) the war," said Crater coach Greg Haga. Crater has 126� points, followed by Eagle Point�s 102� and Roseburg�s 76. Grants Pass is fourth heading into Day 2 with 58� points, followed by Klamath Union (41), South Medford (22), Ashland (18�) and North Medford (17�). Thanks to the Eagles� efforts, today�s action at South Medford High should be electric right from the start with the championship semis at 11 a.m. Eagle Point advanced 14 wrestlers into the semis and has head-to-head matchups with Crater wrestlers in nine of the 14 weight classes. "We have to really be focused for (today�s) semifinal round because that�s when the big points are scored and that�s the easy road to the state tournament," said Eagle Point coach Brad McBee. That focus will have to be turned up a notch in the head-to-head matchups between the Comets and Eagles, especially since Eagle Point had two No. 2 seeds drop to the consolation round. Both teams still have 23 wrestlers overall in contention. "Every one of those head-ups will be really crucial because we can�t control anything except the 14 we wrestle in," said McBee. "We�ve got to take care of our business and get as many of those 14 through as we can and let the chips fall where they may." The championship finals are set for 5:45 tonight. Today�s setting is similar to last season�s district tournament in Roseburg. Crater entered the final day with a slight lead on Eagle Point, and both teams had only lost a handful of wrestlers in Day 1. The Comets took advantage of a lull by the Eagles in the semifinal morning round and then held on for the SOC title even though Eagle Point crowned five champions later that night. If Haga has his way, the Comets will turn in a repeat of last year in order to claim their fifth straight district title. "If you lose in the semis, then you have to fight back and get up to wrestle two matches in a row. We don�t want to do it the hard way, we�d rather do it the easy way," said Haga. "(Eagle Point�s) probably going to pull more into the finals than we are, but we have to hopefully match them in the finals. If we can do that, then that�s certainly going to help us (retain the SOC title)." Roseburg may hold the fortunes of Crater and Eagle Point in its hands after advancing 10 to the championship semis and 10 others in the consolation bracket. Grants Pass could also make a difference with 14 wrestlers still alive, including six in the championship semis. The Indians and Cavemen already have had an impact on Eagle Point, with Roseburg freshman Nick Jacobson upsetting No. 2 seed Christian Mannenbach at 145 pounds and Grants Pass sophomore Ryan Reese knocking off No. 2 seed Victor Shelton at 160. Jacobson won 7-6 in the quarterfinals over the Eagle Point sophomore, while Reese won 7-3 against the Eagle junior. "We�re not set up as good as we could be, that�s for sure," McBee said. "A lot of the kids wrestled pretty tough, we just had a few guys have some mental letdowns. As long as those guys come back and wrestle tough and get that third place, then we�re OK. That�s what this tournament is about, surviving to the state tournament two weeks down the road." Four No. 4 seeds fell by the wayside, as did third-seeded Joel Oiler (140) from Roseburg who didn�t make weight. South Medford�s Rob Swearingen avenged a recent loss to Klamath Union�s Dominic Rodriguez to knock off the No. 4 seed at 160. Swearingen pinned his foe at 1:21 to advance to the semis. Third-seeded Matt McCoy also advanced to the semis for the Panthers at 135 with two dominating victories. South coach Ken Wharry said both Panthers have a good chance to advance to tonight�s finals, although both will admittedly have to earn their spot in the finals. Swearingen faces No. 1 seed Tyson Nelson from Eagle Point, while McCoy will square off against No. 2 seed Jeremy McLaughlin of Crater. Eagle Point freshman Nick Alexander pulled off one of the other three upsets, beating Roseburg�s Kevin Beavers at 103. Crater�s Josh Wilder pinned fourth-seeded Jimmy Ulrey from North Medford at 140, while Ashland 189-pounder James MacCormack beat Robbie Konieczny of Grants Pass, 11-3, to become the only Grizzly to remain in the championship bracket. North Medford also advanced only one wrestler to today�s semis, with No. 1 seed Norris Bier carrying the torch for the Black Tornado at 215. SOC District Wrestling Results Results from Friday�s opening rounds of the Southern Oregon Conference district wrestling tournament at South Medford High. TEAM SCORES � Crater 126�, Eagle Point 102�, Roseburg 76, Grants Pass 58�, Klamath Union 41, South Medford 22, Ashland 18�, North Medford 17�. CHAMPIONSHIP BRACKET SECOND ROUND 103 � Cody Ponder, Cra, pinned Joe Brandness, Cra, :42; Nick Alexander, EP, dec. Kevin Beavers, Ros, 6-5; Dean Cornelison, KU, pinned Evan Norris, SM, 1:42; Justin Sheile, EP, pinned Chris Oetinger, NM, 4:38. 112 � Joe Lewis, EP, tech fall Josh Smith, Ash, 20-3; Jeremy Firestone, Cra, tech fall Joel Hood, GP, 18-3; Seth Thomas, Ros, pinned Sylvan Ulrey, NM, 1:24; Nate Gipson, Cra, pinned Chad Warner, KU, 3:45. 119 � Andrew Larsen, EP, won by forfeit; Kyle Marci, Cra, pinned Zack Steddum, GP, 3:00; Jason Licato, Cra, dec. Ian Rasmussen, SM, 13-3; John Peckham, Ros, pinned Kris Armstrong, KU, 2:19. 125 � Dustin Anders, Cra, pinned Skyler Case, Ash, 1:15; Brian Walker, Ros, pinned Jacob Leonardo, EP, 4:39; Wes Hunt, Cra, dec. Tyler Spears, Ros, 8-4; Justin Winner, EP, pinned Kirk Case, SM, 3:35. 130 � Grant Cannon, GP, pinned Robbie Johnston, EP, 5:37; Brandon Anders, Cra, dec. Mat Jacobson, Ros, 4-3; Morgan Edenstrom, EP, dec. Clancy Finchum, Cra, 9-0; Mike Watts, GP, pinned Steve Bitzer, KU, 3:16. 135 � Joey Rossknecht, GP, dec. Josh King, Cra, 8-2; Brandon Cordell, Ros, dec. Brian Hays, EP, 6-2; Matt McCoy, SM, dec. Nick Kezer, EP, 12-4; Jeremy McLaughlin, Cra, dec. Nevin Williams, GP, 6-2. 140 � John Gallo, EP, pinned Adam Zaiger, KU, :25; Josh Wilder, Cra, pinned Jimmy Ulrey, NM, 1:08; Ty Allgood, Ros, dec. Jason Adams, EP, 8-5; Bob Pool, Cra, pinned David Ashwanden, GP, 2:57. 145 � Chet McBee, EP, won by forfeit; Rudy Ramirez, Cra, pinned Novie Bier, NM, 5:49; Trevor Knight, GP, dec. Jordan Godley, Cra, 16-10; Nick Jacobson, Ros, dec. Christian Mannenbach, EP, 7-6. 152 � Levi Wisdom, Cra, pinned Josh Meyer, EP, 3:27; Nick Shaffer, Ros, dec. Elijah Blessing, Ash, 9-4; Jarrod Miller, GP, dec. Rob Folsom, NM, 8-3; Darek Smith, EP, pinned Moses Perez, Ros, 1:27. 160 � Tyson Nelson, EP, dec. Kyle Wisdom, Cra, 14-6; Rob Swearingen, SM, pinned Dominic Rodriguez, KU, 1:21; Levi Thomas, Ros, dec. Brian Mahoney, KU, 12-1; Ryan Reese, GP, dec. Victor Shelton, EP, 7-3. 171 � Shane Webster, Cra, pinned Chris Wilson, EP, 1:26; Robert Kincaid, KU, dec. Kevin O�Shea, SM, 11-7; Covey Baack, Cra, pinned Brian Alves, GP, 1:45; James Mannenbach, EP, pinned Nick Trowbridge, Ros, :42. 189 � Dave Trujillo, KU, pinned J.D. Monroe, Cra, 3:52; James MacCormack, Ash, dec. Robbie Konieczny, GP, 11-3; Jake Phillips, EP, dec. Rick Webb, GP, 11-0; Justin Samples, Cra, pinned Cauahtemoc Gomez, Ros, 2:52. 215 � Norris Bier, NM, pinned Andrew Ditty, GP, 3:00; Randy Stepp, EP, dec. Cody Engbrecht, Cra, 9-8; Cody Parker, Ros, pinned Terry Brown, GP, 1:48; Aaron Harleman, Cra, pinned Peter Tamayo, Ash, 1:05. 275 � Blake Cam, EP, pinned David Folsom, SM, :48; Chris Dearmon, Cra, pinned Nick Smith, NM, :29; Willie Kingry, Ros, received a bye; Ben Tibbetts, Cra, received a bye. CONSOLATION BRACKET SECOND ROUND 103 � Kevin Beavers, Ros, received a bye; Joe Brandness, Cra, received a bye; Chris Oetinger, NM, received a bye; Evan Norris, SM, received a bye. 112 � Joel Hood, GP, received a bye; Josh Smith, Ash, tech fall Dean Limb, KU, 15-0; Chad Warner, KU, received a bye; Sylvan Ulrey, NM, received a bye. 119 � Zack Steddum, GP, pinned Steve Graham, KU, 4:31; Andrew Maldonado, Ros, won by forfeit; Kris Armstrong, KU, pinned Matt Leonardo, EP, 5:24; Ian Rasmussen, SM, pinned Clay Gard, Ash, 1:12. 125 � Jacob Leonardo, EP, received a bye; Paul LeCroy, NM, pinned Skyler Case, Ash, 1:23; Kirk Case, SM, pinned Jon Penney, NM, 5:04; Tyler Spears, Ros, pinned Trevor Hanlin, GP, 3:47. 130 � Mat Jacobson, Ros, received a bye; Robbie Johnston, EP, pinned Nathan Marshall, Ash, 1:00; Steve Bitzer, KU, pinned Mark Haner, Ros, :45; Clancy Finchum, Cra, dec. Ryan Norris, SM, 9-1. 135 � Brian Hays, EP, received a bye; Josh King, Cra, received a bye; Nevin Williams, GP, pinned Isaac Hebert, Ros, 5:38; Nick Kezer, EP, received a bye. 140 � Jimmy Ulrey, NM, received a bye; Nolan Wells, Ash, pinned Adam Zaiger, KU, 2:50; David Ashwanden, GP, received a bye; Jason Adams, EP, received a bye. 145 � Novie Bier, NM, pinned Aaron Thompson, Ros, 5:33; Tyson Neuenschwander, Ash, won by forfeit; Christian Mannenbach, EP, pinned Kyle Wells, NM, 2:38; Aaron Croxford, KU, dec. Jordan Godley, Cra, 11-3. 152 � Elijah Blessing, Ash, pinned Tabitha Rich, :10; Josh Meyer, EP, pinned Jamie Broome, NM, 1:00; Moses Perez, Ros, pinned Brandon Jones, Cra, 1:55; Rob Folsom, NM, dec. Shane Ivie, KU, 8-5. 160 � Dominic Rodriguez, KU, pinned Robert O�Brien, NM, :38; Brandon Gunder, GP, dec. Kyle Wisdom, Cra, 9-2; Victor Shelton, EP, pinned Charles Cunningham, Cra, 1:36; Brian Mahoney, KU, pinned Jacob Sarver, NM, :27. 171 � Kevin O�Shea, SM, received a bye; Chris Wilson, EP, dec. Nathan Sprague, Ros, 20-9; Nick Trowbridge, Ros, pinned Denver Lancaster, KU, :47; Brian Alves, GP, received a bye. 189 � Evan Caddock, Ros, pinned Robbie Konieczny, GP, 5:47; J.D. Monroe, Cra, dec. Brock Smith, NM, 8-3; Cauahtemoc Gomez, Ros, won by forfeit; Rick Webb, GP, pinned Derek Martin, NM, 1:15. 215 � Cody Engbrecht, Cra, received a bye; Josh Watson, Ros, pinned Andrew Ditty, GP, 1:55; Peter Tamayo, Ash, received a bye; Terry Brown, GP, received a bye. 275 � Nick Smith, NM, received a bye; David Folsom, Ros, received a bye. 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.