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Varsity 541 NEWS NOW John Lennon Tour Bus teaches North Medford students about music recording ... State bill would bar medical pot grows in rural residential zones ... Bates' suction-dredge bill dies in committee ... John Lennon Tour Bus teaches North Medford students about music recording ... State bill would bar medical pot grows in rural residential zones ... Bates' suction-dredge bill dies in committee ... PREP WRESTLING Locals have high hopes for state tourney Crater among trophy hopefuls at 5A level Comment By Kris Henry Mail Tribune Follow @@Kris_Henry MailTribune.com By Kris Henry Mail Tribune Follow @@Kris_Henry Posted Feb. 24, 2016 at 8:52 PM Updated Feb 24, 2016 at 8:57 PM By Kris Henry Mail Tribune Follow @@Kris_Henry Posted Feb. 24, 2016 at 8:52 PM Updated Feb 24, 2016 at 8:57 PM --> State Tournament WHAT: Class 6A, 5A, 4A, 3A, 2A/1A wrestling state championships. WHEN, WHERE: Friday-Saturday, Memorial Coliseum in Portland. OF NOTE:... » Read more X State Tournament WHAT : Class 6A, 5A, 4A, 3A, 2A/1A wrestling state championships. WHEN, WHERE : Friday-Saturday, Memorial Coliseum in Portland. OF NOTE : Live bracket updates available at www.osaa.org/activities/wre/brackets » Social News A little older, a little bigger and with more top-tier mat experience, Crater sophomore Zeth Brower will be seeking to take the next step this weekend as a state champion hopeful in one of the many storylines coming out of Southern Oregon entering the wrestling state tournament in Portland. Brower advanced to the Class 5A state finals last year as a freshman but competing at 106 pounds when your scale still only hits double digits finally caught up to the up-and-comer in an 11-4 loss to Hillsboro’s Jaiven Rodriguez. This year, Brower is back at 106 and holds the No. 1 seed heading into the state tournament after securing his second straight district title one week ago. Earlier this year, Brower finished runner-up at the Reser’s Tournament of Champions to Marshfield senior Cole Smith, who is the defending 4A champion at 106 and edged Brower 3-2. “I think Zeth is definitely capable of being a finalist and in the finals he’ll have a tough challenge,” said Crater head coach Greg Haga, “but if he wrestles tough he can come out and be a champion. He’s proved that he has the mental capacity and defense and offense to compete at that level. As a freshman he was a little smaller but this year he’s about 10 pounds bigger and stronger.” Brower is one of 15 Crater wrestlers who qualified for the 5A tourney, which runs Friday and Saturday and coincides with the 6A, 4A, 3A and 2A/1A tournaments at Memorial Coliseum. Key state returners for the Comets include seniors Cavin Gillispie and Tommy Winningham and sophomore Logan Meek. Gillispie placed third last year and is the No. 2 seed at 182 pounds, while Winningham finished fourth in 2015 and is seeded fifth at 170 and Meek is the No. 2 seed at 145 after placing fifth last year. Other seeded Comets include juniors Hunter Grant (fourth, 113), Jace Godley (third, 152), Wally Pendleton (third, 195) and Javon Gill (fifth, 285) and sophomore Beau Crawford (third, 220). Also competing this weekend for Crater will be juniors Mitchell Childress (113), Bryce Cwiklinski (126) and Collin Lee (132), sophomore Dallas Howard (120) and freshmen Angel Diaz (106) and Cameron Savage (145). The fifth-ranked Comets, who won the Midwestern League title over Churchill by 96.5 points, expect to be among a host of teams vying for a state trophy (top-four finish) this weekend. “I think with 15 that puts us in a good spot to go up there and compete,” said Haga. “Obviously if a kid goes up and doesn’t win a match, that’s like taking one less, so for a lot of the kids the goal is to scrap and fight and try to get a win.” Three-time defending champion Hermiston is the expected favorite, with Hillsboro, Redmond, Dallas, Sandy and Lebanon joining Crater and Churchill in the trophy hunt. The Bulldogs have won eight of the nine championships since the 5A classification began in the 2006-07 school year. Eagle Point placed third in the MWL district championships and qualified 14 wrestlers for the state tournament, including senior district champion Michael Hammond (132) and seven district runners-up. Given that they compete in such a tough district to come out of, the Eagles are optimistic about their chances to finish in the top 10 at state. Hammond boasts the highest seed of the bunch at No. 4, while senior Bryan O’Neil, who placed fourth last year, is the No. 5 seed at 138. Seniors Ryan Lorenz (145), Gage Graves (160) and Scott Martin (182) and junior Taylor Lawler (220) each are No. 8 seeds. Seniors Nabor Garcia (126), Conor Gaines (138) and Joseph Garcia (182), juniors Chance McMullen (113) and Noah Sitzer (152), sophomores Thomas Zomerdyk (106) and Jaime De La Cruz (120) and freshman Jacob Lee (285) will also look to advance as unseeded participants. “The thing I tell these guys is that if you look at the bracket, every one of them leads to the championship match,” said Eagle Point head coach Kacey McNulty. “Every one of those lines will make it there, and it’s what they do that determines if they make it. It’s a new week and they just need to get after it.” Ashland qualified four for the 5A state tourney with fourth-place finishes at the district by juniors Cedar Barnes (170) and Liam Weston (220), sophomore Zach Adler (182) and freshman Caleb Ostmo (195). CLASS 4A : Phoenix qualified five wrestlers for the state tourney and all five are capable of scoring points, led by seniors Trace Vega (195), Justin Knight (170) and Cedar King (138), who each placed sixth last year. Vega earned the regional title last week and was in position to place as high as third last year before suffering a separated collarbone while being pinned in his state semifinal. Vega, who had to medically forfeit his consolation matches last year, is seeded second in his weight class. “He’s just an extreme competitor and finds a way to win matches,” said Phoenix head coach Joel Gibson. “He can win close matches or dominate matches winning by a fall. He just goes out there and wrestles hard and expects to win. That’s one of the biggest things about Trace, every time he steps out on the mat he expects to win and he’s going to do whatever it takes to win.” King also advanced to the semifinal round last year and joins Knight in being seeded fifth this time around. Zach Atteberry (126) and Mark McAllister (145) are unseeded participants. Three-time defending champion Crook County is the favorite, with Henley and Marshfield as its top competition. CLASS 3A : Cascade Christian junior Moses Jackson, a South Medford transfer, gives the school hope for its first individual wrestling title as the No. 2 seed at 285 but the program, which began in 2007 but took a year off in 2014, has three other capable scorers in junior Max Valle (120) and sophomores Ryan Vidlak (106) and Gunnar Thompson (126). Illinois Valley also qualified four wrestlers in senior Eugene Griffin, seeded third at 170, sophomores Dillion St. Onge (113) and Christian Engles (113) and freshman Ayden Lindsey (170). Rogue River junior Johnny Hulseman (106) and sophomore Ayden Beck (152) also will be in action this weekend. Defending champion Nyssa is the favorite, with Scio and Glide as its top competition. CLASS 2A/1A : Butte Falls senior Luke McGonagle is the first in his school history to be competing in the state tournament after placing second at 195 pounds in the district tourney. The Loggers began offering wrestling as a sport last year and McGonagle just missed out on qualifying one year ago. McGonagle opens against fourth-seeded Chase Cook of Nestucca in the quarterfinals. Reach reporter Kris Henry at 541-776-4488, [email protected], www.facebook.com/krishenryMT or www.twitter.com/Kris_Henry By Kris Henry Mail Tribune Follow @@Kris_Henry MailTribune.com By Kris Henry Mail Tribune Follow @@Kris_Henry Posted Feb. 24, 2016 at 8:52 PM Updated Feb 24, 2016 at 8:57 PM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction Schedules & Events --> Recent Scores --> Prep Notebook Kris Henry OSAA puts pitchers, coaches on notice The art of pitching has always been a subject near and dear to the heart of North Medford baseball coach Brett Wolfe. So when the Oregon... Varsity 541 Photos South vs Grants Pass South vs South Eugene South vs Roseburg North vs. Willamette North vs Grants Pass Cascade Christian vs. St. Mary's » More Photo Galleries Privacy Policy | Terms of Service | Local Media Group Publications | Contact Us | Advertise | © Copyright Local Media Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved.