Wrestlers compete at Culver Invitational

The Outlaw wrestlers scored 65.5 points to earn a 14th place finish at the Culver Invitational on Friday and Saturday, December 12-13.

Coach Jeff Smith told The Nugget that this was by far the largest point total ever by Sisters in this tough tournament which draws schools from every corner of the state.

Seniors Kody Johns, Thomas Schantz and Nick Head led the Outlaws and placed in the top six. Johns and Schantz earned third-place finishes and both had to defeat a wrestler who had topped them earlier in the tournament to get the bronze medal.

Johns (160 pounds) opened the tourney with a fall over Brice Dolson of Reedsport and then lost a narrow 5-4 decision against Stevin Urban of McNary. Johns roared back with four wins for the third-place finish. Kody pinned Lee Gregory of La Pine in 47 seconds and then flattened Giles Ellett of Irrigon at the five-minute mark. Johns went on to top Ty Slater of La Pine by a 9-4 margin and then defeated Spencer Wilson, a very strong wrestler from La Pine.

Thomas Schantz (189 pounds) opened with a fall over John Brant of McNary in three minutes and thirty five seconds. Schantz then lost a 14-11 decision to Ethan Kowing of Grant Union. Kowing had a great switch that Schantz was unable to stop. Thomas pinned Gunner Kauffman of Reedsport and then won a 7-5 decision over Wade Aylett of Irrigon. Thomas dominated the match until Aylett reversed him to his back with five third-period points. Schantz received a forfeit from George Schwartzlander of Lakeview before facing Kowing for the bronze medal.

Coach Jeff Smith said, "Unable to stop Kowing's switch, Schantz repeatedly took Kowing down, only to release him for a one-point escape. Thomas scored eight takedowns in the match enroute to an 18-11 victory."

Head (140 pounds) placed sixth. Nick pinned Zack Pule of Myrtle Point at 1:58 and then recorded a fall over Tucker Amos of Irrigon at 4:48. Head had an injured knee and he had to forfeit his three matches on Saturday.

Smith told The Nugget that a wrestler who gets to the championship semi-finals is guaranteed sixth place, and that's where Head ended up.

Two other Outlaws contributed valuable points to the team effort. Dylan Mackenzie (152 pounds) was 2/2 for the tournament with two losses by decision and two wins by fall. John Connolly was also 2/2 and narrowly missed a top-six finish. In the opening match Connolly pinned Brandon Lee of Reedsport at 3:49. Connolly followed with a technical fall with a 22-5 victory over Josh Alves of Lakeview. A technical fall occurs when one wrestler is ahead by 15 points. In his next match, Connolly was ahead 10-3 over Matthew Keisel of La Pine when he was turned to his back and pinned.

"This was a breakthrough tournament for John," Smith said. "He discovered that he can dominate kids by being aggressive at the opening whistle. He was more confident and gained the psychological advantage from the get-go. We expect great things from John."

The Outlaws will travel to Summit on Saturday, December 20.