Three wrestlers advance to State

Kody Johns (152 pounds) and Thomas Schantz (189 pounds) earned a first-place finish at the District championships on Friday and Saturday, February 20 and 21, and will advance to the State Tournament in Portland on Friday and Saturday, February 27 and 28. Nick Head (135 pounds) placed second and was Sisters' third qualifier for State.

Johns won each of his three matches by fall. Johns opened the tournament with a 51-second fall over Joey Sand of Elmira. Johns went on to pin Chris Benton of Cottage Grove in 1:39 seconds. In the final match of the tournament Johns took a 12-0 lead over Jai Broome of Pleasant Hill, and then earned the fall at 1:38 of the second period.

"Kody was in control in every match," said Coach Jeff Smith. "He gave up no points in his three matches, so that's about as dominating as it gets."

Schantz earned falls in two early matches and then won his next two matches by decision. Thomas pinned Garrett Hightower of Junction City and George Curtiss of Elmira in the first period. Schantz then scored a 7-3 decision over Tyler Spooner of Pleasant Hill.

In the finals, Schantz faced the No. 1 seed, Marshal Lehman of Cottage Grove. Lehman had defeated Schantz 19-9 in the Cottage Grove/Sisters dual meet in January. In this match, Schantz scored a takedown with an early single leg tackle and never trailed on his way to the 5-2 win.

"Thomas did a great job of maintaining his position on his feet," said Smith. "He kept Lehman from locking up for upper body throws. Thomas has had opportunities to wrestle three matches against guys who beat him earlier in the season and won every one of those matches."

Head won three matches before he lost against Adam Sprague of Pleasant Hill in the finals. Head pinned Justin Farleigh of La Pine and then won by decision over Zach Cramblit of Pleasant Hill and David Berg of Cottage Grove.

"Sprague will probably be the No. 1 seed at the State Tournament," said Smith. "I expect Nick to be in the running for a medal at the Coliseum."

The Outlaws earned fourth-place finishes from Steven Nemer (145 pounds) and Dylan McKenzie (152 pounds).

Nemer, who wrestled in his first varsity action, was the biggest surprise for the Outlaws. Nemer lost to Tanner Sustaire of Cottage Grove in the first round and then won 10-9 in a hard-fought battle against Amoz Hickman of La Pine. Nemer's next opponent failed to show up and Nemer earned the win by forfeit. In the consolation finals, Nemer fell to Sustaire.

"Steven was amazing," said Smith. "To finish fourth in District as a first-year wrestler is phenomenal."

The State Tournament will be held at the Memorial Coliseum on Thursday through Saturday, February 26-28.