Wrestlers place fifth at district meet

The young Outlaws wrestling squad finished fifth at the District meet, which was held at La Pine on Friday and Saturday, February 19-20.

Powerhouse Cottage Grove took first-place honors with a score of 358 and La Pine was runner-up at 267. Elmira took third (237), Junction City fourth (137), Sisters fifth (99), Pleasant Hill sixth (97) and Marist rounded out the scoring with 51.

Gilbert Porraz and Steven Nemer both earned third-place finishes and will advance to the state tournament. The championships will be held at the Rose Garden, in Portland, Thursday through Saturday, February 25-27.

Porraz (160 pounds) defeated Chris Engholm of Elmira in a 6-4 decision in the quarterfinals and then was pinned in round one of the semi-finals by Brian Riggs of Pleasant Hill. Porraz came back to wrestle teammate Chandler Zenich and won by a fall in round one. Porraz moved on and earned a third-place finish by pinning Marc Fisher, of Cottage Grove, in round three.

"Gilbert got railroaded in his match with Riggs," said Coach Gene O'Brien. "He was nowhere near being pinned and the crowd was in an uproar. He never should have lost that match. I'm very proud he'll be going to state, and I have high expectation for him."

Steven Nemer (152 pounds) had a bye in round one. In the quarterfinals Nemer wrestled Luke Ericson, from Junction City, and lost by a fall in round three. Nemer went on to defeat Ary Bryant of La Pine in a 13-7 decision and took third when he pinned Luke Ericson in round one.

"Steven wrestled very aggressively, and I'm so pleased he's going to state," stated O'Brien.

Josh O'Brien, Sterling Ryan and Ryan Long all earned fourth-place finishes.

Freshman Josh O'Brien (125 pounds) pinned Andrew Eisal of Pleasant Hill in 1.54 in the first round of competition. In the quarterfinals Josh lost in a 3-2 decision to Austin Backer of Marist. O'Brien came back to defeat Alec Fisher of Cottage Grove in an 8-1 decision in the semi-consolation bracket. O'Brien beat Dion Mock of La Pine in an 11-7 decision and then lost to Austin Backer by a fall to finish fourth.

Sterling Ryan (189 pounds) pinned Brandon Tacket of Elmira in round two of the quarterfinals and in the semi-finals was pinned by Marshal Lemann in round one. In the consolation bracket Ryan lost 9-1 to George Curtis of Elmira and lost to Garrette Searcy by a fall in round three for fourth place.

"Sterling went from 202 to 189 in one season and that's phenomenal," said O'Brien. "He's in great shape and I'm expecting a lot from him next year."

Ryan Long (135 pounds) had a bye in the first round. In the quarterfinals Long pinned Renee Samano of Elmira in round two with a half nelson. Long lost by a fall in round one to Josh Stanley of Cottage Grove in the semi-finals. In consolation Long pinned Gareth Dahlgren of La Pine in round two and then lost to Isaiah Hartvigson by a fall in round one for a fourth-place finish.

O'Brien said, "Ryan was my wildcard. He came out and wrestled strong and caught his opponent's mistakes."

Chandler Zenich (160 pounds) earned a fifth-place finish and Jacob Miller placed sixth.

O'Brien was pleased with Zenich's performance.

"Chandler wrestled awesome," smiled O'Brien. "The crowd just loves watching him wrestle, and the whole La Pine team was cheering for him."

O'Brien noted that Johnny Englich, Connor Morgan and Stefan Kirshner also wrestled for the Outlaws and did very well. O'Brien is pleased they will all be back on the team next year.

"This is basically a first-year team, and I'm so proud of them," stated O'Brien. "They all wrestled very well. Everyone at the meet was in awe that we had so many guys place. If not for the poor officiating we would have had even better results. What we've done this year with first-year wrestlers is impressive."