Wrestlers compete at 18-team tourney

The Outlaws matmen traveled to Culver on Friday and Saturday, December 17-18 for the annual Adrian Irwin Memorial Tournament. Eighteen teams attended the event, including Redmond, Clackamas, Pendleton, Gresham and Burns, five of the top teams in the state.

Coach Gene O'Brien told The Nugget that the Outlaws had never wrestled against 90 percent of the teams represented at the tourney, but he was proud of how well the entire squad wrestled.

Sisters brought 11 wrestlers to the tournament, and by Friday evening 10 of the wrestlers had been eliminated.

Josh O'Brien (140 pounds) wrestled three times on Friday and advanced to Saturday's action.

O'Brien started Friday with a bye and then matched up against Blain Livingston of Redmond. Josh was ahead 2-0 in the first round and went into a hip throw. Livingston rolled through the throw and pinned O'Brien in the first round, which put Josh in the consolation bracket.

Josh went on to take down and pin Zach Bailey of Burns in one minute and 45 seconds.

"Josh leg rode him down into an arm bar and half nelson to get the pin," said Coach O' Brien.

Josh's final match on Friday was against Joseph Swayze of La Pine. O'Brien took down Swayze and pinned him in round one with a double arm bar.

O'Brien won his first match on Saturday against Eric Thompson of Summit. The match went all three rounds, and in the end Josh won by decision in a score of 13-4.

O'Brien's final match was against Darwin Morgan of Pendleton. In round one Morgan took down O'Brien but Josh got the reverse. In round two Josh got a takedown for two points but unfortunately, Morgan escaped.

"After Morgan escaped, he took Josh super fast and lifted him up and threw the half nelson as he came down and pinned him," said Coach O'Brien.

Josh placed seventh and just missed placing in the tournament.

"Josh showed good leadership throughout the tournament and proved he's a good contender, as he had to wrestle up a weight class," said O'Brien.

In Friday's action, Chandler Zenich (160 pounds) pinned Gunner Crawford of Bend in just 14 seconds to record a win in his first and only match of the tourney.

"It was just scary," said O'Brien. "Chandler just amazed me. He attacked him (Crawford) like he was in football practice and threw the kid down in a head and arm and pinned him."

O'Brien told The Nugget that 189-pound Hayden Jones' match against Bill Burry from Summit was exceptional. The match went all three rounds, and at the end of the third was tied 6-6. At the end of the first overtime the score was still 6-6 and went into a second overtime. After double overtime the score still remained 6-6. Finally, in triple overtime, the match came to an end. A penalty was called on Jones for locking hands and then Burry escaped, scored two points and won the match 8-6.

"It was a very good match," stated O'Brien. "I'm very proud of Hayden going the distance and hanging in there. He's improved immensely since the beginning of the year."

The Outlaws will take a two-week break and hit the mats again on Thursday, January 6, with a dual meet at Elmira.