O'Brien takes first at tournament

Josh O'Brien had a stellar performance at the La Pine Frostbite Invitational Tournament at La Pine on Saturday, January 21, and walked away with a first-place finish.

O'Brien (138 pounds) came into the tourney seeded No. 1 and proved to his competitors and the crowd just how good he really is. Seeding has its advantages and O'Brien witnessed it firsthand with his first match of the tournament against Dalton Alexander, of Lakeview, in the semi-finals. Josh was up 15-0 in round two and won by a tech fall.

He advanced to the championship round and faced Eric Young, of Douglas. O'Brien was down 6-5 in round two, but quickly rolled Young with a head and arm to get the pin.

"It was a good match," said Coach Gene O'Brien. "Young came out strong but then Josh took control in round two. He took the lead 10-6 and then got the pin."

Coach O'Brien is very pleased with the progress Josh has made over the last several weeks.

"Josh is undefeated at 138 pounds, and he's going to be hard to beat at this weight," said O'Brien. "His agility and speed is phenomenal, and he knows all the moves. He helps my inexperienced wrestlers, and it's like having a second coach. He's a big help to me."

Ryan Long (152 pounds) just missed out on a medal with his fourth-place finish. Ryan dominated his first match and pinned Nathan Harlan, of Lakeview, with a head and arm in 1:38.

Long was ahead 6-3 in his next match against Camryn Boyle but made a simple mistake and got pinned in round three.

"Ryan should have won that match," said O'Brien. "It was a very disappointing loss."

Long went on to face Jose Doninguev, of Mt. View. Ryan wrestled strong and won by a fall in round two. In his final match of the tourney, Long fell to Brendon Katter, of Summit. Ryan got pinned in round three for a fourth-place finish.

"Ryan wrestled well," said O'Brien. "He just needs to work on his technique, and if I can get some rhythm in that kid he's going to be awesome."

Hayden Jones (195 pounds) beat Tyler Ryant, from La Pine, for a fifth-place finish. Jones lost to Ryant earlier in the tourney when he was pinned in round one, but it was a different story when they faced each other at the end of the day. Jones earned the win when he pinned Ryant with a head and arm in round two.

"Hayden showed me the kind of wrestler he can be," stated O'Brien. "After he lost to Ryant earlier in the day we had a little talk. The second time they wrestled I saw Hayden wrestle like I've never seen him wrestle before. He was much more aggressive, he used his strength, and he was focused on what he was

doing."

Grant Chisholm (106 pounds) won his first match of the year. Chisholm defeated Ryan Cave, of Lakeview, and pinned him with a half nelson in round two.

The Outlaws will travel to La Pine on Thursday, January 26, for a dual meet and then participate in the Madras Invitational Tournament on Saturday, January 28. Sisters' last home meet of the year will be Tuesday, January 31. The meet is scheduled to begin at 6 p.m.