Matmen participate at Madras Invitational

The Outlaws matmen had a great showing at the Madras Invitational on Saturday, January 26, with seven of their 11 wrestlers in attendance making it to the final placing rounds.

Two freshmen, Hunter Rychener and Dyut Fetrow, battled all the way to the championship match. Rychener (113 pounds) lost 14-3 to B. Vincent of Madras for a second-place finish. Fetrow (120 pounds) lost by a pin in 1:34 to A. Keller of Mollala for a second place finish.

"This is the second tournament in a row for Hunter Rychener to earn a second-place finish at a tournament, and it was Dyut Fetrow's first high school championship match," said Coach John Downs. "The team can tell you it won't be long before there will be more of them joining Hunter and Dyut in the 1st/2nd-place championship matches."

Mark Fish and Mitch Gibney, also freshmen, finished fourth at the tourney. Fish (138 pounds) lost by a pin to C. Shaw of Ridgeview and Gibney (170 pounds) lost by a fall to Z. Williams of Stayton in their final match of the day.

Freshman Zach Reid (106 pounds), sophomore Shane Cormalis (160 pounds) and freshman Gabe Isle (195 pounds) all earned a sixth-place finish.

Downs said that Reid was the Outlaws' outstanding wrestler for the tournament.

"Even the higher-placing wrestlers would say Zach wrestled with skill and heart," said Downs. "His final match of the day verses Anderson from La Pine was his best-fought match I have ever seen in him. His compassion running his moves was definitely at a higher level then he used to wrestle at."

Downs added, "Having seven of our 11 wrestlers in the placing rounds was a huge success considering the average size of the teams at the meet was 20. The size of the team definitely helps a team win a meet, but I would rather see my individual wrestlers succeed with their individual goals. When this happens the whole team has fun and it helps them realize they are improving and becoming a better wrestler today than they were yesterday."

Downs told The Nugget that the week prior to the tournament the wrestlers worked specifically on setups and takedowns.

"They worked on changing levels, moving their opponent with and without contact and feeling pressure at the right moment to make a good shot," said Downs. "The practices paid off with great dividends. The wrestlers were successful this weekend and were aggressive with their takedowns. My assistant coach Peggy Frye and I were very excited to see that the team is still eager to learn and absorb what we are teaching, and the team is starting to see it, too."

Stayton took championship honors at the tournament with a team score of 262.5 points, followed by Ridgeview High who tallied 198.5 at runner-up. Summit placed third (195), Madras fourth (145.5) and Molalla was fifth with a score of 141. Sisters scored 86 points for a seventh-place finish.

Sisters will travel to Ridgeview High School for a dual meet on Thursday, February 7. The meet is scheduled to begin at 6 p.m.