Outlaws host home wrestling meet

Sisters hosted a dual with La Pine on Tuesday, January 21, and the matmen were excited to wrestle in front of a home crowd.

The dual marked Coach John Downs' second home meet as the Outlaws head coach, and Downs commented that there were a lot of kinks to work out, including communication with the opposing team, dealing with line-up changes, coordinating setup regarding lights, and moving the mats.

"The team and school staff has been very patient with me while I still learn to organize these duals," said Downs. "I must be doing something right because the atmosphere here tonight was just great. Even if the score says we lost, I feel the Outlaws overall had a great night.

"I could tell the team was very excited to wrestle in front of the home crowd even when we gave up 36 points before the match started because of forfeits," added Downs.

The Outlaws dug deep and wrestled hard, and Downs commented that every wrestler did an outstanding job.

Zach Reid (106 pounds) wrestled David Kerr, who has pinned Reid in every previous matchup. This go-round, Reid wrestled Kerr through all three rounds, and didn't lose until the very end, which was a big accomplishment for Zach.

During the exhibition matches Reid had another tough match against Tristan Wilson. Zach almost pinned Wilson twice but lost in the final moments of the match.

Downs said, "Both matches for Reid were probably the best matches he has learned from this season. He can see what he can accomplish."

Andrew Stevens (126 pounds) fought a hard match against Chris Swayze that went into the second round before Stevens was caught in a pin.

Downs said, "During our exhibition matches at the end of the night, Andrew stepped up again and asked to fill in for Dyut Fetrow. This was his second match of the evening and seeing him step up and want to wrestle again made me very proud of his desire to take on a second match."

Dyut Fetrow (132 pounds) wrestled through all three rounds against Louden Oleachea and won by a 15-6 decision.

Mark Fish, at 152 pounds, proved his new weight class was a much better fit. Fish pinned Tony Price in just 58 seconds.

Chase Lawrence, a new addition this year to the Outlaws' squad, suffered a tough loss to Tanner Hansen. Downs noted Tyler Surface and his effort at his new weight class. Surface lost his match, but battled through all three rounds against Chadon Jaynes, a tough Hawk wrestler.

"Tyler may not have won his match, but he has been winning his battle with the scale," said Downs. "Since the start of the season in November, Tyler has been working very hard in practices and at home to lose weight to get to 195 pounds, and he did it tonight!"

Gabe Isle (220 pounds) lost in a tough match against Gage Yeager. Despite the loss, Yeager wanted a second exhibition match and took on Laâ¯Pine's Aden Willyard-Komm (285 pounds).

"Gabe gave up almost 60 pounds to Willyard-Komm but stepped out on the mat and gave it his best fight," said Downs.

The Outlaws attended the Madras Invite on Saturday, January 25, but none of the matmen were able to pull through with a win.

Sisters will attend the La Pine Invite on Saturday, February 1.