Wrestlers make big improvements at Madras

Sisters took 15 of their 19 wrestlers to the Madras Invitational held on Saturday, January 24, and for the first time in Sisters High School's wrestling history the Outlaws had a full line-up and filled all 14 weight classes.

Fourteen teams were in attendance including first place finisher South Albany (162 points), and Baker who was runner-up (143 points). Summit took third with 129 points and Burns finished fourth with 128.

Three Outlaws made it to the podium.

Junior Clayton Darst earned a second-place finish at 160 pounds. Clayton matched up against Haakon Kjellesvik from Bend in his first match of the tournament. Kjellesvik was seeded second and came in with a record of 14-6. Darst won the match in a huge upset, which really boosted his morale. Darst went on to pin Ian Locke of Wilsonville to earn a spot in the first- and second-place finals. Clayton lost in the finals to Austin Warr for a second-place finish.

Cole Pade (freshman) at his new weight class of 115 pounds earned a fourth-place finish.

"It's not every day you see a freshman wrestler earn a spot in the top four of a tournament," said Coach John Downs. "Pade has done this now several times this season. He is proving that he is a force to reckon with."

Junior Mitch Gibney was pinned for the very first time this year by Brent Yeakey from Ridgeview (16-1 record) who was seeded first at the tourney.

"Mitch has been very successful this season, but finally got a wake-up call when he ran into Yeakey," said Downs. "This loss obviously was needed to show Gibney at what level he needed to wrestle at because he went on to pin the next three opponents earning himself a fifth-place finish. Using pure brute strength, he fought his way through. It was not the prettiest match in his history, but he knows how to not give up and muscle through to get the job done."

Downs was pleased that his squad was able to fill all 14 weight classes. Pade was able to reach his goal of 115 pounds and freshman Patrick Dingeman was able to reach the 184 weight class. Chayce Sproat continued to wrestle at the 145-pound weight class although he only weighs 139 pounds.

"With these young wrestlers stepping into these varsity roles, it has shown the rest of the team the commitment and desire they have to continue to build this new era of Outlaws Wrestling," said Downs.

Freshman Casey Warburton (170 pounds) broke his ankle over the weekend and will have surgery and be out for four to six weeks.

"Casey has been such a valued member of this team and with this injury he will be truly missed at practice," said Downs. "We want everyone that knows him to send him wishes for a speedy recovery."

Downs was very happy with his wrestlers and their performances at the tourney.

"Individually, each wrestler showed improvement," said Downs. "From the freshman to the seniors, all of the wrestlers were incredibly motivated to be on the mat. None of them backed up, which we have been working on in practice, as well as being aggressive on the whistle. It was great to see that the last couple weeks of practice that have concentrated on exploding off of the whistle, and lots of 30 second live wrestling rounds, have been worth the time. The team is improving by leaps and bounds."

Sisters will match up against Elmira and Culver at home on Thursday, January 29.