Wrestlers take sixth at Officials' Tournament

The Outlaws wrestling squad competed at the Central Oregon Officials' Tournament, held at Crook County, on Saturday, December 5, and walked away with a sixth-place finish.

Thirteen teams attended the annual event, and final team scores were as follows: Redmond (195 points), Culver (148 points), La Pine (140.5 points), Bend (131 points), Mt. View (111.5 points), Sisters (94 points), Burns (65 points), Crook County (57 points), Ridgeview (54 points), Northlake (20 points), Summit (11 points), and Madras with zero.

It was a memorable tournament for Sisters, because for the first time ever, the Outlaws finished a tournament with a winning record. Sisters had a total of 56 matches, and ended the day with 30 wins and 26 losses. Both varsity and junior varsity (JV) teams competed, each in separate gyms.

Three wrestlers went undefeated for a first-place finish, one varsity wrestler and two JV wrestlers. Senior Dyut Fetrow went undefeated at 145 pounds at the varsity level, and sophomores Casey Warburton and Jake Stevens were undefeated in their JV weight brackets.

Seniors Mitch Gibney (220 pounds) and Clayton Darst (170 pounds) took second place at the varsity level, and sophomore Cole Pade took second at 126 pounds.

Sixteen out of the 21 wrestlers that competed earned at least one win during the tournament. On the day, 10 wrestlers earned second place, three earned third, one finished fourth, one finished fifth, and one took sixth.

"My wrestlers all had fun and learned quite a bit about where they stand," said Coach John Downs. "Even wrestlers who'd never wrestled before realized their potential and what they can accomplish. As a coach, you look for that perfect day where you are proud of every athlete you have on the team, and this was the day."

The Outlaws will participate in the Culver Invite on Friday and Saturday, December 11 and 12.