Wrestlers celebrate dual meet victory

Sisters grapplers celebrated on Tuesday night, February 9, when they recorded their first dual meet win in four years. The Outlaws defeated the visiting Junction City Tigers 45-36.

The Outlaws honored seniors Clayton Darst, Ty Martin, Zach Reid, and Dyut Fetrow before the start of the meet, and then hit the mats, and forged ahead to the sweet victory.

Parker Ford (106 pounds) earned another pin as a varsity wrestler as a freshman.

Coach John Downs said, "This match was a tough win, and I was proud to see him fight off his back and earn the pin in the second round."

Andrew Bates (126 pounds) has been wrestling at the JV level at 126 pounds, but because of injury to the varsity starter, Andrew stepped up and took on a varsity opponent. Bates proved he could compete at the higher level, and won by a fall over Brandon Gilliam in 1:06.

Senior Zachary Reid continued his domination on the mat, and won by a fall in 3:03 over Garrett O' Callaghen. The win marked Reid's 13th win of the season.

"I am excited with this record, because it should make it easier to hopefully get him seeded at the tournament," said Downs.

Dyut Fetrow (138 pounds) pinned Travis Hodgson in 3:50 to mark his 15th win of the season.

"Dyut is still the hardest-working wrestler in practice, and it is now showing," said Downs. "The 130-pound weight class seems to have been the right choice, and I hope at the regional tournament I will be able to seed him also."

Dustin Smith (160 pounds) went three tough rounds against Sean Herber in the most exciting match of the night. The match went all three rounds with the score going back-and-forth. Smith won the tough-fought match in a 9-8 decision.

"There were many times Dustin was on his back, and he could have quit, but didn't," said Downs. "He fought off his back and scored enough points to win by being in better physical shape. Dustin has worked so hard in the last two years. He is committed to wrestling more than anyone I have ever

coached."

Senior Clayton Darst (170 pounds) pinned Raymond Bitney in a quick 28 seconds.

"Clayton is headed to the regional tournament with 19 wins this season so far, and all of them were pins," said Downs. "I am very excited to see how he will do at regionals."

Dalton Ford (113 pounds) and Casey Warburton (195 pounds) also earned points toward the team win, as they won by forfeit.

The seniors commented on their season so far, and the up-coming Regionals.

Darst said, "This has been my best year ever, and I've gotten 19 pins, which is the most I've ever had in one year. I had a good off-season, and have worked my hardest this year. It's paying off, and hopefully I can place fourth or better at Regionals, so I can go to state, and place at state."

Zach Reid said, "This is my best season so far. I've only lost one match in all the duals, and I hope to go to state. I'm going to work as hard as I can to get there."

Ty Martin said, "It was great to get our first dual win of the season. After our previous losses, everybody was motivated to win."

Dyut Fetrow rounded out the senior comments.

"My opponent tonight was very strong. I had to stay patient and focus on my moves, and got the pin in the second round with a "front wizard.' I'm feeling strong and confident as we head into Regionals, and I hope my hard work earns me a first-place finish."

The wrestling squad will compete at the regional championships, which will be held at Elmira, Friday and Saturday, February 19-20. The state championships are the following weekend, Friday and Saturday, February 26-27, at Memorial Coliseum in Portland.