Three wrestlers compete at state wrestling championships

Three Outlaws matmen - Dalton Ford, Ethan Martin, and Chaz Patterson - competed at the state wrestling championships held at Memorial Coliseum in Portland on Friday and Saturday, February 22-23.

"The state tournament is what every wrestler wants to qualify for starting in mid-November," said Coach John Downs. "These wrestlers compete and practice very hard for three-and-a-half months in hopes of a chance to wrestle in the state championships."

For the three Outlaws, it was a dream come true.

Senior Dalton Ford (120 pounds) faced some tough competition, but had a good weekend. Ford lost his first match 14-18 to the

No. 2-seeded wrestler Tristan Spencer, from Sweet Home.

"This was a great match to watch," said Downs. "Dalton came in and surprised the Sweet Home wrestler, and scored many points. It was a great accomplishment. They battled back and forth through all three rounds, but Dalton just came up short. It was amazing to watch him wrestle so hard and fight through the match."

The loss sent Ford into the consolation rounds where he faced Brycen Johnson from Mazama. Dalton pinned Johnson in 2 minutes and 30 seconds and recorded the win. His third and final match was a rough one. Dalton was exhausted from the first two matches, didn't have much left in his tank and lost to Marcos Hernandez from Woodburn.

Ethan Martin (195 pounds) matched up against No. 5-seeded wrestler Taylen Kirkaldie from Henley. Early in the match Martin went for a take-down, but Kirkaldie was able to catch him in a head-and-arm and take him to the mat and get the pin.

The loss sent Martin into the consolation rounds where he faced Austin Olin from Sweet Home. Olin proved to be a difficult opponent to pin. Ethan had Olin on his back a couple of times, but just couldn't finish and get the pin. Martin wrestled through all three rounds and won the match 12-2.

"This win really gave Ethan a jolt of confidence," said Downs.

Martin went on and wrestled against Patton Wright from McLaughlin. Ethan competed well but in the end lost by a pin.

Chaz Patterson wasn't originally a qualifier for state, but the fourth-place qualifier from La Grande was injured at the district tournament and was unable to compete at state. Because of this, Patterson was able to represent the Outlaws at the state tourney.

Chaz (132 pounds) fought very well in both his matches. In his first match, Chaz fought hard, but Luis Macias from Tillamook ended up winning by a pin. Patterson went on to face Bryce Porter from Sweet Home. Chaz battled through the first round, but then lost by a fall in the second round.

"I was very excited for Chaz to have this opportunity as a sophomore," said Downs. "I know this will definitely give him more of a spark to work harder next season."

Downs commented, "Just qualifying for the wrestling state championships is monumental enough, but winning a match is even more exciting. When you're wrestling opponents at this high of a caliber and earning a win, it's substantial to your wrestling career and also to your confidence as a wrestler. I'm very sad to see this as the last year for my senior, Dalton Ford, but the Outlaws wrestling team has a positive outlook for the next few years with the commitment and competitiveness that these up-and-coming wrestlers have shown."