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About The nugget. (Sisters, Or.) 1994-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 20, 2017)
18 Wednesday, December 20, 2017 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon Wrestlers compete at Culver Invitational By Rongi Yost Correspondent Sisters matmen com- peted at the two-day Culver Invitational held on Friday and Saturday, December 8-9. Sisters was one of the 15 teams in attendance at the annual event. The Culver Invitational allows two wrestlers per weight class in the varsity tournament, so the younger Outlaw wrestlers got the experience of wrestling against tough competition. Five Outlaws placed at the tourney: sophomores Sal Gibney and Ethan Martin at 195 pounds, took fourth and sixth place, respectively; senior Dustin Smith took fourth at 160 pounds; senior Cole Pade placed fourth at 152 pounds; and senior Casey Warburton took third at 285 pounds. Smith fought through an upset stomach all day, and even stopped one of his matches and was sick between the rounds. Gibney and Martin had to wrestle against each other to earn their final spots. Downs told The Nugget it’s always hard to watch his wrestlers match up against each other. “It’s one of those times as a coach, you have to just step back, allow them to wrestle on their own, and may the best man win,” said Downs. Warburton wrestled in the 285-pound weight bracket, even though he weighs only 230 pounds. “I was so proud of Casey staying to the outside of his tough matches, and not get- ting underneath, and getting stuck under the weight,” said Downs. “He fought through tough matches to earn a medal in his third-place finish. “I was truly impressed by our final five guys and how hard they pushed themselves to earn a placing spot,” said Downs. “Cole (Pade) was wrestling in what I would say is the toughest weight class with the most wrestlers, so earning a fourth-place spot at that level was a great feat for him. I truly didn’t expect it, and he proved me wrong.” Freshmen Jesse Peskin, Chaz Patterson, and sopho- mores Rylan Carter and Austin Pade all made it to day two of the tourney. “These four young men may not have placed at the tournament, but the points that they earned for the team were very important, and I was very proud of them,” said Downs. The Invitational has a special twist called the Friendship Bowl, which allows wrestlers that were knocked out of the tourna- ment the first day to sign up and look for matches with other wrestlers that are not in the varsity tournament. It’s the wrestler’s responsibility to look for wrestlers in the same weight class. The Outlaws had many wrestlers who did this, and they got in several matches, which allowed them to improve. Downs was impressed with freshman Hunter Spor, sophomore Damian King, and Anthony Randolph, who all wrestled six matches in the tournament. Senior Patrick Dingeman wrestled five matches. “I was very excited to see the JV wrestlers pick up so much experience on Saturday,” said Downs. “It was a great weekend for the Outlaws, and everyone was successful. Even if they lost matches, they gained experience and that means everything.” Three days earlier, the Outlaws faced Summit in a dual match. The Storm beat the Outlaws with a final score of 51-33. Sisters had to for- feit two weight classes (120 pounds and 182 pounds), which gave the Storm a PHOTO PROVIDED Casey Warburton, second from right, placed third wrestling bigger athletes at the Culver Invitational. 12-point lead before the match even started. Cole Pade (152 pounds) pinned Andrew de Lorimer to give the Outlaws their first points of the night. With the Outlaws in a 21-6 deficit, senior David Perez-Sanchez (170 pounds) pinned Klaas Menedez in the first round, followed by sophomore Ethan Martin (195 pounds), who pinned Austin Mccoun in 1:12 in the first round. Senior Casey Warburton (285-pound weight class) pinned Nicholas Giesler in 1:27 in the first round, which gave the Outlaws another six points. With Summit holding a narrow lead at 27-24, Dylan Vantress (106 pounds) was able to pin Ben Caba in 11 seconds. Downs told The Nugget that it was one of Dylan’s quickest pins in his early career as an Outlaw. From that point, the Storm’s experience took over, they won several more matches and beat the Outlaws by 18 points. “This was a great expe- rience for the team,” said Downs. “It was their first dual of the season, and against a 5A school. I was able to see individuals on the team play with determination and fight.” ATTENTION BUSINESS OWNERS Remind the people of Sisters to BUY LOCAL for Products & Services Studies show that when people “shop local” their money circulates at least three times in that community. Help the people of Sisters learn what’s special about you and your business or service so that they can shop local now and year ’round. When: January 17 & 24 What: AT YOUR SERVICE two-week full-color ad special (with mini-story & photo one week) Cost: $245. You save more than 50% off of regular ad rates! Ad size 3" wide by 3.31" tall Call Karen at The Nugget, 541-549-9941, and she’ll help you with your ad. Professional design is free!
