Appeal tribune. (Silverton, Or.) 1999-current, February 28, 2018, Page 1B, Image 5

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    Appeal Tribune
❚ WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 2018 ❚ 1B
Sports
HIGH SCHOOL SWIMMING
Silverton takes step forward
Silverton’s Jason Orr celebrates placing fourth in the 50 free at the OSAA Class 5A state swimming meet Feb. 17. BILL POEHLER/STATESMAN JOURNAL
Senior Orr becomes first school
swimmer to medal in 4 events
Bill Poehler Salem Statesman Journal
USA TODAY NETWORK
GRESHAM – An official at the
OSAA Class 5A state swimming
meet approached Silverton High
School swimming coach Lucky
Rogers and said in jest that she
was going to tell Silverton’s loud
rooting section that they were go-
ing to have to quiet down.
“I laughed and said good luck,”
Rogers said.
Silverton’s appreciative audi-
ence recognizes how far the team,
unofficially dubbed the Aqua Fox-
es, has come in a remarkably short
period.
When Rogers took over the pro-
gram as head coach for the 2015-16
season, a good season was when
the team sent one athlete to the
state meet. To have a swimmer
compete in a state final was un-
heard of.
On Feb. 17 at Mt. Hood Commu-
nity College, the partisan Silverton
crowd that inhabited the best sec-
tion of grandstand nearest the fin-
ish line had plenty to cheer about.
“They show up and probably
about five of them are related to
me, but they all set up and
cheered,” senior Jason Orr said.
“That’s all I could ask for. I didn’t
even care what I did in the race just
because they’re all there for me.”
But Orr became a star.
He became the first individual
Silverton swimmer to compete in a
state final when he exceeded his
seeding in the 50 free to place
fourth. Then he went out and
placed second in the 100 back-
stroke.
And Orr became the first Silver-
ton swimmer to medal in four
events by teaming with Kyle Reis-
er, David Reeves, Blake Doerfler
and Tristan Allen to place fourth
and fifth in the 200 free and 200
medley relay races.
After scoring the school’s first
state tournament points as part of
a relay last year, it was a huge step
forward.
Foxes’ Orr named
Athlete of the Week
Bill Poehler Salem Statesman Journal
USA TODAY NETWORK
Jason Orr set a new standard.
The senior swimmer from Silverton
High School concluded his high school
career with some amazing perfor-
mances.
He placed second in the 100 back-
stroke (54.41) and fourth in the 50 free
(22.50) and swam on the Foxes’ placing
200 medley and 200 free relay teams at
last weekend’s OSAA Class 5A state
swimming meet.
He became the first swimmer from
Silverton to score points at the state
meet as an individual after being on the
first relay team from his school to score
points as a junior.
Orr was voted athlete of the week by
a poll of readers.
He will be the subject of a future
Two-Minute Drill video and will be
honored at the June 4 Mid-Valley
Sports Awards at the Salem Conven-
tion Center.
Other nominees:
Anna Despain, South Salem swim-
ming: The senior placed fifth in the 200
freestyle (1:55.37) and sixth in the 100
backstroke (58.65) and swam on the
Saxons’ state placing 200 free and 400
Orr dives in during the state swimming meet.
“We know we’re the under-
dogs,” Orr said. “None of us swim
club swimming. We do a lot more
just to get ourselves in contention
really. People see that and want to
be a part of it.”
Silverton’s girls placed seventh
in the state meet with 14 points,
the first points Silverton’s girls
have scored in a state swimming
meet. Silverton’s boys placed
eighth with 18 points.
Considering Silverton – whose
boys and girls equaled their pro-
gram best by placing second in the
Mid-Willamette district meet a
week before – had never scored a
point in a state swimming meet
until 2017, it was another step
along the route.
“I’ve branded us the country
kids against the country clubbers,”
Rogers said. “We swim from No-
vember to February. Jason put a
See SWIMMING, Page 2B
Only the strongest survive
12 Salem area wrestlers
win individual titles at
OSAA state finals
Pete Martini and Gary Horowitz
Salem Statesman Journal
USA TODAY NETWORK
PORTLAND — Mid-Valley wrestlers
took part in 25 state championship
matches Saturday in the OSAA tourna-
ment at the Memorial Coliseum.
Here is a recap of the night:
120 pounds
Silverton’s
Jason Orr
was voted
Athlete of
the Week.
free relay
teams at
the OSAA
Class 6A
state
swimming
meet.
Ein Carlos, North Salem wrestling:
The junior won his second consecutive
OSAA Class 6A state championship,
this time by recording two pins, two
technical falls and a win by injury for-
feit in the state championship match at
152 pounds.
Keegan Cook, Willamina wres-
tling: The senior recorded four pins, all
in the first or second round, to win the
OSAA Class 3A state championship at
285 pounds at last weekend’s state
tournament.
Class 5A: Silverton’s Kaden Kuenzi
started fast in the 5A 120-pound final
against Crater’s Zeth Brower with a 2-
point takedown in the first period. But
Kuenzi, the defending state champion
at 106 and seeded No. 1 this year at 120,
couldn’t keep the momentum and lost
5-2. It was a rematch of last year’s state
semifinal won by Kuenzi.
Silverton’s Kaden Kuenzi, right, and
Crater’s Zeth Brower compete in the
OSAA Wrestling State Championships
Class 5A final for weight 120 at
Veterans Memorial Coliseum in
Portland on Feb. 17. Brower was the
champion. ANNA REED/STATESMAN JOURNAL
he will try to finish his high school ca-
reer with three state titles.
132 pounds
138 pounds
Class 4A: North Marion’s Russel Sti-
gall beat Tillamook’s Chad Werner 5-2
in the state title match.
“It felt good. It wasn’t my best
match, but I won, so it’s all good,” Sti-
gall said. Stigall, a junior, won his sec-
ond state championship, and next year,
Class 4A: North Marion’s Brandon
Gibson lost a close 2-1 decision to
Marshfield’s AJ Lira in the state title
match. Gibson, a senior, was the No. 1
seed among Class 4A 138-pounders at
the state championships.