The Clackamas print., January 12, 2000, Page 11, Image 11

Sports
TI h E ClAckAMAS PRINT
WEdNEsdAy, J anuary 12, 2000
Wrestlers grapple
with America’s best
MANDY GOOD
Sports Editor
Clackamas wrestlers hosted
a highly competitive tourna­
ment Saturday Jan. 8th. Ten
sanctioned teams competed,
including national champions
from Northern Idaho and
Northern Montana. A signifi­
cant amount of traveling was
also done by schools as far
awayas Arizona and Canada.
“This was the toughest tour­
nament we have ever put on
here; this is the first year that
we were able to get Northern
Montana to come here and Ari­
zona as well,” said wrestling
coach Lloyd Martindale.
Four of the team members
made it to the semifinals in the
tough competition and com­
pleted the tournament with fifth
place.
Chuck Buffington wrestling
in the 141 weight class, Jacob
Pence wrestling 174 pounds,
Nykriem Kjell westling 184
pounds and Cody Sacher wres­
tling heavyweight were the
Clackamas athletes that placed
in the tournament. The level
of competition was hard for
many to comprehend.
“They're so young, I don’t
think that the guys realized how
tough it was; they just went
out and wrestled and had fun,”
said Martindale.
The wrestlers and coaching
staff are looking at the large
picture. These tournaments
are the stepping stones to
give them practice and experi­
ence for the Nationals.
“We’re looking for big re­
sults at the national tourna­
ment; I expect to have several
a 11 - A m e r i c a n s , ” S a i d
Martindale.
The team has already grown
in the brief time that they have
been wrestling in college com­
petition.
“Throughout the year we’ve
gone from being a group of
high school wrestlers to a
group of guys that can com­
pete at a college level,” ex­
plained Martindale.
Another large tournament set
to be held on Saturday will pre­
pare the men for the future
strong competition that they
will see throughout the season.
“We have another big tour­
nament coming up Saturday
the 15th , the competition level
will probably be pretty similar,
and I expect the guys to do a
lot better just after having the
experience of the big tourna­
ment,” said Martindale.
The wrestlers still have a
little work to do on their wres­
tling technique. The coaches
are practicing with many moves
and showing the men how to
use the best move possible.
“Our guys are still a little
stiff. They haven’t learned to
loosen up and to let their wres­
tling technique flow; they are
waiting for one move instead
of taking advantage of a move
when it is there,” said
Martindale.
The team continues to learn
quickly with enthusiasm for at­
tending the Nationals and com­
peting like champions.
“We started today working
on our technique and I saw im­
provements from 3 o’clock to 5
o’clock today. I don’t think
that we have any major prob­
lems that are going to hold us
back right now,” said
Martindale.
“I’ve never had a group of guys
as disciplined and as hard work­
ing. It's fun to be around a group
of guys that is really hard-work­
ing,” Martindale concluded.
UPS
TIMOTHY A. BELL / Clackamas Print
Jacob Pence (on the left) fought his way to the semi-finals and
placed fifth at Clackamas' Invitational Tournament in the 174 lb.
weight class last Saturday. Pence, who competes in one of the
toughest weight classes in wrestling, is part of a squad that Head
Coach Lloyd Martindale belives is the 'hardest working' and 'most
discilpined' that he's ever worked with.
offers up to
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