6 The Clackamas Print
Wednesday, Feb. 16, 2011
Sport:
Wrestling wins season, Region titl
By Robert Morrison
Sports Editor
They might have been all
over the rankings this year but
they are always No. 1 in our
hearts; the Clackamas Cougars
have fought hard all year to
stay atop the National Junior
College Athletic Association
rankings. This year the team
saw some big wins in com
petitive matches and some
hard fought losses on the way.
The team finished with a very
stout 11-3 record that gave
them the No. 2 rank, improv
ing on their 7-4-1 record from
last year, heading into Region
18 Championships.
“Our biggest win this year
I would have to say (was)
National Duals in Iowa,” said
Matt Melendrez, a freshman
that wrestlers at 157 lbs. for
the Cougars. “We all set goals
at the tournament prior to that
and we all met our goals.”
it
(I’ll miss) being
with the team all
the time. We have
all become really
good friends.
Bill Goldsberry
CCC wrestler
The Cougars won three
matches at nationals to bring
home another National Duals
title to Clackamas. The team
went an impressive 3-0 during
the duals, beating No. 8 Iowa
Central, No. 5 Labette and
then top ranked Harper. The
team won in dominant fash
ion, outscoring their oppo
nents 81-32 in the duals. Both
Iowa Central and Labette fin
ished ahead of the Cougars in
last year’s NJCAA champion
ships.
As a team, the Cougars
only lost three times this year.
The team started off rough,
losing their first two matches
to North Idaho College and
Simon Fraser University, but
then they pulled off seven
straight wins before their
third loss to a tough North
Idaho team.
“Our biggest loss had to
have been this last time we
lost to North Idaho because
we didn’t have a full lineup,
we had some forfeits,” said
Kegan Handlovic.
Handlovic is a freshman
who wrestles in the 125 lb.
weight class for the Cougars.
Handlovic moved across the
country from Easton, Perm, to
wrestle at CCC. He said that
he uses that and the distance
away from his daughter as
motivation for his own per
sonal improvement.
Many of the wrestlers hate
to see the season come to an
end soon and will miss the
team.
“(I’ll miss) being with the
team all the time. We have all
become really good friends,”
said Billy Goldsberry, a fresh
man in the 149 lb. weight
class from Albany, Ore.
The distance the wrestlers
will spread will soon become
even greater, with Goldsberry
moving onto Southern Oregon
University to continue wres
All
tling, Handlovic getting offers Clackamas ’ Tyrell Fortune tries to take down Montana State-Northern’s Rudy Schaffroth ii ij
from many schools, as well as
many other wrestlers receiv Randall gym oh Jan. 14. Clackamas won 22-20.
ing offers to wrestle after
!
CCC. Among the others is All- second best team out of junior vidual championships for their next year.
After a great shol
American Terrence Williams colleges in the nation. After weight classes while Billy
who received an offer from years of being runners-up, the Goldsberry earned second Regionals the Cougars’]
Cougars got some satisfac place in the 149 weight class. tling team looks to I
Oregon State University.
The team has improved tion by going head-to-head Matt Melendrez finished third on to the No. 1 spot I
over the course of the season, with top ranked North Idaho and both Kegan Handlovic NJCAA rankings headinl
and Brett Fredickson finished Nationals.
losing to just one team in their College.
last 11 matches. Many play
Clackamas had seven fourth. Clackamas ended up
ers have improved and a lot wrestlers representing them beating North Idaho by 12
of them agree that they have entering the finals of the team points.
Catch the Clackamal
OSU’s wrestling coach Jim
a great coaching staff that championships with more
wrestling team at I
has helped the whole team do than half of them wrestling Zalesky led many four-year
Nationals in Spokanl
against North Idaho. Martin school coaches that were at
better.
The team showed this Gonzalez, Cody Randall, the championships. OSU has
Wash, on Feb. 25-26]
mindset as it entered their Derek Mestrovich, Terrence already received commit
10 a.m.
I
Region .18 Championships. Williams, Brett Sanchez and ments from both Williams and
The Cougars entered as the Tyrell Fortune all won indi Fortune to wrestle for them
Clackamas takes on Yakima Valley on Jan. 20 in the Randall Gym. Clackamas dominated
38-7.
F'-