Illinois Valley news., March 02, 2011, Image 9

Sports
Illinois Valley News, Cave Junction, Ore.
Wednesday, Mar. 2, 2011
State Champion!
(Courtesy photo for the, Illinois Valley News)
Senior Matt Coultas during his final state wrestling match. Coultas took home the top honor for the Illinois Valley Cougar Grapplers in Portland Saturday, Feb. 26.
Cougar wrestlers earn top positions, 11th as a team
By Darcy Wallace
IVN Staff Writer
The
four
Cougars
who
made it to State wrestling finals
represented Illinois Valley well with
three placing in their respective
weight classes last weekend.
On Friday and Saturday,
Feb. 25 and 26, Illinois Valley
High School grapplers traveled to
Memorial Coliseum in Portland
for the season’s final competition.
Matt Coultas, Zach Anderson,
Gabe Miller and T.J. Huey were the
four Cougars representing their school
over the weekend. Huey, a first-year
member of the team, got his first taste
of State competition while Coultas,
Anderson and Miller all placed.
Coultas worked his way up
through the rounds to eventually
defeat the first-seeded Jay Masterson
from Burns High School in the 145-
pound weight class, earning first place.
“It was a great win for Matt and
a great way for him to finish his senior
career,” said wrestling coach Jay Miller.
One of the most exciting
matches, according to Miller, was the
final round between Gabe
Miller and the top-ranked
Johnny Campbell of
Myrtle Point. After four
overtimes, Miller finally
lost 2-1 in the end and
took second overall in the
125-pound weight class.
“It was ranked right
up there as one of the best
finals of the tournament,”
Coach Miller said. “It
was an exciting match
with two really good
wrestlers. But one was
going to be a winner
and one had to lose.”
One
low
point
of the match was a
scheduling change that
led Huey to miss one of
his matches, leading to
a disqualification. But
he had a difficult match
(Courtesy photo for the, Illinois Valley News)
against Santiam Christian Gabe Miller is in control during a match at state. Miller took second in the 125lb class
student Mike Fanno in the
130-pound weight class.
round of the 135-pound weight for a third-place award for Anderson.
“They handled it very well,”
Senior
Zach
class.
In
his
other
match,
Miller
said
According
to
Miller,
the
Cougars
Miller
said. “For three kids scoring
Anderson made the second round,
Anderson
pinned
a
wrestler
who
had
placed
11th
as
a
team,
just
missing
to
finish
11th it was a pretty
but lost in a 2-3 decision to a Burns
beaten
him
earlier
in
the
season,
good
their
goal
of
making
the
top
ten.
good
showing.
We’re up against
wrestler who ended up in the final
schools with nine or ten kids
[competing]. We didn’t have the
numbers, but we had the quality.”
Though the season is over
for Illinois Valley wrestlers,
Miller
credited
coaching
assistant Eric Unger for his
constant help during the season.
“He’s really our technician
and he knows much more about
wrestling than the rest of us,”
Miller said. “When he’s at matside
everybody seems to wrestle
better…we wouldn’t be where we
are without him, that’s for sure.”
Miller said Unger is “all East
Coast” and that he wrestled at Penn
State. But he ended up settling
down in the Valley and started
helping the wrestling team in 1998.
“He’s improved our teams
every year,” Miller said. “He never
asks for any credit. He always comes
in, does his work and disappears.”
(Courtesy photo for the, Illinois Valley News)
Zach Anderson (left) works
over his opponent during state.
Anderson took 3rd at state