PAGE A8, KEIZERTIMES, FEBRUARY 21, 2020
WRES.,
ATHLETE
continued from Page A12
KEIZERTIMES/Matt Rawlings
Ethan Whalen fi nished eighth in the 100-yard breaststroke.
SWIM,
continued from Page A12
said. “She didn’t let it bother
her and still performed well
both in her individual races
and her relays.”
On the boys side, it was
McNary freshman Zachary
Kilby that had a big day in
the pool.
Kilby was the Celtics top
placer on the day for any
race with his second place
fi nish in the 50-free (23.50).
Kilby also placed third in the
100-free (53.41) and swam
the anchor for the 200-free
relay team that placed fi fth
and the 400-free relay squad
that fi nished fourth.
“Zach had a breakout
weekend and will be one to
watch the next three years.
He is very talented and will
only improve. He puts in
the effort and has the desire
to get better,” Lewin said.
“We’re already looking for-
ward to what next season has
in store.”
In his fi nal district meet,
McNary senior Kyle Hoop-
er made it to the podium
twice, placing fi fth in the
100-backstroke and the 500-
free.
Zander Rhoades also
had a good showing in the
500-free for the Celtics, fi n-
ishing eighth with a time of
5:54.76.
Brennan Whalen took
seventh in the breaststroke
(1:11.20) while his twin
brother, Ethan, placed eighth
(1:12.58).
“I thought the season
was a success. Our numbers
were still up, kids improved,
had fun and hopefully will
continue to swim. The team
took a lot of pride in them-
selves and I thought they
represented McNary very
well. Even though our se-
niors will be missed for their
leadership and talents in the
pool, we have a strong group
coming up to fi ll the ranks,”
Lewin said.
We want
to hear
from you
match, I knew I was going to
have to try and do something
to catch him. Once I got the
reversal, I knew that I had
him,” Ruberto said.
“We knew that kid was
tough on top. But Hunter al-
ways kept himself in good po-
sition. He had an opportunity
and he capitalized on it. It’s
just a testament to Hunter’s
mental toughness and how
he has worked to get to this
point,” added Martin.
McNary’s top state per-
former last season was
120-pounder Grady Burrows.
Even though he made the po-
dium at districts once again
this year, his sixth place fi nish
wasn’t enough to secure him a
third straight trip to the state
meet.
Burrows did advance to
the semifi nals, but lost a hard-
fought 4-3 decision against Ty-
son Oliver of Mountain View.
“He was winning for al-
most the entire match against
a really good kid, but he gave
up a takedown late and wasn’t
able to seal the deal,” Martin
said.
Burrows tweaked his back
in the consolation round and
had to default to sixth place
after not being able to wrestle
in the fi fth-place match.
McNary’s other state com-
petitor from last season, Gilbert
Parra, fell just short of grab-
bing an automatic bid to the
state meet as he took fourth in
the 138-pound division.
The Celtics other fourth
place fi nishers were Daniel
Hernandez (132), Anthony
Garcia-Reyes (220) and An-
thony Cruz-Lopez (285).
All four wrestlers still have
a shot to make the state meet
as a wild card, but they won’t
know whether they made it or
not until the brackets become
offi cial on Sunday, Feb. 23.
After competing in the ju-
nior varsity lineup for most of
the season, Esteban Victoria
(138) wrestled his way to a fi fth
place fi nish, highlighted by an
overtime pin in the fi fth-place
match against Steven Gonzalez
from South Salem.
“He gutted out some
tough wins. He just perse-
veres through everything and
he doesn’t let any situation get
him down,” Martin said.
Gio Cervantes also fi nished
fi fth at 145 pounds. Damian
Hernandez (106), Donovin
Garcia (126) and Isaac Everts
(170) each placed sixth..
of the Week
presented by
HUNTER RUBERTO
Freshman at McNary High School
145 pounds
McNary freshman Hunter Ruberto went 5-1 at the
Mountain Valley Conference District Meet over the
weekend to take home third place in the 145-pound
division.
He was one of two McNary wrestlers to earn an
automatic qualifi cation to the state tournament,
which starts on Friday Feb. 28 at the Moda Center
in Portland.
Ruberto fi nished off the tournament by getting a
second round pin against Elijah Byers from Sprague
in the third-place match.
WHAT HIS COACH SAYS
“It’s just a testament to Hunter’s mental toughness
and how hard he has worked to get to this point.”
— Sam Martin,
McNary interim head coach
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