Keizertimes., May 28, 2021, Page 21, Image 21

MAY 28, 2021, KEIZERTIMES, PAGE A21
his kids could fi nally compete in front of
the hometown fans.
“We are so excited to be back. I was
almost in disbelief before the fi rst whistle
blew. It was awesome,” Martin said.
The Celtics took the early lead on the
scoreboard thanks to forfeits from McKay
in three of the fi rst four matches. In the
132-pound bout, McNary junior Jordan
Orr proved to be in midseason form as
he earned a pin over his opponent, Jaryd
Clifton, in under a minute after putting him
in an arm-bar.
“I just looked at his stance. Once the
match started I saw that his feet were super
close together so I just went after him,” Orr
said. “I have been working all off season
hoping that we would be able to compete.
It is a blessing to be here.”
“Jordan put in a lot of work in the off -
season. He is one of the hardest workers
in our room. It was good to see immediate
success on the mat for him,” Martin added.
After surrendering forfeits in the 138
and 145-pound matches, McKay rattled off
six straight victories and cut the Celtics
lead to 36-34.
But with the fi nal result hanging in the
balance, Runyan did what he needed to do
to put the Celtics over the top.
“Layne is a slow starter. He likes easing
into matches, but he is someone when we
can count on when it comes down to it,”
Martin said. “It was cool to see him perform
like that in a high stakes situation.”
Runyan wasn't overly aggressive in the
fi rst round, but in the second round he went
into attack mode.
“In the fi rst round I was trying to go for
a single-leg grab but he wasn't pushing
back. But once I got the leg grab in the next
The pressure is a lot,
but that is what I love
about it. Wrestling isn't
just a team sport, it's an
individual-team sport.
Everything I do refl ects
my team and vice versa.
— LAYNE RUNYAN
McNary heavyweight
round I just kept on riding,” Runyan said.
Runyan let out an emotional yell after
coming away with the pin that decided the
dual.
“It was just pure happiness,” Runyan
said. “I just love the feeling of getting out
here and doing my job."
McNary also won three of the fi ve
girls matches that took place, led by Alex
Stanton, who was victorious in both of her
120-pound bouts.
“It is a testament to her toughness and
the eff ort she puts in and it is good to see it
pay off ,” Martin said.
With a season that lasts less than a
month, Martin is planning on getting his
kids as many repetitions as possible before
summer break.
“We are just hoping to get these kids
wrestling as much as possible and getting
them to appreciate the fact that we get to
wrestle and reminding them how great of a
sport this is,” Martin said.
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Layne Runyan lets out an emotional yell after earning the win in the heavyweight bout.
Photo by MATT RAWLINGS of Keizertimes