DECEMBER 10, 2021, KEIZERTIMES, PAGE A17
Celtics win two duals in first competition
SPORTS
THE
MAT
McNary wrestler Hunter Ruberto (blue singlet) earns a takedown in the first round of his match with Roseburg's Ethan Leaton.
BY MATT RAWLINGS
Of the Keizertimes
The McNary wrestling squad won
two of their three duals in their first com-
petition of the season on Friday, Dec. 3,
defeating Century 51-27 and beating
Cleveland 46-34.
In their first dual with Roseburg, one
of the premier programs in the state,
McNary competed but wound up losing
by a score of 43-31.
When these two teams faced off two
seasons ago, McNary only won a single
match during the dual, which was why
McNary head coach Sam Martin was
pleased that his team was able to keep the
score close this time around.
“I remember just a couple years ago
when that was close to a shutout. To have
a tightly contested dual with a school
that is storied as Roseburg is pretty cool,”
Martin said. “It was a great confidence
builder. I know the kids felt pretty good
after it. And the ability to follow it up with
two victories by a large margin was even
better.”
McNary's top wrestler on the day was
170-pounder Hunter Ruberto, who won
two of his matches via pin, while getting
a major decision win in his other match.
“Hunter looked really good. He did
exactly what he wanted to do. He was
aggressive and just attacked. It was a
good momentum builder for him heading
into the rest of the season,” Martin said.
Damian Hernandez (132) and Max
Blanco (113) were also unbeaten on the
day. Both wrestlers earned a pair of falls
in their two matches, as well as a win by
forfeit.
“Those guys showed up ready to wres-
tle. It was good to see them get off to a
quick start. Neither of them wasted too
much time. They just got right down to
business, which is what we talk about
here all the time,” Martin said.
Even though he finished with a record
of 1-2 on the day, Martin said he was really
impressed with the way 160-pounder Josh
Friesen wrestled. Friesen faced Century's
William Musser, who was the runner-up
at 152 pounds at the state meet last year,
and earned three takedowns before get-
ting pinned late in the second round.
Friesen also wrestled tough against
Roseburg's Varrius Scanlan, who placed
third at state last season.
“On paper, it didn't look like he had
good matches, but Josh wrestled pretty
well. There is some stuff we got to clean
up as far as mat wrestling goes, but he
looked really good on his feet. I was really
happy to see that,” Martin said.
McNary will be back in action in a two-
day tournament in North Bend beginning
Friday, Dec. 10 — the event features 28
Photo by MATT RAWLINGS of Keizertimes
teams and is one of the biggest tourna-
ments in Oregon.
“This is one of the toughest tourna-
ments in the state. It's really about build-
ing up their confidence in tournaments
like these to build up their confidence
when it comes down to districts and state.
It's an opportunity for our feet to get wet
in a big tournament. It will be a good
opportunity for these guys,” Martin said.
Josh Friesen (left) tries to make a move on his opponent.
Photo by MATT RAWLINGS of Keizertimes
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