Keizertimes., December 17, 2021, Page 22, Image 22

PAGE A22, KEIZERTIMES, DECEMBER 17, 2021
Celts experience success at multiple tourneys
BY MATT RAWLINGS
Of the Keizertimes
The McNary wrestling squad was
spread out across the state last week-
end (Dec. 10-11) with the girls team
competing in Warrenton while boys
team members either competed in Scio
or North Bend.
McNary head coach Sam Martin
took eight varsity kids to the North
Bend Coast Classic, which featured 28
teams and is considered one of the top
tournaments in the state.
“These tournaments are really to get
used to the mindset and competition
level for districts and state. The teams
that are there are the teams that are in
contention for a state title every year,”
Martin said.
Max Blanco was the top fi nisher for
the Celtics in North Bend in the 113-
pound bracket, fi nishing in second
place.
After receiving a bye in the fi rst two
rounds, Blanco took down Eric Larwin
from Bend with a third round pin in the
quarterfi nal match. Blanco also earned
a fall against Harrisburg's Luke Cheek
in the semifi nals before losing to Crook
County's Landen Lavey in the champi-
onship match.
“He has had a really good start to
the year. To take second in that big of
a tournament this early in the year is
defi nitely a good start. He knows what
he needs to work on moving forward.
It was a good placeholder for him,”
Martin said.
Joey
Barros
(106)
Damian
Hernandez (126) Josh Friesen (160)
and Hunter Ruberto each placed fi fth in
North Bend and won multiple matches.
“You can expect in a tourney like
that to be wrestling against someone
who has wrestled in state or placed in
state. There is never going to be an
easy match,” Martin said. “It was good
to see those guys fi nish their tourna-
ment with a win. It was a good measur-
ing stick and a good little precursor to
what we are going to see coming down
the road.”
At the Scio tournament, 285-pound
freshman Diego Piceno was victorious
in the heavyweight bracket, defeating
Luis Jimenez from Yamhill-Carlton
with a second-round fall.
“He is a hard worker that has really
bought into what we are teaching. It
was cool to see him fi nish on top of
the podium against some pretty expe-
rienced small school wrestlers,” Martin
said.
Jake Paton (182) took third in Scio
while Rafa Mosqueda (132) and David
Ramirez (138) placed second.
In the girls' tournament in
Warrenton, Kaylynn Villalobos was the
champion in the 125-pound bracket,
winning all four of her matches via pin.
“She went out and handled her busi-
ness. We tell her all the time to not
waste time and to go out and attack
and that is exactly what she did. It was
really good to see,” Martin said.
Dayanara Salvador (105) and Caitlin
Mavs League announces
2022 game schedule
The Mavericks League second sea-
son will open at Volcanoes Stadium
on Thursday, May 12, 2022, when
the Salem-Keizer Volcanoes host the
Portland Mavericks. The Campesinos
de Salem-Keizer will begin defense of
their 2021 championship the following
evening against the Salem Senators.
Each team will again play a slate
of 48 games with the regular season
concluding on Sunday, August 28th,
followed by the playoff s and champion-
ship game the following weekend.
Highlights of the schedule include
a game on Memorial Day, Monday,
May 30th when the Senators host the
Campesinos and the annual 4th of July
game when the Mavericks host the
Volcanoes.
There will be a total of seven busi-
nessperson day games during the sea-
son all played on Friday’s: May 20,
June 17, July 1, July 15, July 29, August
5 and August 19. Game times for these
games will all be at 1 p.m
The highly acclaimed Cancer
Awareness Weekend, sponsored by
Dr. Bud Pierce at Oregon Oncology
Specialists, will return and celebrate
it's 20th anniversary June 24-26. A full
slate of 2022 promotions are being
planned and will be released in the
coming months.
The entire schedule can be viewed
at www.mavsleague.com, and ticket
packages can be purchased online at
www.mavsleague.com/shop.
Diego Piceno (second from left) was the winner of the 285-pound bracket at the Scio Tourna-
ment on Saturday, Dec. 10.
FILE PHOTO, Keizertimes
Saldivar (170) placed second in their
respective brackets.
McNary will compete in the Liberty
Tournament at Liberty High School
this weekend, and then will host their
fi rst Mountain Valley Conference dual
meet on Wednesday, Jan. 5 at 7 p.m.
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