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THE ASTORIAN • THuRSdAy, JANuARy 20, 2022
SPORTS
Warrenton Wrestling
The Warrenton Warriors celebrate a fourth-place team finish at the Oregon Wrestling Classic in Redmond.
Local wrestlers compete in Oregon Classic
The Astorian
The Warrenton boys wrestling team took
part in the Oregon Classic, held Friday and
Saturday at the Deschutes County Fair-
grounds in Redmond.
The two-day event — canceled last year
— serves as the dual meet state champion-
ship. Warrenton also missed the 2020 event
due to weather, so the No. 6 seed Warriors
made up for lost time this year with dual wins
over Sutherlin, along with No. 2 seed Rainier
and Yamhill-Carlton, both league rivals. Har-
risburg topped the Warriors 44-30 in a semi-
final, and Burns defeated Warrenton 47-30 in
the third-fourth place match.
“We had some close ones that could have
gone either way, but they mostly went Burns’
way,” said Warrenton coach Corey Conant.
“Our losses are a giant opportunity to get bet-
ter as individuals and as a program. It is never
a good feeling to end on a loss, but fourth
place is the best we have finished at the clas-
sic in recent memory, and our team can be
proud of their efforts and growth as a team so
far this year.”
Warrenton’s wins over the Columbians and
Tigers both came down to the upper weights,
where Josh Smith pinned his opponent from
Rainier at heavyweight for a 47-36 team win.
Against Yamhill-Carlton, Warrior juniors
Raul Molina and Brandon Runolfson “stepped
in and performed very well while scoring
points for the team,” Conant said. “The rest
Knappa boys sink the Pirates, 66-32
The Astorian
In the first of two meetings between the
Neah-Kah-Nie Pirates and the Knappa Log-
gers over the next couple days, the Loggers —
even on an off-night — pounded the Pirates
66-32 in a Northwest League boys basketball
game in Rockaway Beach on Monday.
The Loggers missed their first 14 3-point
attempts, and finished the first half 0-for-11,
but still held a 33-15 lead at the break. Knappa
turned an early 4-2 deficit into a 24-8 lead late
in the first quarter. The Loggers also missed 11
free throws over the second and third quarters.
But, as always, numerous blocked shots
and offensive rebound baskets by the Morrill
brothers (Carter and Logan) helped Knappa
build an eventual 56-24 advantage going into
the fourth period.
The Loggers finished 4-for-19 from the
3-point line, as Nicolai Ogier and Raymond
Ramirez both hit two treys off the bench in
the second half, which finished under a run-
ning clock.
The No. 3-ranked Loggers improve to 10-1
overall, while the Pirates fall to 3-2.
Warrenton teams split with Riverdale
O’Brien and Jamie Annat hit back-to-back
three’s and fought back to within 22-14.
The Astorian
Riverdale had the hot hand from the out-
side Tuesday night at Warrenton, where the
Mavericks hit five 3-pointers over the first
three quarters on their way to a 48-33 non-
league girls basketball win over the Warriors.
Riverdale’s Jolynn Tripi and sophomore
Cosette Milla hit two 3-pointers apiece, and
Milla finished with a game-high 20 points
for Riverdale, 8-6 overall. Avyree Miethe led
Warrenton with 15 points.
Riverdale led 22-6 following two treys
from Tripi, before Warrenton’s London
Warriors 57, Riverdale 33
In the boys game, Riverdale played War-
renton close for two-and-a-half quarters,
before the Warriors pulled away late in the
third quarter for a 57-33 win, snapping a two-
game losing streak.
Warrenton’s Dawson Little scored 14 of his
game-high 28 points in the fourth quarter.
Now 5-7 overall, Warrenton returns to
league play Friday at Taft (3-12), followed by a
big showdown on Tuesday at home vs. Rainier.
SCOREBOARD
PREP SPORTS SCHEDULE
BASKETBALL
THURSDAY
COACHES POLLS
Girls Basketball — Neah-Kah-Nie at
Knappa, 6 p.m.
Boys Basketball — Neah-Kah-Nie at
Knappa, 7:45 p.m.
Swimming — Tillamook at Astoria, TBA
FRIDAY
Boys Basketball — Tillamook at Astoria,
6 p.m.; Warrenton at Taft, 5:30 p.m.; Jewell
at St. Paul, 7 p.m.
Girls Basketball — Tillamook at Asto-
ria, 7:45 p.m.; Warrenton at Taft, 7:30 p.m.;
Jewell at St. Paul, 5:30 p.m.
4A Boys
(First place votes in parentheses)
1. Junction City Tigers (6) 92
2. Marshfield Pirates (3) 88
3. Cascade Cougars (1) 79
4. Philomath Warriors 65
5. Seaside Seagulls 59
6. Stayton Eagles 55
7. La Grande Tigers 22
8. Banks Braves 21
9. Henley Hornets 18
10. Woodburn Bulldogs 10
10. Corbett Cardinals 10
Others: Marist Catholic 8.
2A Boys
1. Western Christian (3) 91
2. Knappa Loggers (5) 81
2. Salem Academy (1) 81
4. Jefferson Lions 63
4. Kennedy Trojans 63
6. Illinois Valley Cougars 49
7. Regis Rams 29
8. Bandon Tigers 27
9. Heppner Mustangs 24
10. East Linn Christian 21
Others: Sheridan 11.
Oregon startup investment doubles
By MIKE ROGOWAY
The Oregonian
Oregon entrepreneurs net-
ted a cash windfall last year,
raising $1.6 billion in ven-
ture capital for their young
companies, according to new
industry data. That’s the most
in state history by a wide mar-
gin and nearly doubles Ore-
gon startups’ haul from 2020.
Nearly half of Oregon’s
venture funding in 2021
went to just two businesses:
Dutchie, a Bend company
with technology to help man-
age marijuana businesses;
and NuScale Power, a Port-
land company that is devel-
oping a new class of nuclear
reactor based on innovations
pioneered at Oregon State
University.
Oregon’s investment totals
mirrored a broader boom in
NEARLY HALF
OF OREGON’S
VENTURE
FUNDING IN
2021 WENT
TO JUST TWO
BUSINESSES.
venture funding, according to
PitchBook and the National
Venture Capital Associa-
tion, which tallied the latest
numbers.
They reported that ven-
ture capitalists invested $330
billion nationwide in 2021,
also roughly double the prior
year’s total.
“A fair portion of the new
investment records can be
attributed to the record levels
of capital washing through
the system,” said John Gab-
bert, CEO of PitchBook, a
Seattle-based
investment
research firm.
Venture capital is out-
performing other invest-
ment options, Gabbert said,
so he forecast another record
year nationally in 2022. That
doesn’t necessarily mean
another big year for Ore-
gon, since so much of Ore-
gon’s funding was concen-
trated with two companies
that raised unusually large
amounts.
Venture investment has
seldom been a major part of
Oregon’s economy in the
way it is in Seattle or the Bay
Area, which routinely sprout
big new companies out of
thin air. But there are signs
that Oregon may again be
growing large businesses.
of our wrestlers bumped up a weight class,
so we were able to keep our lineup intact and
dangerous. Our depth is a luxury that not a lot
of 3A teams have.”
Warrenton’s Alex Tapia received a forfeit
at 195, freshman Kaison Smith pinned his
opponent at 220 and Josh Smith won to fin-
ish off the win.
“Our guys were terrific for each other all
weekend,” Conant said. “Nobody let any-
one stay down, and our seniors proved their
leadership qualities over and over again.
They led in their aggressive wrestling, but
also after the matches, in huddles and on the
bench. We have a lot of technique and strat-
egy that we need to keep improving on, but
they are as fearless a group of wrestlers as I
have coached.”
Young Knappa wrestlers place
The Knappa kids wrestling team sent six
youth wrestlers to the Oregon Classic, with
four placers.
Knappa’s Mina Myers took third in the
girls 10U 65-pound division — the first
Knappa wrestler to place in the classic’s
girls division.
Elsewhere, Easton Bartlett was third in
the 10U 77-pound weight class; Carl Isom
placed fifth (8U, 43 pounds); and Sitka
Myers was sixth (12U, 135 pounds).
Other Knappa competitors included Gary
“LG” Newberry (8U, 49 pounds) and Tanner
Delay (8U, 53 pounds).
GIRLS BASKETBALL
Neah-Kah-Nie tops Knappa, 34-25
The Astorian
Still looking for their first league win of
the season, the Knappa girls basketball team
will have to wait a little longer, as Neah-
Kah-Nie escaped with a 34-25 win over
the visiting Lady Loggers in a Northwest
League game Monday night.
Knappa’s one lead of the game was at
12-11, following consecutive scores from
Taylin Regier and Taryn Barendse. The
Pirates answered with a 6-0 run, and never
trailed again.
Knappa was still within 23-19 midway
through the fourth quarter, before a 5-0 run
by Neah-Kah-Nie put the game out of reach.