A14 WEDNESDAY February 7, 2018 Beckman for the pin — and win. Joseph Wal- lowa wrestler and state champion at 106 lbs, eas- ily pinned his opponent at the District wrestling tournament on Feb. 2, at Joseph. Joseph/Wallowa finishes second in district action 9 WRESTLERS HEAD TO STATE Story and photos by Steve Tool Wallowa County Chieftain Joseph Charter School hosted some championship wrestling on Feb. 2, but there wasn’t any strutting, blustering, ridiculous threats of violence or phony wrestling moves. It was the district wrestling tournament, which determines the best of the best wrestlers and decides who goes on to compete at the state tournament in Portland in two weeks. Joseph will send five wres- tlers to state and Enterprise four. Joseph, with only seven wrestlers competing, placed second in the 10-team tourna- ment with 131.5 points, a half- point ahead of Crane. John Day won the tournament with 214 points but had to bring 23 wres- tlers to do it. Enterprise placed fourth with 130 points. For Joseph, state champion Steven Beckman won at 106 pounds, as did Gus Ramsden at 145 and Austin Brockamp at 160. Zeb Ramsden placed second at 120, as did Cole Kiesecker at 220. Guylen Sny- der and Jonah Staigle placed third at 152 and 182, respec- tively. The top two wrestlers in each class received the nod for state competition. For Enterprise, Shane Lund picked up his 46th win of the year and first place at 120 pounds, as did teammate and reigning state champion at 126 Cole Farwell. Trace Evans also took first at 132. Dylan Staigle took second at 138, while Evan Jonson placed third at 132 as Enterprise wrestler Cole Farwell, competing at 132 pounds, is victorious over his Union opponent at the districts wres- tling tournament Feb. 2. Farwell won the weight class and will try to repeat as state champion in two weeks. Wallowa High School student Austin Brockamp, of the Joseph/Wallowa team is all smiles af- ter vanquishing his opponent by fall in the championship round of the 160-pound weight cat- egory at wrestling districts. Feb. 2. The win allows Brockamp to move on to the state tourna- ment in two weeks. did Klint Norton at 285. Char- lie Evans and Hafizh Al Farizi placed sixth at 138 and 182, respectively. Lund, a three-time district champion in his junior year, said while competition was tough, last year’s competition was tougher. “Furtado from Adrian was really tough. It took everything I had to keep up with him,” he said. Lund also gave credit to his finals competition, Joseph/Wal- lowa freshman Zeb Ramsden. “Zeb Ramsden is a phe- nomenal wrestler,” he said. “Especially for a freshman. He’ll probably place at state.” Lund said he would prac- tice against teammate Cole Farwell to prepare for state. “He beats me every day in practice and makes me get bet- ter,” Lund said with a laugh. State champion Beckman, who won his second district title, said he felt more confi- dent this year than the last. “This year, I know what I’m capable of,” he said. “I’m more comfortable in big- ger matches, and I hope it keeps going through the state championships.” He added that he’ll prepare for state by getting to his opti- mum weight and training as hard as he can. Although the Eagles’ Guylen Snyder didn’t qualify for state, his third-place win was a testament to persever- ance. Snyder spent much of the match on the bottom end of an 8-3 score but started to mount a comeback late in the second round, narrowing the score to 8-5 at the start of the final round. His opponent scored two points on a reversal, but Sny- der, working steadily, nar- rowed the score to 10-8 before placing his opponent in a near- fall predicament and gaining an 11-10 victory in the final seconds of the match. “We just keep preaching never give up,” Joseph/Wal- lowa coach Tim Kiesecker said. “It’s not over ‘till it’s over. It totally ruined that other kid’s day.” Snyder commented, “You’ve got to draw on every- thing you have at the end. It’s all mind.” Kiesecker was pleased with his team’s performance. “Having it at home makes it nice,” he said. Kiesecker also offered thanks to all the volunteers and sponsors who helped put on the event. “Plac- ing five of our six wrestlers who competed makes for a pretty good average.” Kiesecker has plans to keep his team sharp over the next two weeks. “It’s about perfecting what they already do,” he said. “I don’t try to change their skills this late in the season. It’s all about conditioning and keep- ing in top shape.” Outlaws coach Troy Far- well said that this year saw his team bringing more wrestlers than the previous year. “We did a little better as a team this year,” the coach said. “It was a good tourna- ment, but I wish we’d have done just a little bit better team wise. They deserved a trophy –– they’ve worked hard all year.” SPORTS CALENDAR JOSEPH WALLOWA ENTERPRISE BOYS BASKETBALL BOYS BASKETBALL BOYS BASKETBALL Friday, Feb. 9 –– Joseph vs. Griswold at Griswold, 7 p.m. Friday, Feb. 9 –– Wallowa vs. Echo at home, 7 p.m. Friday, Feb. 9 –– Enterprise vs. Imbler at home, 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 10 –– Joseph vs. Nixyaawii at home, 5 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 10 –– Wallowa vs. Powder Valley at Powder Valley, 5:30 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 10 –– Enterprise vs. Grant Union at home, 5:30 p.m. Friday, Feb. 9 –– Joseph vs. Griswold at Griswold, 6 p.m. GIRLS BASKETBALL Friday, Feb. 9 –– Wallowa vs. Echo at home, 5 p.m. Friday, Feb. 9 –– Enterprise vs. Imbler at home, 6 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 10 –– Joseph vs. Nixyaawii at home, 4 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 10 –– Wallowa vs. Powder Valley at Powder Valley, 3 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 10 –– Enterprise vs. Grant Union at home, 4 p.m. GIRLS BASKETBALL See our ad on page A9 GIRLS BASKETBALL 800 S. River, Enterprise | 503-426-9228 carpetone.com