A9
WEDNESDAY
February 21, 2018
GOLD!
Three county wrestlers
bring back medals from
state championships
Two golds and a bronze
By Steve Tool
Wallowa County Chieftain
allowa County wrestlers put in a fine perfor-
mance at this year’s state championships, return-
ing from Portland with two gold and a bronze
medal for their efforts.
Cole Farwell of Enterprise High School and Steven Beck-
man of Joseph/Wallowa took top spots in their weight classes
while Austin Brockamp returned with bronze for a third place
finish. Shane Lund of Enterprise finished fourth.
Joseph coach Tim Kiesecker’s squad placed fifth in a field
of more than 20 teams.
“Everybody won at least one match,” Kiesecker said. “I
couldn’t be more proud. It’s the first year I remember that
everyone did what I thought they could and should do.”
Beckman, who won his second consecutive championship
at 106 pounds without breaking a sweat, took his performance
in stride. The junior spent a total of about three minutes mat
time, pinning his opponents inside of one minute each.
“I felt a little different this year,” he explained. “Last year I
was so nervous I wasn’t even really there. I was relaxed this year.”
Beckman made a vow to himself to win a state champion-
ship before graduation. No one in his weight class had won
three state championships.
“I’ve got two,” he said. “Why not go for a third?” Beck-
man got serious for a moment before adding that he wanted to
spend more time helping his teammates.
“I want to wrestle more as a team, we have a good team,
and we did well this year, but we can do better,” he said.
Enterprise coach Troy Farwell was also pleased with the
performance of his Outlaws squad, who finished 10th at the
championships.
“Considering it’s state, and the top eight wrestlers in every
class competed, we wrestled pretty well,” he said.
Cole Farwell, who won his second consecutive champion-
ship at 126 pounds, was happy to end his wrestling career on
a high note. He won all his matches by fall with his last wrap-
ping just before the end of the first round.
He said that his last opponent wrestled defensively, which
made it easier for him to apply the pressure and force an easy
win.
Farwell noted he had a different attitude about the cham-
pionships this year.
“I’ve been through this before,” he said. “I felt more calm
and relaxed going in this year.
He has no regrets about the end of his high school career.
“My goal when I started was to win one state champion-
ship. I’ve won two now, so I’ve exceeded my goals, both for
the championships and the season,” he said.
Overall, Coach Farwell accounted the season a success.
“We had a pretty good year,” he said. I judge my team as a
whole, not on individual stats, but on whether we wrestle over
.500 or not, and we did that this year.”
W
ABOVE: Steven Beckman of
Joseph/Wallowa receives
honors for the top spot in
his weight class at state
1A/2A wrestling champion-
ships in Portland Feb. 16-17.
Beckman won his second
consecutive
champion-
ship at 106 pounds without
breaking a sweat.
LEFT: Enterprise High
School senior Cole Farwell
receives his award for plac-
ing first in the 132-pound
weight class at the state
1A/2A wrestling champion-
ships in Portland Feb. 16-
17. The Outlaws placed 10th
in a field of more than 20
teams.
Contributed photos
Everybody won at
least one match. I
couldn’t be more
proud. It’s the first
year I remember that
everyone did what I
thought they could
and should do.”
— Tim Kiesecker
Joseph wrestling coach
3:55.88: WOU’s Ribich continues to set records
Claimed fastest 1000
meters time in NCAA
Div. II history
By Steve Tool
Wallowa County Chieftain
Contributed photo
David Ribich, left, of West-
ern Oregon University com-
petes in the Dempsey Indoor
track meet at the Universi-
ty of Washington in Seattle,
Wash., Jan. 13, 2018.
Just how far can 2014 Enterprise
High School graduate David Ribich
climb? Ribich, a senior track star at
Western Oregon University, has set a
number of records in the Great North-
west Athletic Conference and several
WOU records.
He’s also been recognized as
NCAA’s Div. II National Athlete of the
week, including twice this month alone.
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Even before 2018, Ribich jointly held
the Div. II all-time record as the anchor
of the WOU Men’s Distance Relay
Medley team and holds Div. II records
in the 1000 and 3000 meter races. He
has also won a national championship
in the 1500 meters.
The first of the two national recog-
nitions is for running the fastest 1000
meters time in NCAA Div. II history.
Ribich clocked in at a smoking 2:21.38
at the University of Washington Pre-
view on Jan. 16. Ribich bested runners
from such Div. 1 standouts as Stanford,
Oregon and Washington on the way to
victory.
Ribich’s second recognition is for
running a sub-four-minute-mile at
3:58.88. While 500 professional and
college runners have also hit the mark,
Ribich’s time is the fastest Div. II time
in the last 30 years and the second-fast-
est in Div. II history.
The WOU senior went to the event
with the idea of breaking the barrier.
His time in the 1500 meters converted
to a 3:57 mile time. A roommate paced
the race for him. Ribich and the two
planned for Ribich to hit the halfway
mark at 1:59 and achieve the same time
to finish the race.
The runner hit the halfway point
at 2:00 flat and kicked up his speed a
notch.
“It worked a little differently than
we thought it would, but we got the end
result we wanted,” Ribich said.
Over the Feb. 10-11 weekend, Rib-
ich set another Div. II national record,
this time running the 3000 meter race in
a blazing 7:50.8. He wasn’t planning on
notching the mark.
“With the 3k, I was really surprised
to run in the 7:50s,” Ribich said.
How does Ribich stay motivated as
one of the top runners in the nation? He
said that the idea of turning his dream
and passion into a career helps with his
humility and motivation.
He also said his eight-year journey
with the support of Wallowa County cit-
izens helps keep his eye on the prize.
“I’m hitting these records and win-
ning titles, but I don’t place too much
emphasis on it,” he said. “I just keep
working hard and doing the daily things
to keep progressing in the sport.”
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Joseph
541-432-9050
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541-426-4511
Wallowa
541-886-9151