Page 8
Spilyay Tymoo, Warm Springs, Oregon
February 17, 2005
Begay: better
wrestler
this year
(Continued from page 6)
"It's a good experience, go
ing to state."
This is coming from a guy
who lost his only matches at the
state tournament, both by pins.
As the third-place finisher
from the Tri-Valley last year, he
was pitted against No. 1 seed and
eventual state champion Trey
McLean from North Valley.
McLean, who pinned all four of
his opponents at that meet to
win the state title, fell Begay in
28 seconds. Begay lost in the
consolation round to Jason
Mentzer of Cascade, the even
tual seventh-place finisher.
"I feel pretty good about the
two matches I was in," he said.
"I wrestled as hard as I could.
"I tossed (McLean). It got
my coach's hopes up, and my
parents were there supporting
me. I almost had him pinned in
the first round, but we reversed
each other and he came out on
top. But I was happy about it,
and I was hoping for next year
and now I know what to expect."
"I think he has ability to be
in the top four in state," eighth
year Madras wrestling coach
Paul Brown said. "He's got the
technique. He's got the
strength."
"If he believes in himself, he
could easily be in top four in the
state. There are other good kids
out there (in the state), but I
strongly believe he could easily
be in the top four."
In fact, Brown said that of
any of the wrestlers that have
beaten Begay this season, none
of them have been significantly
better than he.
"There hasn't been one that's
dominated him," the coach said.
"He's made a couple mistakes,
and he's gotten caught on them,
but there hasn't been anybody
above Blaine's ability
"That's why I say, if he
wrestles smart, the way he's ca
pable of, he's a tough kid to
beat."
Begay's a better wrestler this
year, he said, because he has
more confidence, and "thinking
; ability, staying low and wrestling
just a little smarter than last
year."
"He's a lot more aggressive
than he was last year, " Brown
said. "Last year, he was the pas
sive type. He'd wait for other
kids to make mistakes. He's
picked up his aggressiveness,
and that's made a difference in
his wins and losses this year.
"He's creating more oppor
tunities, which, obviously, makes
kids make mistakes, too."
Begay packs about 274
pounds on his six-foot frame.
He said he's a little stronger than
last season and has gained quick
ness. Begay worked at Warm
Springs Fire and Safety last sum
mer. "On my lunch break, I'd go
to the (Community) Center,
work out, run, do a little work
out to get ready for football,"
he said.
Begay played his second year
of varsity football for Madras
High last fall, playing guard and
tackle on offense and a tackle
on defense.
Begay started wrestling in
seventh grade and continued in
eighth grade but didn't when he
reached high school.
"It was just another thing to
keep me busy. You know how
kids are. I just like to keep busy,
keep active and stay in shape,"
he said.
Begay said the biggest key to
his technique is staying low,
breaking his opponent down to
the mat and then getting a pin.
In fact, of his 24 wins this
season, 20 have been by pin,
Brown said.
He said he couldn't think of
a particular wrestler in the state
that he would call the toughest
but said there are several around
the state who've challenged him.
"I've wrestled a lot of guys,
and most of them are all pretty
decent, pretty good," he said.
"There are a few guys I'll prob
ably worry about and I'll prob
ably change some things about
how I wrestle them again the sec
ond time," he said.
Begay was the No. 1 seed at
last weekend's Tri-Valley League
meet, and he said he saw that as
validation for a good season.
"It makes me think that I've
improved since last year," he
said. "I've gotten better conditioning-wise,
mental-wise, and
I've just gotten better and made
a big improvement over last
year."
Heavyweights are the rare
animals on a wrestling team, in
that it's sometimes hard to find
opponents big enough to work
out with them during practice.
Blaine Begay
Begay works out by a sort of
committee, with freshman 275
pounder Will Wienert, another
freshman, 215-poundcr James
Rodriguez, and assistant wres
tling coach Shawn Smith.
"This year, he's gotten a lot
more confidence and a lot stron
ger. I don't wrestle him any
more," Coach Brown said. "I let
my big assistant (Smith) wrestle
him.
"Last year, with my knowl
edge of the sport and my quick
ness, I could wrestle him. I don't
do that anymore."
It makes sense; Smith weighs
in around 240, while Brown is a
more svelte 160.
"(Coach) Brown, he helps me
out a little bit and he does little
things," Begay said. "And (assis
tant coach) Ronnie Oliver, he
just kind of keeps us going, just
like an inspiration type of
thing."
He said his father, Anson
Begay, also helps, offering ad
vice at home from what he sees
on the mat.
Begay lives with his family in
the Schoolie Flat area south of
Simnasho, which creates a long
commute from home to school
each day.
He catches the bus at 7 a.m.
for the 70-minute bus ride to
Madras. After wrestling practice,
he gets home at 7:15 p.m.
"You get used to it," he said.
"It's gotten shorter, though.
Since fifth grade, I've been riding
the bus over here."
He said he would like to earn
an athletic scholarship, either in
football, wrestling, or his real
favorite sport, rodeo, specifically
team roping.
He said he can't even re
member how long he's been able
to ride horses, but he was at
least three years old when he
started.
"My parents brought me up
riding horses, going to pow
wows, stuff like that," he said.
"My grandparents helped me
along. .
"I've been riding for a long
time."
On horseback is where he
broke his collarbone at age two
and later lost his right thumb.
He lost his thumb while he
was roping, in 1997.
"I was in Klamath Falls," he
said. "Me and my Dad's part
ner, he was heading for me."
His thumb was caught in the
coil of a rope, and with the ten
sion of the tightening rope, it
got pinched off, he said.
"They said the tendons were
stretched and torn," he said.
"They couldn't put it back on.
"They wanted to take my
right big toe off and stick it on
(in place of the thumb), and I
said, 'no.'"
In addition to learning how
to use his right hand again, he
said he had to learn how to
overcome the teasing that re
sulted from it.
"I started writing left-handed
for a while," he said. "The doc
tor said not to write or rope, but,
after that, I didn't listen to doc
tors." He said, though, there are
some things not having a full
thumb is a hindrance, like sports.
"It's still pretty tender after
so many years," he said. "(It
hurts) if it gets hit or if it gets
cold."
While Begay may not have to
use as much toughness as he did
recovering from the loss of his
thumb, he may have more than
enough next weekend at the
state wrestling meet.
Buffalo notes: Begay
was Madras' only district cham
pion but one of 11 Buffs to ad
vance to the state tournament ...
Wienert, Madras' other heavy
weight and Begay's practice part
ner, finished third at the Tri-Valley
meet and also moves on to
state ... Begay opens state meet
action against Jerad Jaenig, a
sophomore from North Bend,
and if he wins, Begay wrestles
senior Colin Gundle of Ontario
in the second round ... the state
meet begins at 8:30 a.m. today,
as doors open at 8 a.m., at the
Pavilion at the Oregon State
Fairgrounds, located at 2330
17,h Street N.E., in Salem ... Tick
ets for individual sessions today
and Friday are $6 for adults and
$4 for students and, for
Saturday's semifinal and final
rounds, $7 for adults and $5 for
students, and "season tickets" for
the entire tournament are $30 for
adults, $20 for students ... park
ing is $3 .... the White Buffalo
girls basketball team saw its five
game winning streak end Feb. 8
when the Buffs lost at home to
Gladstone, 56-46, and then lost
at Wilsonville, 52-37, Friday ...
the losses dropped the Buffs into
a virtual three-way tie for sec
ond place with Sherwood and
Wilsonville in the Tri-Vallcy
League, all at least one game
behind Gladstone ... after last
Friday's games, Gladstone was
7-3 in the league, followed by
Sherwood at 6-3 and Wilsonville
and Madras each at 6-4 ...
through Friday's game at
Wilsonville, Brianna Stacona
continues to lead the Buffs with
a 12.1 pcr-game scoring average,
while Susan Ahcrn averages 10.8
and Jaylyn Suppah 10.3 ...
Raylcne Thomas averages 8.9
points per game ... Madras hosts
Estacada to end the regular sea
son Friday ... Gladstone could
clinch the Tri-Valley girls bas
ketball title with a win at
Sherwood Friday ... the Madras
boys , who fell into a second
place tie with Gladstone and
Sherwood after their home loss
at Gladstone Feb. 9, play at
Estacada tomorrow ... through
last Friday's games, Wilsonville,
the No. 2 team in Class 3A, had
a 10-0 record, including a 54
46 win at Madras last Friday,
while Sherwood was 5-4 and
Madras and Gladstone each at
5-5 ... Gladstone has tie-breaker
edge on Madras, having beaten
the Buffs twice ... La Salle is in
fifth at 4-5 ... Kevin Hernandez
led the Buffs with a 13.6 aver
age, while Luke Telfer had a 10.6
average through Friday and Jor
dan Say had an 8.0 average ...
Larry Switzler tied his season-high
with 1 1 points Friday.
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Native American hip-hop
artists to perform in Bend
A concert of Native Ameri
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ing to the Domino Room in
Bend.
The event is called Culture
Clash, and happens Friday
evening, Feb. 25. Headlining the
event are Shatta-I, preceded by
:Big Chiefin', Brutha War Bebe,
'Rezhogs, Santotzin, powwow
drum groups Eagle Thunder
Drum, NW Connect, powwow
dancers, Hopi flautist James
Greeley, and DJ-KA.
Shatta-I performs and
records funk, reggae and hip
hop. He currently maintains a
solo reggae dance hall career,
and also frequently performs
with the Atoll, a Native funk and
blues band.
Big Chiefin' is a Native hip
hop crew fronted by Buffalo
Horse Eastman, aka Buff tha
Stuff. His biography reads as
follows: "Named by spirits
through a medicine man shortly
after he born in Rosebud, S.D.,
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praying in sweatlodges and
longhouses, and attends
sundances and powwows."
His lyric style, he said, is in
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Law, Sir-Mix-a-Lot, and Too
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Buffalo Horse Eastman be
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Chiefin' Records in Portland. He
has since moved back to Warm
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concerts with promoter JSK.
They started recording at
Jodes' Frybread N Beats along
with Jtaka Jimi tha gent Thorpe,
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Night Rider aka Smoke Dawg,
Native Mist, and Chilly C.
"We've put on numerous
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sold our music in Canada, the
United States and Europe to
help our company expand,"
Buffalo Horse said. "We started
out battling and free-styling at
Cyphers and parties and now we
do it for a living."
The Culture Clash hip-hop
and reggae event begins at 8 p.m.
The cost is $8 at the door and
$10 entry for the emcee battle
for a $100 cash prize. For in
formation call 475-1431. Also
see on the internet:
www.bigchiefin.com.
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