8 MARCH 1,2003
Smoke Signals
Bulldog Wrestlers A Big Presence at State
O Cory Bryant is state champ again, team finishes 6th.
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By Ron Karten
Six Willamina High School wres
tlers took their skills, confidence and
upper body strength to the Oregon
State Championships at the Port
land Coliseum late in February.
One came home as best in the state
Cory Bryant in the 140-pound
class. He came home first last year,
too.
"We ended up in 6th (place)," said
Bulldog Wrestling Coach Ariah
Fasana, "which I guess according
to rankings is a little higher than
we were expected to do. That's
about where we belonged, but we
could very easily have been fourth.
We just needed to win one more
match."
In his own high school wrestling
career, Fasana took state titles in
the 98-pound and 112-pound
weight classes in 1988 and 1989,
respectively.
"All our guys who placed did re
ally well," said Fasana.
Cory Bryant was state champion.
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The Best Willamina Senior Cory Bryant repeated as State Wrestling Champion by de
feating Dayton's talented and tough Joe Silva. Bryant, shown here in the District Champi
onships, dominated Silva in the championship match after splitting four matches with Silva
prior to the State Championships at the Coliseum in Portland.
"He's a two-timer now. He
wrestled really smart," said Fasana.
Bryant had squared off against
Dayton's Joe Silva before and they
were 2-2 against each other before
the state finals. "(Bryant) handled
him very easily. Was in control the
whole match. He knows how to get
ready before a big match. Knows
to bring his best game to big tour
naments. He does a great job at
preparing himself," said Fasana.
Bryant beat wrestlers from
McKenzie and Nyssa on his
way to defeating Dayton's
Silva on points, 10-4. His
performance included one
pin along the way.
Following in weight or
der, Jared Staben, 112
pounds, defeated oppo
nents from Oakridge and
Central Linn before run:
ning into Nyssa's Monte
Nicholes who went on to win
the state title in this weight
category.
"Jared (Staben), at 112
pounds, for just being a
sophomore, he did pretty
well," said his coach. "He
ended up fourth."
Tribal member Lee Wilson,
119 pounds (see sidebar),
ran into a buzz saw in last
year's state champ, Central
U VV--
Linn's Lee Fincher in his first
match.
"Lee placed fourth also," said
Fasana. "He had a really tough
weight bracket, so that was really
good."
Wilson's half-brother, Vince
Fagundes, 130 pounds, made the
semi-finals, outpointing Glendale's
De Pham and pinning Central
Linn's David Anthony, before run
ning into a 15-5 defeat by
Enterprise's Austin Himes.
"Vince (Fagundes) was fourth
also. He's a junior, he'll be back
next year. He went to state last
year but this was the first year he
placed."
Steve Schussman, 135 pounds,
like some of his teammates, drew a
tough early match, and went down
to Santiam Christian's Britton
LaTulippe.
And Jake Harper, 152 pounds,
had an even harder time with
Elgin's Cody Burgess in his first
match, but did accumulate his 100th
high school win during the tournament.
Tribal Member Lee Wilson Wrestles At Oregon State Wrestling Championships
Forth place finish sets up a promising future for high school senior.
Profile by Ron Karten
Tribal member Lee Wilson had about five pounds to lose the day before
this year's Oregon State Wrestling Championships, and it's not like he's
got that much extra to lose to begin with, but in his quietly confident way,
the prospect which daunts millions of Americans on a daily basis
wasn't even an item on his schedule. "Maybe I'll have an orange for
dinner. You know," he said, "I eat light the night before."
Wilson, who has only wrestled for the Willamina Bulldogs for the last
two years, made his first appearance at state this year. With a bye for the
first round, he ran into last year's champ in the second and the result was
not good but Wilson is a fellow who takes the ups and downs in stride.
"My goal was to place in the top four," he said of the state champion
ships. "I beat the second-seeded kid. I did pretty good, I think."
A senior this year, Wilson has come around in other ways, as well. His c
3.0 grade point average (GPA) last term and what he anticipates will be a
3.7 in the current term show a lot of improvement, according to his coach, a.
"He's matured a lot," said Fasana. "He does a good job at taking care of -q
what he heeds to get done. He gained a lot of experience (this year), and
in wrestling, experience is huge." -
As a newcomer at his first meet last season, Wilson recalled that Neah-
kah-nee's Justin Kamerer pinned him. "I made a mistake on the shot failures in the sport, he said, "It's mostly natural."
(shooting is the term for the duck and dive move by which wrestlers go for i use upper body strength. I don't really have a great shot, but a
an opponent's legs to take him down from standing positions). I lost my pretty decent shot." And when wrestling with others who also have good
grip." . upper body strength, like Fagundes, Wilson says, "I try not to tie up. I
For this year's Classic Wrestling Tournament, Wilson worked hard to wajt for them to make a mistake."
get ready to meet Kamerer again. "I knew I could wrestle him," he said. After school and when wrestling's done, you might find Wilson either
"I had confidence. I knew I would go in and just try not to make any washing dishes or bussing them at the casino or working with the Tribe's
mistakes." The result - Wilson won by points, 11-9. grounds keeping crew.
"This year," Wilson said, "(Nestucca's) Brandon Boyce beat me 3-1 at He spends time working with his dad at his home-based shop restoring
our home meet. At districts, I beat him 13-10. That built my confidence." cars or tinkering with his Yamaha 125 motorcycle. He also likes to take
The whole wrestling effort came out of the horsing around kids do at the bike out in the woods,
home. "I thought it was fun when I was little," he said. For years, he has Wilson also puts in volunteer time at the local food bank operated by
been "rough-housing" with his younger, half-brother Vince Fagundes. his grandparents, Tribal members Marvin and Michelle Kimsey.
Fagundes brought the wrestling skills to school competition first, and Wil- Friendly and pleasant to speak with, he takes a nice, simple view of his
son watched him. Wilson's uncle, Barry Wilson, the team's assistant coach, worid, knowing where he excels, willing to work at improving where he
also encouraged him along the way. doesn't, and he seems pretty pleased with his recent successes.
Since the Tribe's gym has been available, Wilson said he uses Tribal "it's pretty good to know that I can wrestle with the top guys at state,"
fadUtiegrobx JWCfiA JKfifilsJlllUt looking back at his successes and . he said. l- .-- , .;,;JL JJZlJ . .
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Outlook For The
Future Is Bright -
Tribal member and
Willamina High School Se
nior Lee Wilson finished
fourth in the State Wres
tling Championships at
Memorial Coliseum in Port
land this year. Wilson, who
gets good grades and vol
unteers at the local food
bank, has made his family
and friends proud.