BAKER CITY HERALD • TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 15, 2022 A3
SPORTS
BAKER BOYS WRESTLING AT REGIONAL TOURNAMENT
14 Bulldog wrestlers qualify for state
Baker finishes
2nd to La Grande
in team standings
Baker City Herald
Fourteen Baker High School
boys wrestlers qualified for the
state meet with strong perfor-
mances at the regional tourna-
ment on Saturday, Feb. 11, at
Sisters High School.
Baker, led by regional cham-
pions Jaden Martin and Aldo
Duran, and runners-up Joey
Duncan, Marcus Chamberlain,
Gauge Bloomer and Alex Rit-
ter, placed second in the team
standings with 303 points. La
Grande won the team title with
447 points.
The top four wrestlers in
each weight class qualified for
the state tournament on Satur-
day, Feb. 26, at Cascade High
School near Salem.
“We were really proud of our
effort at the regional tourna-
ment,” Baker coach Brandon
Young said. “Our kids just kept
going despite the score, and
overall outworked their oppo-
nents. That’s something that
this group does well, they work
very hard and have been ex-
tremely dedicated.”
Young said Baker will be
seeking to earn a trophy at the
state tournament, which are
awarded to the top four teams.
“COVID has had a huge
impact on everyone, but this
group has been very resil-
ient in maintaining a posi-
tive mind set, and all of us are
happy to have the opportunity
to wrestle,” Young said. “That
is what has made wrestling so
important for this group and a
huge motivator for their suc-
cess. They understand first-
hand how quickly something
can be taken away, that noth-
ing is guaranteed, and they are
determined to make their shot
at something count.”
With Sheylin Karolski and
Sarah Plummer having qual-
ified for state during the girls
regional tournament last week-
end, Baker will send a record
16 wrestlers to state, Young
said. The girls state tourna-
ment is Feb. 24 in Culver.
Andy Dieckhoff/Madras Pioneer
Aldo Duran was one of Baker’s two individual champions at the
regional wrestling tournament Feb. 12, 2022, at Sisters.
Andy Dieckhoff/Madras Pioneer
Baker’s Gavin Stone (top) placed third at the regional tournament Feb. 12, 2022, to qualify for the
state tournament.
ing byes in the first and quar-
terfinal rounds, Chamberlain
pinned Jake Lawrence of Ma-
dras in the second period.
“We decided to bump
Marcus Chamberlain to 113
pounds for a couple of reasons,”
Young said. “Marcus hit a
growth spurt here at the end of
the season and 113 was a better
fit for him, and he had seeding
criteria to be the top seed at
113. Marcus proved that he was
a force to be reckoned with as
he pinned his way to the finals.
Marcus is on fire right now.”
Martin continued his dom-
inating performances over the
past few weeks.
After receiving a first-round
bye, Martin pinned La Grande’s
Cain End in the first period in
the quarterfinals, and pinned
Ontario’s Jose Moncada in the
first period in the semifinals.
In the district championship
match, Martin pinned Corbett’s
Ian Brown in just 33 seconds.
“Jaden Martin hammered
down on everyone, pinning
every opponent to become a
two-time regional champion,”
Young said. “He has his eyes set
on a state championship. Jaden
has improved tremendously
this season and has become a
real handful.”
At 195 pounds, defend-
ing state champion Gauge
Bloomer received two byes
to advance to the semifinals.
There, he pinned Gladstone’s
Brodey Kitzmiller in the first
period. In the championship
match against a familiar foe,
La Grande’s Brody MacMil-
lan, Bloomer battled into the
third period before MacMil-
lan got the pin.
At 220 pounds, Ritter, who
entered the tournament un-
seeded, had a first-round
bye, then pinned Ontario’s
Tommy Ishida in the first pe-
riod in a quarterfinal match. In
the semifinals, Ritter pinned
Henry Rard of Sisters in the
first period.
In the championship
match against Tanner Wells
of Mac-Hi/Weston-McEwen,
Wells won by fall in the sec-
ond period.
“Alex Ritter missed quite a
bit of the season and we are
starting to get him back to
where he was before Christ-
mas and he is regaining his
confidence,” Young said.
“That is the thing with wres-
tling, so much of it is a men-
tal battle, if you believe it, you
can make it happen. That is
something that Alex is going
to take with him from all this,
confidence in himself that he
can attain anything he sets his
mind to.”
second period, in the third-
place match.
At 145 pounds, Baker’s
Gavin Stone advanced to the
semifinals with a first-round
bye and a win by fall over La
Grande’s Austin Higgins in the
quarterfinals.
In the semifinals, Ben Coo-
per of Sisters won by 3-2 de-
cision. Stone rebounded by
pinning Dolan Pool of Sisters
in the consolation semifinals,
then pinning Jonas Porter of
Gladstone in the first period of
the third-place match.
At 132 pounds, Baker’s Cole
Hester received byes in the first
and quarterfinal rounds. In the
semifinals against La Grande’s
Jaxson Leonard, Hester lost by
fall. He then won by forfeit in
the consolation semifinals and
beat teammate Samuel Nelson
by fall in the third-place match.
Nelson advanced to the
third-place match by pinning
Jayden Esquiro of Madras.
At 182 pounds, Baker’s
Adrian Allen had a first-round
bye. In the quarterfinals, he
pinned Ontario’s Steven Luna
in the first period, then lost by
fall to La Grande’s Jarrett Arm-
strong in the semifinals.
Allen then won a 9-3 deci-
sion of La Grande’s Preston
Westenskow in the consolation
Baker’s district champions
District runners-up
semifinals, and pinned Madras’
Duran, wrestling in the
At 106 pounds, Duncan re-
Demarcus Scott in the third-
113-pound division, received
ceived byes in the first and
place match.
byes in the first and quarterfi- quarterfinal rounds. In the
“Adrian Allen had a great
nal rounds.
semifinals, he won by fall over Other state qualifiers
weekend and qualified for state
In the semifinal round, he
La Grande’s Bobby Gulzow in
At 120 pounds, Baker’s Sage a second time,” Young said.
pinned Sisters’ Carter Van Me- the third period, avenging a
Darlington had a first-round
“Adrian has come a long way
ter in the first period.
loss to Gulzow earlier in the
bye and then pinned Jayvon
since middle school and we are
In the championship match, season.
Tovar of Madras late in the sec- proud of the young man he has
Duran pinned teammate Mar-
“This time we had a better
ond period in the quarterfinals. become.”
cus Chamberlain in the first
game plan,” Young said. “The
In the semifinals, Darlington
At 132 pounds, Baker’s Ri-
period.
match was back and forth go- faced La Grande’s Kai Carson, ley Martin had a bye in the first
“Aldo Duran has a shot to be ing all the way into the third
and Carson won by fall in the
round. In the quarterfinals, he
state champion this season as
period when Joey found his
first period.
lost a 4-3 decision to Ontario’s
a freshman,” Young said. “Aldo moment and earned the fall
Darlington then won an 8-7 Jamis Gonzalez.
works so hard every single day, with 24 seconds left in the
decision over Madras’ Chase
Martin then won two
he is very driven, and great
match.”
Strawbridge in the consola-
straight matches in the con-
things are coming for him.”
In the championship match, tion semifinal, gaining the key solation bracket, pinning La
Chamberlain finished sec-
Duncan lost by fall to La
2 points with just a second left Grande’s Michael Gisi and Dar-
ond and also advanced to the
Grande’s Mason Walcott late in in the match. Then Darlington ius Squiemphen of Madras.
state tournament. After receiv- the first period.
pinned Tovar again, also in the In the consolation semifinals,
Martin won a 4-3 decision over
Carson Brown of Sisters in an
intense match with Riley lead-
ing late and then riding out
Brown to finish the win.
In the third-place match,
Martin lost in sudden death to
Gonzalez in the second over-
time period.
“Riley Martin was a man on
a mission,” Young said.
At 160 pounds, Baker’s Ryan
Brown had a first-round bye. In
the quarterfinals, Brown lost by
fall to Cael White of Madras,
before beating Jared Miller of
Sisters by fall and Brady David
of Madras by disqualification
to advance to the third-place
match.
“Ryan Brown has really
come around this season,”
Young said.
In the semifinal match
against David, David had the
lead but with less than 45 sec-
onds left, David did an illegal
mat return, slamming Brown
to the mat. Due to concussion
protocol, Brown was not able
to continue to wrestle. David
was disqualified.
“We hope Ryan is able
to recover from this before
state, but if not he really
turned a corner this season,”
Young said.
At 285 pounds, Baker’s Rus-
sell Walden had a first-round
bye and pinned Ontario’s Jorge
Ortiz in the quarterfinals.
In the semifinals, Walden
lost a 15-12 decision to Cor-
bett’s Ian Brown. Walden then
pinned La Grande’s Cain End
in the consolation semifinal
to advance to the third-place
match, where he lost by fall to
Ontario’s Jose Moncada.
In the semifinal match
against Brown, Walden was
leading by 2 points with just 20
seconds left. He tried a head
and arm but was countered,
and Brown earned the take-
down and held Walden on his
back until time ran out.
“Russell has a big heart and
gave it everything he had,”
Young said.
Other Baker wrestlers
Baker’s Cody Eskew at 170
pounds, and Ethan Morgan at
182, both just missed qualify-
ing for state with their fifth-
place district finishes.
Eskew won two matches to
advance to the fourth-place
match, where he lost by no
contest to Alex Arreola of
Madras.
Morgan won an 8-6 decision
over Ontario’s Leonardo Bec-
erra in the quarterfinals, then
lost to Reece White of Madras
in the semifinals and to De-
marcus Scott of Madras in the
consolation semifinal. Morgan
then pinned La Grande’s Pres-
ton Westenskow in the fifth-
place match.
“Ethan Morgan had a great
tournament and gave it every-
thing he had,” Young said.
At 220 pounds, Baker’s
Jayden Clark won his first two
matches by fall. In the semifi-
nals, Clark faced Tanner Wells
of Mac-Hi/Weston-McEwen,
and Wells won by fall.
In the consolation semifi-
nals, Clark was leading Ontar-
io’s Tommy Ishida but Ishida
was able to get the fall in the
second period. Clark then
pinned La Grande’s Kenai Huff
to claim fifth place.
At 132 pounds, Baker’s Mi-
chael Endersby placed eighth.
Jimmy Sullivan wrestled at 145
pounds, and Ben Coburn com-
peted at 152 pounds.
“Michael Endersby had a
tough draw into the tourna-
ment,” Young said. “Michael
is a great teammate and has
a great motor. He will have
his time here in the next few
seasons.”
“Jimmy Sullivan had a great
tournament losing two close
battles where they were back
and forth,” Young said. “Jimmy
sustained an injury early in
the season and was able to get
released just before regionals.
He has a great work ethic and
he’s not afraid of a good fight.
Hopefully we can get him to
put in sometime in the off sea-
son and stay healthy next year.”
“Ben Coburn had a tough
draw into the tournament,”
Young said. “Ben really im-
proved a ton this season, I think
with his great attitude and work
ethic he is going to have a shot
at qualifying for state.”
“River Clark was unable
to compete due to an injury,
and we feel like he would have
also been one of the top guys,”
Young said.
SUPER BOWL 56
Rams squeak by Bengals on late touchdown
made unbelievable plays; that’s
what he does.”
INGLEWOOD, Calif. —
What Los Angeles did on
Their defense laying siege
that drive finally measured up
to the Bengals, the Rams
to what its defense was doing
needed something — any-
most of the night: overwhelm-
thing — from their slumber- ing Cincinnati’s blockers, sack-
ing offense.
ing Joe Burrow a Super Bowl
How about a precise 79-yard record-tying seven times. The
drive to the Lombardi Trophy? pressure, led by Aaron Donald
It wasn’t a classic march,
and Von Miller, was nonstop.
aided by three successive Ben-
“You got to be relentless,” said
gals penalties and mired by
Donald, who added a crown-
some bad throws. No matter:
ing achievement to his certain
When Cooper Kupp caught a
Hall of Fame career. “You want
1-yard pass from Matthew Staf- something bad enough you’ve
ford with 1:25 remaining, LA’s got to go get it. You know it was
offense indeed had awakened
right in front of us ... all offsea-
just in time for a 23-20 Super
son you work, you train, you got
Bowl victory Sunday, Feb. 13.
camp, you got a long season just
“That’s hard work, that’s
for this one game. You know we
hours together,” Stafford said.
the last team standing.”
“I just thank coach (Sean Mc-
Standing in a venue built
Vay) for putting it ... ‘Hey, Mat- for champions, with the Rams
thew, you and Coop go get
(16-5) earning their first NFL
this thing done.’ He kept call-
title since the 1999 season —
ing plays for him, kept finding and their first representing Los
ways to get him the ball. He
Angeles since 1951.
BY BARRY WILNER
AP Pro Football Writer
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They did so in their home,
the $5 billion SoFi Stadium,
making the Rams the second
consecutive host to win the
championship after Tampa Bay
became the first a year ago.
“As far as building this
stadium,” said Rams owner
Stan Kroenke, the man who
moved them back from St.
Louis in 2016, “I think it
turned out all right.”
The winning series, during
which game MVP Kupp’s
4-yard touchdown reception
was negated by offsetting pen-
alties, ended soon after with
the NFL Offensive Player of the
Year easily beating Eli Apple in
the right corner of the end zone
for the winning score.
Kupp had four receptions for
39 yards, and a 7-yard run on
fourth-and-1 from the Rams
30 on the championship drive.
Cincinnati (13-8) was pe-
nalized the second-fewest
times (72) for the fewest yards
(620) in the regular season but
flags hurt badly — including
pass interference on Kupp in
the end zone.
“I’ve said it all year, what-
ever is asked of me whatever
my job is gonna be, I just want
to execute to the best of my
abilities,” said Kupp, who won
the triple crown of receiving in
2021, leading in catches, yards
and touchdowns. “I trust as the
game goes on I’ll have opportu-
nities as well, and I just want to
stay ready for those things stay
locked in.”
As locked in as that pass
rush.
Fittingly, Burrow was under
pressure on fourth-and-1 and
threw incomplete, setting off a
football fiesta this city has not
seen since the LA Raiders won
the 1983 championship.
A tearful Donald said after
the game, “I wanted it so bad.
I dreamed this.”
Ten points because of two
plays in a span of 22 sec-
onds at the outset of the third
quarter put Cincinnati ahead
for the first time.
Tee Higgins’ 75-yard score
made it 17-13 and was fol-
lowed one play later by Chi-
Baker City's
Newest Brewery
dobe Awuzie’s pick. Evan
McPherson tied Adam Vi-
natieri’s postseason record
with his 14th field goal, a
38-yarder. The rookie didn’t
miss in the postseason.
Higgins beat All-Pro corner-
back Jalen Ramsey on the first
play of the second half — the
receiver clearly tugged Ram-
sey’s face mask on the play. Af-
ter Stafford was intercepted on
the next play, the Bengals got
McPherson’s field goal.
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