Central Oregonian

Cowboys take second at Reser

Hermiston wins varsity meet, Crook County dominates JV competition

PHOTO COURTESY OF DOUG SMITH

Trayton Libolt works to turn Glencoe’s Nat Johnson in the 106-pound championship match. Libolt went on to win the match with a late pin.

Lon Austin

January 28, 2013

The Crook County Cowboys battled back through the consolation rounds, winning enough matches to finish second at this weekend’s Reser Tournament of Champions.

“We’re happy with the way we responded the second day,” said Crook County head coach Jake Huffman. “We had some kids step up and respond in some tough situations.”

The two-day tournament, which features 24 of the top teams in the state, was won by the Class 5A Hermiston Bulldogs.

Hermiston was in control throughout the tournament, finishing with 221 points. The Cowboys finished with 148.5 points to edge third place Sweet Home. Redmond came away with fourth place with 126 points, while Roseburg was the first 6A finisher taking fifth with 124 points. Rounding out the top 10 were David Douglas (122), Crater (121), Hillsboro (109.5), Glencoe (105), and Sprague (103).

The Cowboys placed eight wrestlers into Friday evening’s quarterfinals. However, the team struggled badly in the round with just one wrestler advancing to the semifinals.

“We fell flat on our faces in the quarterfinals,” Huffman said. “But we did a good job of battling back and we still had eight wrestlers alive going into Saturday.”

Trayton Libolt, the lone Cowboy to advance past the quarterfinals, went on to win the 106-pound weight class, pinning Glencoe’s Nate Johnson with 12 seconds remaining in their championship match.

Other Cowboys who were still alive going into Saturday’s final day of the tournament were Grayson Munn (132), Colbran Meeker (138), Alex Urrea (152), Dean Smith (160), Gunner Crawford (195), Trevor Rasmussen (220), and Jason Williams (285).

Rasmussen, who lost in the first round, won three consecutive consolation matches before being eliminated from the tournament one match short of the placing rounds. Meeker and Urrea also came up one match short of reaching the placing rounds. Meanwhile, Munn and Williams battled their way back to the third and fourth place matches with both wrestlers winding up fourth. Smith and Crawford also reached the placing rounds, finishing in fifth place.

“It was the toughest tournament we’ve seen so far,” Huffman said. “It was a big wakeup call for us. It exposes all your weaknesses.”

The Cowboys were able to edge Sweet Home for second place because of their superior depth. The Huskies placed three wrestlers into the championship finals. Like the Cowboys, five Huskies placed. However, Sweet Home finished with two individual champions, a second-place finisher, and two third-place finishers.

“Sweet Home had a great tournament,” Huffman said. “They are a worthy adversary for sure and they are going to be battling with us at state.”

In addition to placing second in the varsity tournament, the Cowboys had an extraordinary run in the JV?portion of the tournament.

Reser’s JV?tournament is so tough that it counts as a varsity date. Huffman said prior to the start of the tournament that anyone who places in the JV?tournament should be expected to place at the regional tournament later this year.

That bodes well for the Cowboys at regionals as 11 of the 13 members of the JV squad placed in the tournament.

Four Cowboys won individual titles, and another four took second as Crook County amassed 279 points. Roseburg was a distant second with 172.5 points. Glencoe wound up third (123.5), followed by Dallas (120), and Crater (115).

Hermiston finished tied for 10th with 91 points.

Cowboy individual champions included Trey Shores (106), Brad Howard (132), Ryder Shinkle (145), and Gunnar Robirts (195). Finishing second for the Cowboys were Brent Bannon (113), Clark Woodward (160), Curtis Crouch (182), and Zach Smith (220). Other Cowboys to place in the JV tournament were Cole Ovens (3rd 126), Michael Seyl (5th 138), and Tyler King (6th 152).

Ryder Shinkle was especially impressive in the tournament, pinning all five of his opponents.

The Cowboys are back in action on Thursday when they go on the road to take on the Redmond Panthers. JV?action is set to begin at 6 p.m. with varsity competition to follow.

“We have to come back and work on some things and put out our best product at the end of the year,” Huffman said.