CHS Wrestling Roundup

After much re-scheduling, it currently stands that CHS will wrestle at Wahtonka on Jan. 27, at Castle Rock on Jan. 29, and at LaCenter on Jan. 30 versus Ridgefield and LaCenter. The team will finish the regular season with the Trico Divisiion Tournament at LaCenter on Feb. 7.

Following is a summary of Columbia High wrestling results for meets in January.

1-15: @Stevenson H.S. Versus Stevenson and Wahtonka

Team Results:

White Salmon 18 - Wahtonka 36: White Salmon's 18 points were gained by forfeits to Greg Strain 145, Josh Burrell 215, and Josh Cowan 275. Wahtonka earned pins against Alex Villa 140, Joe Greiner 160, Sam Mart 171, and Mike Butcher 189, plus two forfeits in lighter weight classes (I can't recall which ones).

White Salmon 6 - Stevenson 48: White Salmon's only 6 points came as a forfeit to Josh Cowan 275lbs. Stevenson earned pins against Chris Durham 140, Greg Strain 145, Nolan Kenoyer 160, Andrew Parsons 171, Mike Butcher 189, and Josh Burrell 215, plus two forfeits, one at 152 and the second at a lighter weight class I don't recall.

1-22: @Woodland H.S. vs. Ilwaco and Woodland

Team Results: White Salmon 30 - Ilwaco 24: White Salmon gained points on forfeits to Chris Durham 140, Greg Strain 145, Kayla Crank 152, and Sam Mart 171. Nolan Kenoyer 160 pinned his opponent in the first round to pick up another 6 points. Ilwaco gained points on forfeits at 130 and 135 pounds plus pins on White Salmon's Mike Butcher 215 and Josh Burrell 275.

White Salmon 0 - Woodland 76: Woodland earned pins against Alex Villa 140, Joe Greiner 160, Sam Mart 171, Mike Butcher 189, and Josh Burrell 215. Also, technical falls on Kayla Crank 152 and Greg Strain 145 earned 5 points each. Plus forfeits at 103, 119, 125, 130, 135, and 152.

1-24: @Stevenson Gorge Invitational Tournament

Teams in Attendance:

* Hood River

* The Dalles

* Fort Vancouver

* Camas

* Washougal

* Hudson Bay

* Stevenson

* Prairie

* White Salmon

White Salmon finished in 9th place out of 9 teams. "I don't have the final tournament results," said Cox, "however, Hood River was leading going into the finals and was looking as if they would finish that way."

Only one of CHS's wrestlers placed: Greg Strain 145 placed 6th. The tournament was overbooked (meaning Stevenson invited 9 teams to an 8 team tournament).

"Due to this, some of our wrestlers had pigtail matches (a single match versus another wrestler with the winner getting the eighth spot and the loser not getting in the tournament)," Cox explained.

Nolan Kenoyer 160 lost his pigtail by minor decision and Sam Mart lost his pigtail by 3rd round pin. The rest of the group was pitted against #1 or #2 seeds with prior state appearances. Alex Villa 140, Greg Strain 145, Josh Burrell 215, and Josh Cowan 275 all were pinned in their first matches. All were then pinned again in their consolation matches and eliminated with the exception of Greg Strain 145 who capitalized on a second round "bye" and ended up with a sixth place finish.

According to Cox, this season has been a tremendous challenge for everyone on the team.

"The recent snowstorms halted the momentum the team built through December. Our two seniors, who inspire and lead the team on the mat, are recovering from injuries that prevented them from wrestling this year (they continue to contribute as student coaches and managers). Our roster has had a wholesale change in wrestlers compared to last year. The entire crew consists of freshman and sophomores, whom on most other teams would be JV wrestlers. These wrestlers have demonstrated enormous courage and continuous improvement on a weekly basis against varsity opponents who are often older, stronger, and more experienced wrestlers. The experience, with time, will prove to be invaluable. But right now time is short. As we approach the end of the regular season and the District Tournament our wrestlers will be focusing on improving enough to qualify for the Regional Tournament at Castle Rock."