HRV crumbles Crook County in rematch

The senior 152-pounder scratched and clawed his way back from a 6-4 deficit, and ended up winning a 10-6 decision, giving HRV a 42-20 final margin of victory.

More importantly, the Eagles avenged a disappointing 33-31 loss to the Cowboys at the Jan. 10-11 Oregon Classic, and raised their Intermountain Conference dual meet record to 5-1.

“There were too many people here for me to lose to that guy,” Shelton joked after the match. “He had beaten me before, and I needed to prove to myself that I was better.”

That desire to better themselves is what has been guiding the Eagle wrestlers all season. If they lose a match, they make it their personal mission to not let it happen again.

“We always do better in the rematches,” said junior 215-pounder Nigel Bond, who has lost just one IMC match this season. “I don’t care who I’m up against. I’m just going to do whatever I can to get a win for the team.”

Instead of worrying about state rankings and win-loss records, Bond and the Eagles are only focused on how they can improve.

And, by defeating the teams that have previously beaten them — Pendleton, and now, Crook County — the Eagles can gauge their progress.

“Ever since we lost to Crook County at the Classic, we’ve been fired up to get them back,” said junior 160-pounder Jason DeHart, who started Friday’s match with a pin of Austin Shields.

“But the big thing was not losing at home. We haven’t lost here in years, and we weren’t about to lose to a team we knew we could beat,” he said.

The Eagles won eight of the 14 weight classes at the Oregon Classic, and each member of the team committed himself to helping them come away with the rematch.

DeHart’s pin got the Eagles going, but it was the next five matches that showed just how personal this mission was for HRV.

Seniors Jacobe Krizman (171) and Nate Dethman (189) followed DeHart with major decisions, and after Bond recorded a forfeit at 215, junior heavyweight Jorge Lujano earned a 42-second pin over Jared Ziegler, staking HRV to a 26-0 lead.

Sophomore Zach Bohince (103) kept the good times rolling with a 19-7 major decision, and gave way to sophomore Efrain Garcia (112), who pinned Ben Neasham to give the Eagles a nearly insurmountable 36-0 lead.

“Starting at the bulk of our lineup was huge,” Dethman said. “All week long, we were focused on how we could get more points, and we just let it all hang out.

“They have some good guys, but I think we surprised them with how much we wanted it,” he said.

As it turned out, HRV would need the big lead to give itself some breathing room. Crook County rolled off four straight wins before junior Rocky Level cinched the victory with a 6-4 decision at 140 pounds.