Eagle boys third at own wrestling tourney

HRV hosted its annual Hood River Memorial Tournament Feb. 3, when the Eagles finished third behind Class 5A Dallas and 6A Forest Grove among 13 scoring teams. HRV scored 216.5 team points, despite not having a champion. Dallas was fifth at the 2023 5A state tourney.

Hood River had two second-place finishers last weekend. Leyton Adams was second at 132 pounds, losing in the title match to Tyler Basey of Dallas by first-round pin. Adams won both his other wrestled matches, including a 15-3 major decision over Blake Gallardo of Molalla in the semifinals.

Jack McLaughlin was second at 144 pounds, losing to Blake Atterbury of Dallas in the title match. McLaughlin won his other three matches, two by major decisions, and now has 17 wins this season.

Also at 144 pounds, Froylan Mendez was third and improved to 19-9 this season. Atterbury pinned Mendez in the semifinals, but the HRV grappler bounced back to pin Cory Kittleson of Dallas in the match for third place.

Hood River had three other third-place finishers. Connor Farlow placed third at 120 pounds, losing in the semifinals to Joseph Johnson of Dallas by pin. Johnson (23-8 this season) wrestled at the 5A state tourney in 2023, winning two matches at 120 pounds. Farlow (19-3 this season) bounced back to win his final match by fall over Jace Spencer of Dallas. The two wrestled in the quarterfinals of the 2023 5A state tourney, where Farlow won by fall.

Samuel Blosser was third and teammate Jose Betancourt fourth at 157 pounds. They wrestled each other in the third-fourth match. Blosser won three of his four matches by fall; his lone loss coming in the semifinals to Alexander DeLatorre of The Dalles in the semifinals. Betancourt won his first two matches before losing in the semifinals to Logan Lee of Ridgeview.

Connor Tennant improved his record to 25-10 by winning three matches and placing third at 175 pounds. Tennant lost in the semifinals to Brandon Cook of Forest Grove by an 8-3 decision but rebounded for a 6-0 win in the third-place match over Ridgeview’s Preston Temple. Cook improved his record to 34-6 enroute to the title at 175.

Also at 175, HRV’s Brian Flores was eighth with two wins in his five wrestled matches.

At 165 pounds, Leif Mortenson won his first two matches before losing in the semifinals to Daniel Lavigne of Molalla. Mortenson finished fourth overall.

Jesus Ortega-Lara was fifth at 126 pounds, winning five of his six matches to improve his record to 13-3. His lone loss came in his second match where he lost to Warren Cook of Forest Grove. Cook, 31-8 this season, finished sixth at the 6A state tourney in 2023 at 120 pounds.

Also fifth was Reese Reierson at 190. He earned his 20th win when he beat Kasen Saffer of Oregon City by fall in the fifth-sixth match. Reierson (20-8 this season) won three of four his matches in the tourney.

Abelardo Gomes Gordian was eighth at 138 pounds, winning three of his six wrestled matches to improve his record to 17-12 this season.

At 215 pounds, Malcom Iaulualo won one of three wrestled matches. Iaulualo had some stiff competition in his bracket. His losses were to Forest Grove’s Carter Bennett (25-8), who finished fourth at the 6A state tournament at 220 pounds in 2023; and to Ridgeview’s Rylen Catino, who wrestled in the 5A state tourney at 182 pounds.

Also competing for HRV were: Romeo Castillo (one win, 106); Daniel Olivas (113); Marcus Patrick (one win, 120); Gabriel Vargas (one win, 126); Maddix Nelson (two wins 132); Quinn Williams (one win, 138); Isaac Marshall (150); Jayden Larios (one win, 150); Aaron Smith (two wins, 165); Dylan Castaneda (215); and Aiden Marquez (one win, 285).