Linebarger caps stellar wrestling career

Saturday, in front of a full house at Veteran’s Memorial Coliseum in Portland, Linebarger nearly pulled off the wrestling program’s greatest achievement of claiming a 220-pound state championship as a No. 6 seed.

Linebarger won three consecutive matches to move into the championship rounds, but wound up on the losing end of a 3-2 decision to the No. 1 seed, Hillsboro’s Hunter Morse.

As frustrating as that loss was, Linebarger was proud of his accomplishment.

Through his middle school and high school career, injuries and illness have played a huge role in keeping him from taking that next step.

In 2011, Linebarger, battling an illness, had an undefeated record deep into the middle school regional tournament, but lost 8-6 in the semifinals.

Linebarger added a sixth-place state finish in his sophomore season at The Dalles, but missed the state tournament in his junior year due to a bout of mononucleosis.

Although he went through his share of bumps and bruises this past season, Linebarger won a handful of tournaments and placed within the top-3 in others, capping his final campaign as regional tournament runner-up after a finals loss to Mario Nonato, of Redmond.

At state, Linebarger scored two major decisions and a first-round pin to vault into the finals.

“It means a lot to complete this season strong and place high,” Linebarger said. “Illness or injuries have always been obstacles in the past, but luckily I was able to wrestle hard at the state tournament without hindrance. Overall, I’m extremely proud of myself. I’m not letting one match get me down too bad. With that said, I feel a little bitter just because I came so close to winning a state title.”

Linebarger started his tournament run strong with a 14-5 major decision over unseeded Angel Huerta-Carrera, from South Albany.

Linebarger then hit the mat for a quarterfinals match against Crater’s Beau Crawford, the No. 3 seed, and the Riverhawk senior used his aggression and power to subdue Crawford at the one minute and 35-second mark of the first round to advance to the semifinals against Nonato.

Just a week earlier in Bend in the 220-pound regional championship match, Nonato pinned Linebarger in the second round, so there was an element of redemption on the line.

Linebarger attacked the No. 2-seeded Nonato and never relented, ultimately scoring a 14-6 major decision to move into the title round.

In the finals, Linebarger had several opportunities to turn momentum in his match against Morse, but could not put any combinations together to score the upset win.

“Seeing Joe at state was the most heart-warming thing, for not only me, but all of the coaches and other young athletes on our team prior to the end of the season,” said teammate Josiah Andersen. “Joe is on the list as one of the most inspiring athletes I’ve ever been able to encounter. His success at state will always live on with our team.”

As one of the senior leaders on the TD wrestling team, along with fellow senior Cole Davis, Linebarger was always in the wrestling room quick to offer tidbits of advice and encouragement to the many underclassmen on the roster.

Andersen said he carries on the message he received from Linebarger that he may not win every match, but a wrestler can give it all they have in every match and success in the heart – giving up is not an answer, but success is and looking very deep at what you can improve on next time and that everybody has room to improve whether you win or lose.

“Joe’s effort shows that we have a lot of potential with new wrestlers coming next year,” Andersen said. “The current ones we have, including myself, shows that we are going to have a strong, tough team, as Joe is the most inspiring wrestler at our school. This will have an effect on other wrestlers for years to come. The Dalles has really always had strong wrestlers at one time or another and so being a part of the Dallas High School wrestling team is a huge privilege and his story will live in the walls of that room up there in our school with the other how many other hundred wrestlers over the years.”

In addition to placing sixth at state in his sophomore season, Linebarger highlights when he won his first tournament as a junior, wrestling against the Japanese National team and his entire senior season as some of his most memorable moments.

This past season, Linebarger posted a 41-10 record, with 30 pins, five technical falls and four major decisions.

From Dec. 12, 2015 to Jan. 16, 2016, the Riverhawk senior won five consecutive tournaments, including the Bob Beisell, Don York, Rollin Schimmel, Adrian Irwin and Muilenburg Invite.

He then followed that up with second-place finishes at regionals and state.

He is quick to give all of the accolades to his coaches, past and present, such as Paul Beasley, Brandon Hansell, Chad Sperry, Jason Davis, and Greg Burkart, to name a few.

“My coaches have played a tremendous role in my success as a wrestler. I’m so grateful for their support and advice,” Linebarger said. “Wrestling has helped me become a better person. Coach Burkart has always said that almost nobody makes a living by wrestling, but wrestling can help anyone make a living. Wrestling leaves you with a high level of mental discipline and the willingness to fight for what you want.”

As he eyes the future, Linebarger is full of school and community pride. He will wear his crimson and gold colors with pride no matter where he goes.

He is unsure of what college to attend at the moment, but the institutions that he is interested in attending, do not have wrestling programs, so instead, his focus is on academics and a future career in law.

“I want to be a lawyer. I want to major in economics, political science or philosophy to help my argumentative and analytical skills, then I will hopefully tackle law school,” Linebarger said. “I guess I wanted to be a lawyer because I really like arguing about issues and concepts.”

From afar, Linebarger will still be a fan of his wrestling brethren as they tackle the rest of the Columbia River Conference in the future.

He sees limitless potential within that group, as long as they stay with it.

“I'm really proud to represent The Dalles,” Linebarger said. “I don’t think The Dalles wrestling program gets enough respect, but I try my best at tournaments, proudly carrying the banner for The Dalles because I really owe all my success to the coaches and community for supporting me. The team has a couple guys with potential and I hope that they go far next year.”