Tinajero wins IMC district title

The top finishers qualified for this week’s 5A state meet, which will be held Friday and Saturday at Cottage Grove High School.

Tinajero was the top placer among Gorge wrestlers and will be joined at the state tourney by sophomore teammate Carson Farlow, who finished third at 132 pounds. Farlow won his first match in the quarterfinals by fall over freshman Colton Sawyer of The Dalles. Trevor Martin of Crook County pinned Farlow in the semifinals, but the HRV wrestler bounced back in the consolation round to win by fall against Angel Oregon of The Dalles. That put Farlow in the third-place match with a state tourney spot on the line; Farlow improved his short season record to 11-5 by defeating Redmond’s Cutter Woollard by fall to earn the state berth.

HRV’s Jaime Rodriguez fell one win shy of an automatic berth to state, losing by a 9-6 decision in the consolation final to Pendleton’s Gabe Browning. Rodriguez won a 6-3 decision in the quarterfinals against Jose Terrazas of Redmond but lost by fall in the semis to Steven Ware of Crook County. Rodriguez stayed in contention with a 10-8 decision over Coner Blair of The Dalles in the consolation semifinals.

Two other HRV wrestlers finished sixth: Lane Chandler at 138 pounds and Conner Tennant at 160. Chandler won two of four matches at district while Tennant went 1-3. Eagle teammates, Mason Steffers and Brian Flores, both freshmen, also competed at district.

Hood River finished fifth (73 points) and The Dalles (38) was sixth in the team competition. Crook County edged Redmond 396-363 to win the tourney.

The Dalles was led by fourth-place finishers Marquies Sagapolutele and Taylor Moorehouse, who each scored 16 team points for the Riverhawks.

Sagapolutele won two of his four 170-pound matches, including a quarterfinal win by fall over David Welch of Pendleton. Sagapolutele lost in the semifinals by fall to eventual runner-up Gage Hanson of Crook County. Moorehouse made it to the semis with a fall against Justin Reason of Ridgeview at 182 pounds, but he lost his next match to Ray Solis of Crook County.

Blair added a sixth-place finish for The Dalles at 126, as did Oregon at 132. Merik Peacock and Sawyer also gained district tourney experience for the Riverhawks.