Crook County wrestlers beat 6A squad
Published 12:00 am Sunday, February 1, 2015
ROSEBURG — In the past 20 years, Jake Huffman asserted, there has not been a wrestling dual meet like this.
Proven by the more than 3,000 in attendance. Proven by what Huffman described as an “electric atmosphere” at Roseburg High. And proven by the caliber of programs squaring off.
In a battle of two of the most dominant wrestling programs in the state, Class 4A Crook County stormed into Roseburg and powered past the perennial 6A champion Indians 50-12.
“Our kids, luckily, are pretty seasoned kids,” said Huffman, the Cowboys coach. “They’ve been around a long time and wrestled a lot. They weren’t too shaken up. They were ready to go and knew they could do the right things.”
Clark Woodward had the match of the night, as the 182-pound Crook County wrestler picked up a 10-5 upset victory over Roseburg’s Haydn Maley, the 2014 state champion and the 182-pound winner at last week’s Reser’s Tournament of Champions.
“I think everybody in the gym other than maybe a few of our coaches and Clark though that Haydn would beat him,” Huffman said.
From there, Gunnar Robirts recorded a second-period fall at 195 pounds, followed by Trevor Rasmussen’s first-period pin at 220.
Three matches later, Pacer Quire posted a fall at 106, polishing off Crook County’s win over Roseburg, the 6A champion six of the past eight years.
“This is a special group of seniors we have,” Huffman said. “They deserved this opportunity to come down here and showcase themselves. This dual meet, when you have two powerhouses like this, it’s really good for the sport of wrestling. It’s not easy to put it all out on the line like that, for us or for Roseburg, but we both did that tonight.”
Trayton Libolt (126 pounds), Brent Bannon (132), Cole Ovens (145), Ryder Shinkle (170) and Zach Smith (285) each won for Crook County, which looks to use Saturday’s victory as fuel as the Cowboys motor toward a third straight 4A state crown.
“Roseburg is a different animal,” Huffman said. “This is a real-deal program, and it’s a big win for us. It’s a confidence builder. It proves that right now, this year, undisputed, we are the best in the state.”