Taking a break Wednesday during practice for a chat about the program, longtime Philomath High wrestling coach Troy Woosley paused for a few moments when asked where the team stands heading into this season and then said, “Very young but very experienced.”
The very young part of the program can easily be seen with a glance at the preseason roster — 21 of the 24 athletes are underclassmen.
As for the very experienced, the Warriors return six state qualifiers from last season’s squad that placed ninth in the 4A championships. A seventh wrestler qualified for state in Arizona while competing for a school with a slightly higher enrollment than PHS. And even those that didn’t compete at state have plenty of work on the mat under their belts.
The season opens at 10 a.m. Saturday at the Perry Burlison Tournament at Cascade High School.
Sophomores Porter Compton and Riley Barrett, and junior River Sandstrom all won medals at state last February. Sophomore Lukas Hernandez, senior Gradin Fairbanks and sophomore Lake Mulberry also picked up state tournament experience in Portland.
In all, there are 24 in the boys program and five on the girls roster.
“We’re a little spread out … we might have a hard time filling 106 but that’ll be about it,” Woosley said about the boys. “We’ll have bodies everywhere else.”
Sandstrom appears that he’ll go at 113 but he could also drop down.
“He’s a returning state placer and he’s a junior at a lower weight and that usually means a lot of success,” Woosley said. “He’s coming in pretty fired up so he’s going to be a big-time plus for us.”
Sandstrom placed sixth at 106 last season.
Freshman Odin Compton appears as though he’ll be a factor on varsity at 120 or 126.
“He’s been through a lot of wrestling; he came up through our mat club and does a lot of offseason wrestling as well,” Woosley said.
Sophomore Brayden Williams is penciled in for action at 126. Another freshman, Wyatt Barrett, is looking competitive at 132 and Hernandez is floating between 132 and 138.
Hernandez, who did some offseason work on the mat, had a stellar late-season run last year that culminated with a state tournament appearance at 126.
Porter Compton was the team’s top placewinner at state with a strong finish to his season as well.
“He might just stay there the whole time,” Woosley said about Compton at 138. “He’s coming off his third at state last year as a freshman and he did really well wrestling in the offseason.”
Newcomer Ari Hammond comes into the program at 144. Last season at Camp Verde High School in Arizona, he qualified for the state tournament at that same weight division.
Riley Barrett, who was fourth at state last season, is certified to wrestle at 150 but has the ability to drop to 144. Woosley said he’ll need to see where everyone else shakes out before any final decisions are made on the lineup. Barrett is coming off a big summer in club wrestling, taking seventh at a big national tournament.
Fairbanks, who qualified for state last season at 152, moves up to 165.
“He’s been practicing really, really hard and he’ll be a big factor,” Woosley said.
Junior JJ Lewis looks like he’ll be wrestling at 175, an athlete the coach said “had good experience last year as well.”
At the upper weights, sophomore Ben McGovern and sophomore Derick Kohn will likely drop down to 190 with Mulberry, returning state qualifier, staying at 215. Junior Brady Russell and senior Jacob Hamlet will compete for time at heavyweight.
“Our league’s tough again this year,” Woosley said. “Everyone’s always after Sweet Home … for second place, we’re right in there with Cascade and Stayton. It’ll be a good league and I think we’re right in there.”
After Saturday’s appearance at Cascade, Philomath will host the Warrior Classic on Dec. 8.
The Warriors will be one of 34 schools competing in the Grants Pass Winter Kickoff, a two-day event that runs Dec. 15-16. Philomath will host the Benton County Championships on Dec. 20. Other highlights on the schedule include an appearance in the Oregon Classic Jan. 12-13 and home duals against Sweet Home on Jan. 18 and Junction City on Jan. 30 for senior night.
The coaching staff has seen some changes this year. James Kohn and Blake Woosley (Troy Woosley’s son) are full-time paid assistants. Volunteer coaches are all former wrestlers — Alex McNeil, Issiah Blackburn, Blaise Pindell, David Griffith and Taylor Kohn. McNeil wrestled at Crescent Valley, the rest at Philomath.
PHS girls
Philomath High’s girls have five wrestlers on the roster, including returners Ellie Morton and Sadie Francis — both seniors.
“Ellie’s hungry to finally make it to state and she came in a little lighter than we thought so that’s even better,” Woosley said. “Ellie and Sadie are class acts to have on the team.”
Newcomers are junior Jenae Traglia and sophomores Autumn Cluster and Kayla Fuller.
Fans may know Traglia as the starting catcher the past two seasons for the softball team.
“She’s been thinking about it for about two years, so she’s out,” Woosley said. “She’s very, very tough and mentally competitive, just a fireplug.”
Cluster has not wrestled before but Woosley said she’s an athlete who is picking up the sport really fast. Unfortunately, Fuller looks like she’ll miss the season after breaking her ankle in practice earlier this week.
The schedule is similar to the boys with most tournaments offering girls brackets. The girls also open the season Saturday at Cascade High.
The girls will have separate district (Feb. 16-17) and state (Feb. 22-23) tournaments this season.
