The Philomath High School boys wrestling team opened its season Saturday with a fifth-place finish in the Perry Burlison Invitational’s 24-team field at Cascade High School.
The Warriors sent four wrestlers into the finals at the tournament and came out of it with one champion and three runners-up. Sophomore Riley Barrett took first place at 150 pounds and settling for second-place medals were junior River Sandstrom at 113, sophomore Porter Compton at 138 and junior JJ Lewis at 175.
Dallas won the meet with 208.5 points, Crook County was second at 193 and Sweet Home third at 174. Cascade placed fourth at 145 and Philomath was fifth at 130. Besides Sweet Home, Cascade and Philomath, other finishes among Special District 2 teams were North Marion in seventh (65 points), Cottage Grove in ninth (58), Stayton in 15th (35) and Junction City in 19th (33).
Barrett rolled through his first three opponents with a technical fall and two pins to reach the finals for a matchup against Stayton’s Leonardo Michel. Barrett worked for a 6-1 decision to start his season at 4-0.
Sandstrom opened with a 6-1 decision in his first match and then decimated opponents with a first-period pin and major decision to reach the finals against Crook County’s Duke Wentzel. There, Wentzel was able to post a 5-0 decision.
Compton pinned his first opponent but had a fight on his hands in the quarterfinals against Mountainside’s Ethan Stock. Compton pulled out the win 6-4 in the first sudden victory period. After working a 12-5 win in the semis, Crook County’s Landon Lavey won by pin over Compton in the finals.
Lewis opened his season with a major decision win and followed up with a 10-8 victory over a Crook County opponent. In the semis, he won by pin in 1:56 to reach the finals. Cascade’s Ethan Coates posted the win via pin in the finale.
Philomath also had a third-place medalist at 165 in senior Gradin Fairbanks. After winning by pin and technical fall in his first two matches, Fairbanks dropped a match in the semifinals to a Scappoose opponent. In the third-place match, he rebounded to post a 15-6 major decision over South Salem’s Luke Schreiber.
Ari Hammond, a junior transfer from Camp Verde, Arizona, won three of five matches at 144 pounds. Both of his losses came against Cottage Grove’s Carter Bengston in prelims and in the third consolation round. Hammond’s three wins all came on pins.
Sophomore Lukas Hernandez at 138 and sophomore Lake Mulberry at 215 each had 2-2 records in the tournament. The four wins posted by those two wrestlers came on pins, including one in 25 seconds by Mulberry over a Crook County opponent and one in 46 seconds by Hernandez over a Marshfield opponent.
Philomath was at less than full strength in the tournament with wrestlers in eight of the 14 weight divisions.
Morton wins 2 for girls
In the Perry Burlison Girls Invitational, senior Ellie Morton won two of her four matches for the Warriors. Both of Morton’s victories came in impressive fashion with pins in 56 seconds over a Siuslaw opponent and in 49 seconds over a McNary wrestler.
Sophomore Autumn Cluster had a 1-2 record with her victory coming over a North Marion opponent on a pin in 1:00.
Philomath will next host the Warrior Classic at 3 p.m. Friday, Dec. 8. Teams slated to compete with the Warriors include Clatskanie, Crescent Valley, North Eugene, Springfield, Summit and Taft.
