In a dominating performance Friday in front of the home fans at the Warrior Classic, Philomath High junior Riley Barrett added another page to an impressive scrapbook with three technical fall victories in the 157-pound weight division.
The championship match went to Barrett by a 17-1 count over Josh Berry, a Junction City senior who has notched his share of victories this season. In his first two matches, Barrett won on 15-0 and 17-0 technical falls over opponents from Dayton and North Eugene.
Gallery: PHS wrestling at Warrior Classic (Dec. 13, 2024)
A collection of photos from the Philomath High wrestling team’s appearance in the Warrior Classic on Friday.
Philomath’s Robertson wins in her first high school wrestling tournament
Wrestling in her first high school tournament Friday at the Warrior Classic, Philomath freshman Sarah Robertson walked off the mat to celebrate with her family following a pin in 2 minutes, 37 seconds over Junction City’s Haley Fauver. The victory occurred in the championship match of the 130-pound weight division. “I like how physical it…
“I feel great, better than I ever have,” Barrett said. “The goal remains the same — go win another state title.”
Philomath racked up considerable points with five wrestlers winning individual titles. Besides Barrett, others winning their weight divisions included senior River Sandstrom (126 pounds), junior Lukas Hernandez (138), junior Porter Compton (150) and senior JJ Lewis (175). The Warriors finished with 194 points to beat runner-up North Eugene’s 181. Cerswell was third at 168.5.
The early-season appearance in the home gymnasium appeared to be a fun experience for Barrett and his teammates.
“I like being here to showcase my talent, showcase what I work so hard for,” Barrett said. “It’s really nice and rewarding to wrestle well in front of the hometown.”
Barrett’s off to a 7-0 start this season with five technical falls, a pin and a decision. One of the top wrestlers in his weight division in Alaska pushed Barrett in the championship match of last week’s Perry Burlison Invitational at Cascade.
“He was a tough, physical kid but I got it done,” Barrett said about a 12-8 decision over Hunter Bras of Soldotna, Alaska. “It was a little closer than I’d like but that’s alright. It’s pretty good for me to wrestle a bad match per se but still come out on top.”
Barrett, who wrestles with the Salem Elite Mat Club, has done a lot of traveling to test and further develop his skills against top competition. This past summer, he went all the way to Japan as part of the Oregon Wrestling Association’s cultural exchange team.
“I wrestled a lot of good Japanese kids — the No. 1, No. 2 and No. 3 guys over there,” said Barrett, who lost to the top-ranked opponent but beat the other two.
The Oregon wrestlers on the trip got the full cultural experience, staying with host families on most days. Stops included Mie Prefecture, Toyoma Prefecture and Gifu. Barrett said the Japanese fans were intense.
“That’s what they live for, that’s like their whole life,” he said. “You walk in the schools and there are banners everywhere with their national superstar teams — it’s everywhere. And you turn on the TV and it’s wrestling. It’s really cool.”
Barrett said he’s having fun putting in the work to fine-tune his abilities on the wrestling mat. Most of the season remains but he’s focused on getting back to Portland for another trip to the top of the medal stand.
“(I) think about it every day,” he said. “Day in and day out — just visualizing it, dreaming about it.”
At the Warrior Classic, Philomath coach Troy Woosley had several reasons to smile with how his wrestlers competed. Seven reached championship matches with five winning first-place medals.
Sandstrom, who is on a mission of his own to get back to state after a disappointing finish to his junior year, defeated three opponents on his way to first place at 126. He opened with pins in 4:40 and 2:38, respectively, in his first two matches and then beat Creswell’s Lyosha Mitchell in the finals on a 15-7 major decision.
Hernandez also had a dominant performance in his matches by defeating a North Eugene opponent on a pin in 1:45 to advance in the 138-pound finals. There, he won on a technical fall over Dayton’s Angel Guerrero.
In the 150-pound championship match, Compton defeated Dayton’s Samuel Walsh on a technical fall, 19-2. Compton advanced with a pin over a Creswell opponent in 2:44.
Lewis was equally impressive in his matches with back-to-back pins. He reached the finals at 175 with a pin in 1:32 over a Crescent Valley opponent. Then, facing Dayton’s Alejandro Magana, he won a first-place medal with a pin in 3:47.
Two other Warriors reached the finals but had to settle for second place. Sophomore Wyatt Barrett had two pins to reach the championship match at 144. There, Junction City’s Braden Slocum posted a win for first place. Junior Derick Kohn made the championship match at 215 where he lost on a tough 11-10 decision to Creswell’s Andrew Terry. He advanced to the finale with a pin in 1:47 over a Crescent Valley opponent.
Others placing at the tournament for Philomath included sophomore Odin Compton (132, fourth), senior Jeshua Gonzalez-Bush (165, fifth), junior Dillon Osborns (190, fifth), junior Liam Bennett (165, sixth) and sophomore Chase Leslie (215, sixth). Also winning matches for the Warriors were freshman Rowan Jessen (144), senior Michael Novak (157) and senior Ryder Zitlau (165).
Philomath’s next competition is scheduled for Dec. 20-21 at the Grants Pass Winter Kickoff.
