The Philomath High School wrestling team came out of Saturday’s Sherwood Invitational with three individual champions and a fourth-place team finish. Senior Ben Hernandez and freshmen Riley Barrett and Porter Compton all won their weight divisions at the 15-school tournament.
Three other wrestlers placed for the Warriors — senior Chase Ringwald (second), sophomore River Sandstrom (fourth) and senior David Griffith (sixth). Philomath entered 18 wrestlers and combined for a 38-27 record.
Hernandez (31-3 record) competed in the 113-pound weight division for the first time this season and he easily defeated four opponents for first place. Victims included wrestlers from Westview, McMinnville and Sherwood. In the championship match, he beat Westview’s Juan Elenes on a pin in 1:58 — his longest bout of the day.
At 126 pounds, Barrett also didn’t get much of a challenge from his opponents, although one of his matches went the distance. Barrett (33-3) beat three of his four opponents on first-period pins, including Max Vander Meide of McMinnville in the finals in 1:34. The decision came in the semifinals over Sheldon’s Colten Garges, 14-2 for extra points as a major decision.
Compton (30-11) wrestled five times for first place at 138. In the quarterfinals and semifinals, he worked for close decisions over his opponents from Lebanon and Sandy, 7-4 and 6-3, respectively. Going up against Beaverton’s Nick Gianotti in the finals, Compton ended up with a pin in 5:08.
Ringwald (25-9) was the runner-up at 132 with a 3-1 record at the tourney. He won on a medical forfeit and then beat wrestlers from Sandy (8-3) and Silverton (4-3) to reach the championship bout. There, he faced Sandy’s Mason Culp and lost on a 12-2 major decision.
Sandstrom’s fourth-place showing at 106 included a 2-2 record overall. Sandstrom (23-9) opened with wins on a 10-4 decision and a pin in 5:35 against wrestlers from West Albany and Glencoe. After losing a close 3-2 decision in the semifinals, he faced Sandy’s Garrett Head in the third-place match and came up short on a 12-5 decision.
Griffith (18-7) also had a 2-2 tournament with the wins coming over wrestlers from Sandy and Glencoe, both on pins, in the 160 weight division. In the fifth-place match, Griffith lost on a pin to West Albany’s Henry Samoylich.
The Warriors ended up with 192 points in the team standings to place fourth behind Sandy (358), Silverton (273) and Lebanon (229) and ahead of 11 other schools.
Several other PHS wrestlers won matches at the tournament — including 3-1 records turned in by junior Gradin Fairbanks (152) and sophomore JJ Lewis (160). In both cases, they lost their first matches but finished strong in consolations — Fairbanks a “Consolation A” champion and Lewis the “Consolation B” champion in their respective weight divisions.
Freshman Lukas Hernandez (126), freshman Liam Bennett (145), junior Jonathan Doig (152), freshman Derick Kohn (182) and junior Jared Gerding (182) each went 2-2 in the tournament. Others getting at least one win were sophomore Lucas Bourguois (138) and junior Jacob Hamlet (220).
Philomath is scheduled to compete next on Thursday for a dual at Junction City. The Warriors will then make their final appearance at home for Senior Night on Friday against Central.
Girls compete at districts
The PHS girls wrestling team competed in Friday and Saturday’s 4A/3A/2A/1A Special District 2 Tournament at Cottage Grove. The Warriors were not able to move any wrestlers on to the state tournament.
Junior Ellie Morton turned in the top performance for Philomath with a 3-3 record and sixth-place finish. Morton had pins over wrestlers from Henley, Illinois Valley and Scio. In the fifth-place match, Morton faced Toledo’s Cocoa Barrett for the second time and lost on an 8-0 major decision. Barreett had pinned Morton in the tournament’s first round.
Sophomore Sadie Francis had a win over a North Valley wrestler on a pin in 32 seconds among her three matches. Junior Emmalyne Robinson and freshman Brielle Hagen also competed.
