Ben Hernandez, seen here last season, placed third at Saturday's Perry Burlison Tournament. (File photo by Brad Fuqua/Philomath News)
The Philomath High School wrestling team opened the season Saturday at the Cascade-hosted Perry Burlison Tournament. Juniors Ben Hernandez and Chase Ringwald both had top-three finishes at the 20-team event.
Hernandez, wrestling at 126 pounds and coming off a state title last season, reached the championship match with first-period pins over wrestlers from Thurston and Lebanon. Tucker Bonner of Crook County beat Hernandez in the weight division’s finale on a pin in 1:04.
Ringwald, also wrestling at 126, placed third with a victory over Thurston’s William Dunn. Facing off in the third-place match, Ringwald got the win on a pin in just 56 seconds. Ringwald had lost to Sweet Home’s Kyle Watkins in the quarterfinals but he battled back to beat opponents from Tigard and Lebanon, the latter of those two on a tight 2-0 decision.
Philomath’s only other win on the day came at 132 where senior Blake Niemann opened with a pin in 16 seconds over a Tigard opponent.
Troy Woosley’s varsity was shorthanded heading into the meet with three regulars not able to compete — senior Blaise Pindell (injury), junior Caleb Blackburn (injury) and senior Joseph Choi (weight). Junior David Griffith was also missing from the lineup.
In the team standings, Philomath finished 15th. Crook County won the meet with Thurston runner-up, Scappoose third, Sweet Home fourth and Cascade fifth.
In the Perry Burlison girls’ meet, Philomath’s lone competitor, junior Taylor Mussati, placed fourth with a 2-2 record. Mussati’s two wins both came on pins over opponents from McNary and McKay. In the third-place match, Elmira’s Summer McKeen got the winover Mussati with a pin in 1:57.
Freshman Payton Humphrey, sophomore Gradin Fairbanks and sophomore Jacob Hamlet were undefeated in the junior varsity tournament.
The team next competes on Wednesday at the Hank Schmidlin Invitational in Banks. Philomath’s girls will compete in the Sweet Home Women’s Tournament on Dec. 10.
Perry Burlison Tournament Saturday, Dec. 4, at Cascade HS, Turner BOYS
Team Scoring
1, Crook County 250; 2, Thurston 201; 3, Scappoose 128; 4, Sweet Home 120; 5, Cascade 99.5; 6, Stayton 81; 7, South Salem 80.5; 8, Tigard 75; 9. Lebanon 72; 10, West Albany 60; 11, Siuslaw 56; 12, McKay 55; 13, Elmira 52; 14, Central 51; 15, Philomath 29; 16, Elgin 27; 17, North Marion 19; 18, Cottage Grove 18; 19, Central Linn 17.
PHS Results
106: River Sandstrom (0-3, 6th place)
OPPONENT
Result
Time/Pts
Mason Hakki, Thurston
L-Pin
1:57
Kanoe Kelly, Thurston
L-Pin
2:05
Brody Copple, Cascade
L-MD
13-2
126: Ben Hernandez (2-1, 2nd place)
OPPONENT
Result
Time/Pts
William Dunn, Thurston
W-Pin
1:06
Mason Kisling, Lebanon
W-Pin
0:51
Tucker Bonner, Crook County
L-Pin
1:04
126: Chase Ringwald (3-1, 3rd place)
OPPONENT
Result
Time/Pts
Kyle Watkins, Sweet Home
L-Pin
2:00
Kaleonui Beyer-Hill, Tigard
W-Pin
2:04
Mason Kisling, Lebanon
W-Dec
2-0
William Dunn, Thurston
W-Pin
0:56
132: Blake Niemann (1-2)
OPPONENT
Result
Time/Pts
Adan Esquivel, Tigard
W-Pin
0:16
Anthony Comer, Scappoose
L-MD
14-0
Hagen Johnson, Central Linn
L-Pin
2:16
138: Walker Westbrook (0-2)
OPPONENT
Result
Time/Pts
Maverick Heimbuck, Scappoose
L-Pin
3:31
Wyatt Wood, Crook County
L-Pin
1:41
145: Ty Olsen (0-2)
OPPONENT
Result
Time/Pts
Kolton Malone, Thurston
L-TF
2:45 (17-2)
Derrek Sossie, West Albany
L-Pin
1:13
170: James Bowers (0-2)
OPPONENT
Result
Time/Pts
Mason Buss, Siuslaw
L-Pin
0:22
Boden Lindberg, West Albany
L-Pin
0:19
GIRLS
Team Scoring
1, McKay 236; 2, Sweet Home 175; 3, Thurston 159; 4, McNary 122; 5, Siuslaw 110; 6, Central Linn 94; 7, Scappoose 80; 8, West Albany 64.5; 9, Cascade 57; 10, Elmira 50; 11, Newport 32; 12, Crescent Valley 27; 12, Tigard 27; 14, Elgin 26; 15, Junction City 18; 16, Cottage Grove 14; 16, Philomath 14; 18, Central 11; 19, Stayton 7.
