Baker wrestlers go 5-2 at Oregon Classic

Published 8:29 am Monday, January 17, 2022

REDMOND — The Baker wrestling team went 5-2 in dual matches during the Oregon Classic Friday, Jan. 14, and Saturday, Jan. 15, at Redmond.

The Bulldogs improved to 11-3 on the season in duals.

“It was really awesome to see some kids come out of their shell and get after it this weekend,” Baker coach Brandon Young said. “Duals are all about the team, and some guys are really team oriented. It was nice to see a few kids that really stepped it up.”

Young said junior Ryan Brown, who went 4-3 during the Oregon Classic at 160 pounds, “was a different wrestler this weekend. He went out aggressive and kept fighting. Ryan was able to win all his matches on Saturday and helped save the dual against Cascade in our 42-39 win.”

Young also was excited about junior River Clark’s 6-1 performance at 120 pounds.

In his lone loss, to Philomath’s Benjamin Hernandez, the defending state champion, Clark had Hernandez on his back and nearly pinned him before Hernandez recovered and won by fall.

“River wrestled every match with intensity and he is going to be a front runner going into state,” Young said.

Freshman Aldo Duran, at 113 pounds, and senior heavyweight Jaden Martin both went undefeated on the weekend.

Aldo pinned six of his seven opponents.

“Jaden had to work for it a little more, which was great for him to get to wrestle some decent heavyweights,” Young said.

Martin was trailing 2-1 to Christopher Woods of Hidden Valley until he tossed Woods to his back for the win by fall.

Fellow seniors Gavin Stone and Gauge Bloomer also had strong tournaments, Young said, with Bloomer going 5-2 at 182 and 195 pounds, and Stone 6-2 at 145 and 152.

Baker’s first dual was against Philomath, which placed fourth at the state tournament last season.

“We knew it was going to be close going into the dual and that it would take everyone’s best effort to come away with a victory,” Young said. “In wrestling it is difficult to get everyone to perform at a high level at the same match and it can be nerve-wracking to go into a big venue. We dug too big of a hole for our heavier weights to bring us back to life and lost a close one 39-33. The close ones are the toughest losses, because several guys can pick out something they could have done a little better, that would have affected the team score differently. It was a great learning experience for the team.”

In other duals, Baker beat Phoenix, 48-28; lost to Tillamook, 55-18; beat Sisters, 63-15; beat Hidden Valley, 57-21; beat Cascade, 42-39, and beat Marshfield, 52-30.

Individual Baker results:

• Marcus Chamberlain, sophomore, 106 pounds, 1-3

• Joey Duncan, sophomore, 106, 2-1

• Aldo Duran, freshman, 113, 7-0

• River Clark, junior, 120, 6-1

• Cole Hester, sophomore, 126/132, 4-2

• Sage Darlington, sophomore, 126, 1-3

• Riley Martin, sophomore, 132/138, 2-4

• Samuel Nelson, sophomore, 132/138, 0-4

• Gavin Stone, senior, 145/152, 6-2

• Julian Garcia, freshman, 145/152, 0-5

• Ryan Brown, junior, 160, 4-3

• Cody Eskew, junior, 170, 4-3

• Gauge Bloomer, senior, 182/195, 5-2

• Ethan Morgan, freshman, 182/195, 4-3

• Alex Ritter, senior, 220, 3-3

• Russell Walden, sophomore, 220/285, 1-1

• Jaden Martin, senior, 285, 6-0

Pine Eagle results

• Hunter Buck, freshman, 106, 10-5

• Giovanni Cartwright, freshman, 126, 6-7

• Coy Butner, senior, 138, 12-1

• Chase Butner, senior, 145, 12-1

• Cohen Simpson, sophomore, 145, 8-8

• Will Seggerman, senior, 145, 11-5

The week ahead

Baker has a busy week ahead, playing host to Nyssa in a dual Wednesday, Jan. 19, at 5 p.m., then traveling to Mac-Hi on Thursday, Jan. 20, and to a tournament in John Day on Friday, Jan. 21.