PHOTO:  Dusty Price defeats a Forest Grove wrestler in a 135-pound matchup Thursday..

By Sean Patterson

In a whirlwind of a weekend, Canby proved once again that its place among the top 10 teams in the Class 4A state high school wrestling rankings is justified.

The eighth-ranked Cougars wound up sixth at the prestigious Oregon Wrestling Classic, a 20-team event at Memorial Coliseum last Friday and Saturday that served as a good preview of the state championships next month.

Along the way, Canby obliterated Oregon City 50-12, came from behind to edge Hermiston 32-28 and bounced back from its first loss of the season - a 31-19 decision at the hands of Eagle Point - to beat Hillsboro 39-21.

The Cougars capped the two-day tourney with a 33-23 loss to Crook County, a defeat that came down to the wire.

"Overall, we have to be very proud of our effort throughout the tournament," Canby head coach Dan Nugent said. "Finishing sixth in the toughest dual-meet tournament in the state is a good accomplishment for our team, but we know we can get better. We have showed definite improvement each week, so we know there are better times to come."

Canby, now 17-2 on the year and 4-0 in Pacific-8 Conference matches, also won its only league dual last week, blasting Forest Grove 58-6 Thursday night at CHS.

It was a early day for the Cougars Friday, as the team had to leave for its 6:30 a.m. weigh-in in Portland by 5:15 a.m.

But the Cougars were ready for their rematch with Oregon City, a team Canby had beaten 49-13 at the Canby Invitational on Jan. 7. The Pioneers, coached by Nugent's brother Bill, were no match for Canby despite having their full lineup this time.

Canby's Lucas Hambleton set the tone with a 13-3 major decision over Cameron Saffer at 112 pounds, and Drew Bayless spoiled the Pioneers' lineup shuffle with an 8-6 defeat of Aaron Plotzke at 119.

The Pioneers opted to move Ryan Snegirev, the defending champ at 103 pounds, to 125 to face Johnny Lugo, and Lugo responded by giving Snegirev all he could handle before losing 3-2.

Canby took charge from there, getting a key 7-4 win from Garret Miyake at 130, a major decision from Dusty Price at 135 and a dominating 8-0 win from Pete Savory at 140.

When Ben Kraxberger followed with a pin of Mike Powers at 145, the Cougars were in command and on their way to a rout. Later, Jeff Wilson (171) avenged an early-season loss to Lane Olson with a 5-2 win, and Chris Wilson and Steve Schrader picked up pins.

"We might have wrestled our best match of the season," Dan Nugent said of the result.

Against Hermiston, Canby fell behind 25-3 before storming back to take six of the last seven matches and win by four points.

Miyake got the team's only win in the first seven bouts, scoring a takedown in the waning seconds to edge Orlando Perez 4-3.

As it turned out, the victory was huge, as it allowed Canby to stay within striking distance. Kraxberger started the comeback with a pin of Zane Platt at 145, and Benny Cazares (152) and Jared Wilson (160) came up with major-decision wins to cut the deficit to 25-17.

Schrader (215) and Rath Cyrus (275) then capped it with falls in their respective classes.

The Cougars finally met their match in the quarterfinals, where Eagle Point won eight of the 14 matches in handing the team its first loss of the season.

Still, Canby got strong efforts from Hambleton, a 15-8 winner over Joe Lewis; Miyake, who beat Adam Bancroft 7-2; Savory, an 8-6 victor over John Gallo at 140; Cazares, a 16-8 winner over Christian Mannenbach; and both Jared and Jeff Wilson, who pulled out a couple of close decisions.

Cyrus, though he lost, battled the top-ranked heavyweight, Blake Cam, tough in a tight 1-0 match.

The Cougars bounced back against Hillsboro, winning eight of 14, and Hambleton picked up the squad's fastest fall of the season when he pinned Tanner Bertsch in 16 seconds.

Bayless, Price and Schrader also recorded falls, and Lugo picked up a technical fall. Cyrus and Chris Wilson came up with close decision victories.

Finally, in the battle for fourth place, Canby came up short against Crook County despite a pin from Hambleton and a solid come-from-behind win from Bayless. Kraxberger also had a good match, winning 7-2 over Clay Allen, and Jared Wilson held on for a 4-3 win over Rollin Ervin at 160.

Jeff Wilson gave Canby a chance to win with his 7-5 defeat of Jeff Lowen, but the Cowboys caught a break at 215 when Schrader was denied a third-round pin of Steve Sheffield. The referee called an illegal chin wrench, prompting Nugent to protest the call and cost his squad one team point.

The coach, though he disagreed with the call, apologized to his team afterwards.

"That took away any chance for us to win, and I apologized," he said. "But that had to be one of the worst calls I've seen in a while."

Newberg went on to win the tournament by beating Crater 37-22 in the finals. Sprague was third and Eagle Point fifth.

The tournament came on the heels of Canby's easy win over the Vikings of Forest Grove Thursday night.

The outcome was never in doubt, as Canby's Chris Wilson opened the night with an injury-default victory at 189. Schrader followed with a pin at 215 and Cyrus made it 15-0 with his 5-3 decision of Justin Hill at heavyweight.

After Forest Grove won at 103, Hambleton came up with a third-round fall to give the host Cougars a 21-6 lead. They never looked back.

Bayless (119) and Lugo (125) won by decision and Miyake (130) and Price (135) pinned their opponents. Then, in two of the closest matches of the night, Savory and Kraxberger survived one-point battles, 4-3 and 6-5, respectively.

Cazares (152), Jared Wilson (160) and Jeff Wilson (171) capped the competition with decisive victories.

This week, Canby takes on second-ranked Newberg this Thursday at 7 p.m. on the road. The Cougars will also be at a Hillsboro tournament on Saturday.

IN J.V. ACTION: Canby remained unbeaten on the season with a 69-12 drubbing of Forest Grove.

By Sean Patterson

If there's one truth that was reinforced in the Canby Cougars Friday night, it's the fact that no lead - no matter how big - is safe.

Canby, seemingly in control after taking a 32-14 halftime lead over Tigard in their Pacific-8 Conference boys basketball matchup, struggled with execution in the second half and allowed the Tigers to overtake them in a 50-47 defeat at Tigard High School.

It was as if the two halves were two separate games. The Cougars, so aggressive and efficient in the opening two quarters, played tentative and unsure of themselves down the stretch.

On the flip side, Tigard turned up its defensive pressure and created easy scoring chances that just weren't there in the opening half.

The result was a loss that dropped Canby to 3-2 in Pac-8 play while elevating Tigard to 4-1.

"As the game went on, it was as if we were playing not to lose rather than playing to win," Canby head coach Dennis Burke said. "I was disappointed in our leadership - nobody took charge for us - and the team as a whole got passive and less productive. We just didn't compete well. Tigard got more aggressive and we got careless."

The Tigers picked up eight steals in the third period and hit 7 of 13 shots, all of them in the paint. That cut the Canby lead to 39-31 through three periods.

In the fourth, the Tigers finally caught the Cougars and took their first lead, 43-42, with three minutes to play. It was still a one-point game at 46-45 with 50 seconds left and Canby with the ball.

The Cougars ran a good play, setting a pick and opening a cutter to the basket, but the pass was intercepted and Canby was forced to foul Dustin Gabel, who made two free throws at the other end.

Now trailing by three with 20 seconds left, Canby took a three-pointer that missed. Tigard got the rebound and the Cougars immediately fouled Scott Lasswell, who also made both his free throws.

Canby did score on a tip-in by Ross Crooks with six seconds left, but it wasn't enough. Tigard had pulled off the comeback.

"We executed so well in the first half, especially in that first quarter when we had six different guys score at least one basket," Burke said. "But we ended up with 24 turnovers for the game and only took seven free throws - one in the second half.

''Tigard made 11 of 15 free throws, so they were the aggressors.''

But Canby (8-7) wasn't without its bright spots. Point guard Jese Kirsch finished with 12 points, five assists and three steals while making four of his seven shots. And sophomore Tyler Stewart made three of four three-pointers and ended up with 11 points.

Crooks also got into double digits, hitting four of six shots in scoring 10 points. Regular starting point guard Curt Bryant did not play for disciplinary reasons and will be out until the Feb. 8 game with McMinnville, Burke said.

The team returned to the court Tuesday night for a home game with Tualatin. The Cougars are on the road this Friday at Forest Grove. Game time is set for 7:15 p.m.

By Sean Patterson

The Canby Gators held the lead for most of the weekend before the Mt. Hood Swim Team finally overtook them at the Chehalem Swim Team Annual Shark Chase in Newberg Jan. 7-9.

Mt. Hood edged the Gators by 57 points, but the competition went down to the wire, with the team championship not being decided until the last few events. As a result of the fierce competition, many Canby swimmers set best times and qualified for state and regional championships on their way to high finishes.

Leading the way for Canby was Lisa Champ. In addition to winning, she set team records in the 1,650-yard freestyle (18:22.25) and the 500 freestyle (5:18.04). She was also victorious in the 50 free, 100 free and 200 free events.

More winning performances came from Casey O'Brien, who placed first in the 50 and 100 breaststroke and qualified for the state championships in a total of seven events. He also has qualified for Region XII championships in several events.

Other winners for Canby were Jacob Keil (100 backstroke) and Alex Laskey (50 free). Laskey qualified for state in the 100 and 200 breaststroke.

Meanwhile, other notable performances came from 7-year-old Brandi Beko, who qualified for state in the 50 butterfly; Erin Dean, who qualified for five state events and two regional events; and Ashley Dickinson, who made the state cut in the 50 fly at 1:00.20.

Not to be outdistanced, Kari Rittenbach set a team record in qualifying for state in the 200 breaststroke (2:50.04). And Megan Schuh met the state standard in five events for a total of nine state times so far this season, dropping over 30 seconds in both the 100 free and 50 breast.

Another regional time was set by Nicole Schuh, swimming the 50 breaststroke in a time of 38.23 and just missing the mark in the 100 breast at 1:26.78. She has qualified for state in both events.

Rounding out the state qualifiers were Jessica Garinger (seven events), Chas Koenig (six events), Laurance Koenig and Brandan Mantei (five events), Justin Krettler and Shauna Cooper (four events), Alex Smithey (three events), Joshua Garcia (two events) and one event each for Hannah Garcia, Renae Garinger, David Pete, and Spencer Polack.

In terms of improvement, Micah Park dropped 76 seconds in the 200 back; Karri-Ann Benthin lost 35 seconds off her 100 backstroke time; Veronica Beyers dropped 20 seconds in the 50 breast; and Rachel Polack took 28 seconds off her 200 free time. Also showing improvement were Alyssa Mantei, Hannah McFarland, Tyson Polack, Mark Stone, Charlene VanDeKamp and Amadea Weber.

The Gators also scored big in the relay events, taking five first-place finishes in the meet - the Girls 8-and-under 100 free relay, the Girls 10-and-under 200 free, the Girls 11-12 400 free, the Girls 12-and-under 400 medley and the Boys 12-and-under 400 medley.

Final team championship point totals were Mt. Hood Swim Team (2001), Canby (1,944), Parkrose (1,745) and Hillsboro (1490.5).

By Sean Patterson

The score may not show it, but a number of North Marion High School wrestlers helped their district cause in last Tuesday's loss to Cascade in Turner.

While the Huskies came out on the short end of a 40-25 score, several team members won their individual matches to remain unbeaten in Capital Conference action, thereby improving their chances of getting a high seeding for district.

Easily the team's biggest win of the night came at 171 pounds, where North Marion's Justin Willis needed only 1:10 to pin the second-ranked wrestler in the state, Shane Porterfield.

With that, Willis remained perfect (4-0) in league with only Stayton (Jan. 27) and Woodburn (Feb. 3) left on the schedule.

"That was the highlight of the night for us," head coach Mike Robinson said of Willis' triumph. "Not only will that help his district seeding, it gives him a lot of confidence heading into these last few matches."

In the first bout of the evening, Zach Martushev also moved to 4-0 with a 13-8 victory - a win that "probably gives him a lock on at least the No. 3 seed," Robinson said.

Stayton took control of the dual with pins at 145, 160 and 215 pounds, but the Huskies gained a measure of revenge at 275, where Jason Ellingson pounded his opponent 16-2 en route to boosting his Capital record to 3-1.

The Eagles also won by a fall at 112 and got a decision victory at 119 before North Marion's Jason Roberts capped the night with a pin of Matt Unger at 130 pounds. With that, Roberts moved to 3-0 in league.

"The important thing at this point is to position ourselves for district, and right now a number of our guys are looking pretty good," Robinson said.

"Willis, Roberts and Martushev are all unbeaten, so they're looking at third or better. And (Alex) Gonzalez and Ellingson should also be up there."

The Huskies (1-3) were off over the weekend and are scheduled to return to the mat this Thursday for a home match with Stayton. Junior varsity action begins at 6 p.m., followed by the varsity at 7 p.m.

This Saturday, the team will travel to Clatskanie for a tournament.