The Tigers dominate the TRL district meet, winning four titles and qualifying 11 for state

Newberg head coach Neil Russo has seen a lot of things in his long career, but never what the Tigers did Friday in the opening round of the Three Rivers League district tournament at McGrath Gymnasium.

The 2012 NHS national wrestling coach of the year has watched his teams put on many dominating performances at district and state meets, but never a team advance every single wrestler to the second day of a district meet.

That’s exactly what the Tigers did, as all 27 wrestlers were still alive in the competition at the end of the day Friday, helping to give Newberg a commanding day one lead.

The Tigers followed through on Saturday, capturing four district titles, qualifying 11 wrestlers for this weekend’s state meet and beating West Linn by 142 points for the team crown.

“The only way it would have been any better was if we had entered 28,” Russo said. “That was unbelievable. The kids were just amazing on day one. We had a couple of setbacks, but they didn’t let that deter them. They stayed the course.”

Not only were all of Russo’s wrestlers still alive after day one, but they also amassed copious bonus points in the process, racking up 32 pins and one technical fall.

Sixteen Newberg wrestlers advanced to the semifinals by winning their first two matches, including four weight classes (106, 113, 195 and 285) in which two Tigers were still in the hunt for district titles.

Six Tigers advanced to the championship round, beginning with 106-pound freshman Zach Irving, who went on to beat Sherwood’s Jack Murphy 17-5 for the first of Newberg’s four titles.

“It’s been my goal to get to four and freshman year is probably the hardest,” Irving said.

Junior Aerie Baxter, who had sat out the previous three weeks after fracturing his thumb, roared into the 113-pound finals with three consecutive pins, but ran into a challenge in Lake Oswego’s Max Fox.

At one point, Baxter trailed 3-2 after a takedown, but he earned a reversal and rode out the round to take a 4-3 lead into the fourth. From bottom position to start the third, Baxter earned another reversal and again rode out the round to earn his first district title.

Patrick Boulanger made it three-for-three in the championship round for Newberg by besting West Linn’s Jacob Daly 5-0 in the 126-pound final. It was a measure of redemption for the sophomore, who was the top seed at districts as a freshman, too, but finished second.

While Devin Russo and Chase Pothier both lost their finals bouts at 182 and 285 pounds, respectively, senior Evan Smith emphatically pinned Lake Oswego’s Griffin Roach 1:59 into the 220-pound final to collect Newberg’s fourth title.

In addition to those six, five Tigers wrestled their way back through the consolation bracket to finish third and earn their own bid to state.

Senior Matthew McCarthy, the No. 2 seed at 145 pounds, was upset 9-6 by Marco Young of Lake Oswego in the first round, but dominated his remaining matches, including the third-place match against teammate Brandon Harper, to claim third.

“We told him somebody had to lose that first match and come back to get third,” Russo said. “Guys that do that I’m totally impressed with and he did a great job.”

Also placing third for Newberg were Habtamu Kudna at 106, Jack Evans at 126, Wyatt Rude at 132 and Justin McConnville, but Russo was most impressed by the performances of Cody Fettig and Quentin Read.

Fettig, who normally wrestles at 106, jumped up to 113 pounds and placed sixth, while 138-pounder Quentin Read wrestled up at 152 and placed fifth, besting teammate Wayne Barnett 5-4 in his final match.

In all, 22 Newberg wrestlers placed in the top six, but Russo said the team rallied around those two in particular.

“Saturday he weighed in at 95 pounds,” Russo said of Fettig. “So he’s giving up 20 pounds and that’s a huge percentage. Quentin Read is a 138-pounder and just wanted to be in the lineup, said he’ll wrestle at 152. To me (that) is the epitome of what we’re trying to do, which is to fight for a spot, get yourself in there and make the most of it.”

Newberg entered the tournament with a bit of a chip on its shoulder after losing 31-30 to West Linn on a night when Baxter and 120-pounder Hunter Rychener (fourth Saturday) were out of the line-up, costing them the regular season title.

With 401.5 points to the Lions’ 259.5, the Tigers got the last word, with Canby taking third (230.5), followed by Lake Oswego (214), Tigard (181), Tualatin (156), Sherwood (154) and Lakeridge (25).

“They knew they had a chance to come here and prove what they were all about, prove who they were, and they did just that,” Russo said.

Newberg hit a historic low in 2013, but bounced back nicely to win the regional tournament in 2014. The team’s performance over the weekend was another step toward re-establishing itself as a powerhouse.

“Two years ago we had that regional tournament at Tualatin and I’ll never forget the feeling walking out of that place in fifth or sixth place, whatever it was,” Russo said. “We decided that that wasn’t Newberg wrestling and we needed to fix that. And we did. We are making those steps.”

As far as the Tigers have come, Russo said that process will continue to take time. The next step will be proving it can perform at the state level.

“We’re not taking anyone to the tournament that can’t win matches, can’t score points and, quite frankly, doesn’t have a chance to place in the tournament,” Russo said. “That’s going to be our expectation.”

Written by: Seth Gordon