Wrestling Team places seventh at state

Craig Wright
March 12, 2013

The Wrestling Team had a strong showing at the state championships from the ten representatives in eight weight classes. The team pulled together to earn a seventh place finish. Tyler Chay, senior, 170 lbs. and Tim Harman, sophomore, 138 lbs. both earned second place in their respective weight classes.

Harman entered as an unseeded competitor and went on to take down the second seed, Zach Zehner of Sprague, before falling to Vagif Afrasov of David Douglas, 3-1 in overtime. The two met in the district final, which also came down to the wire in a 2-1 overtime loss.

Harman will be a favorite heading into state next year, but admits he has not looked that far ahead yet.

“Obviously I want to win state, but I have other tournaments I need to focus on right now. I know I’ll have to work even harder now because I have a big target on my back, but I love it,” he said.

As the top seed in the 170 lb. weight class, Chay faced tough competition and was defeated in the finals by pin in 1:49 in a match against Tiger Paasch of McMinnville. Chay finished second at last year’s tournament in the 160 lb. weight class.

Ethan Staley, sophomore, 120 lb. weight class, earned the second seed after winning districts and managed to finish in fourth through consolation after a second round defeat.

Tyler Self, freshman, 152 lbs, Adam Roethe, senior, 160 lbs, Ellis Eaton, junior, 220 lbs. and Noah Bagley, junior, 280 lbs, all reached the third round of consolation for their respective divisions.

Next year, the team figures to build atop their success with five returning underclassmen who went to state this year. The team will be also be led by a strong core of upperclassmen leaders.

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About the Contributor

Craig Wright, Reporter

Whether running drills on the tennis court or jamming in his basement, Craig Wright, senior, fully commits himself to his passions. Wright has been playing tennis since he was six, when he was shorter than the net. He has been on the Boys Varsity Team all four years of high school and hopes to be captain this year. Wright is just as big of a fanatic about music as he is about tennis; he’s been to too many concerts to have a sure count; his best estimate is 34.

Wright’s interest in tennis was inherited; his dad played tennis in high school and shared his interest with Wright’s mom. His parents introduced he and his brother, Brett, to the sport and they both took to it. Last year Wright and his doubles partner, Jonathan Macemon, Class of 2012, were third in the District Championship and made it to State. In fact Wright’s favorite vacation was going South Carolina, primarily because he and his family were able to play tennis on real green clay courts.

Even though he plays tennis year round,somehow Wright has time for intramural basketball. However, according to Wright, when it comes to intramural “the less effort the better.” Another extracurricular activity that Wright participates in is Symphonic Band; he is a percussionist.

Wright’s interest in music extends beyond percussion; he has been playing guitar since sixth grade and bass guitar since eighth grade. The reason that Wright is so interested in playing instruments is that he is a huge music fan.

“I like a little bit of everything,” Wright said.

Wright’s brother introduced him to a wide variety of music, and they share many favorite bands like The Beatles, The Replacements, My Morning Jacket, Arcade Fire, Gaslight Anthem, The Ramones and The Clash. Wright idolizes many musicians and dreams of meeting them.

“Joe Strummer[The Clash] would be awesome [to meet], but he’s dead,” Wright said, “I’d like to meet Brian Fallon[The Gaslight Anthem]; he’s just a cool dude.”

Wright’s interest in the arts continues into his academic career. His favorite class is AP English, and he thinks he wants to study English or journalism in college.