The Elmira/Crow high school wrestling team competed in the Perry Burlison Tournament on Dec. 4. The girls performed well, placing 10th out of the 20 teams competing. The boys also did well, placing 12th overall out of the 20 teams.
For the girls varsity, EHS sophomore Summer McKeen and senior Liberty Barklow finished third, and sophomore June Highburger finished sixth. Senior Ruben Fox finished third, junior Luke Wolgamott tied for third place, and sophomore Colton Barklow came in sixth place for the boys varsity.
“Overall, I felt good about our results. We wrestled tough against really good teams. We have things we need to work on, but all our wrestlers worked hard. I am excited to see how we do as the season goes on,” Elmira/Crow head wrestling coach Justin Peeler said.
The wrestling team competed last Wednesday in the Sutherlin Wrestling Invite, with six first-place finishers. For girls varsity, Kat Jentzsch placed first, and Liberty Barklow and Highburger both placed second. On boys varsity, Colton Barklow, junior William Walton, junior Enrico Cervantez and senior Ian Drago all finished in first place. Junior Wade Walton and senior Ruben Fox placed second. For boys junior varsity, Zane Clemmer placed first.
“We wrestled really hard and won some great matches. We still have things to work on, but we are getting better each day. I feel like we are improving and on the right track to be successful. Good job, Falcons!” Peeler said.
This year, Elmira and Crow high schools have combined to form one wrestling team. Each school separately didn’t have enough people to compete. The league also is a little different than the Sky-Em League in which most EHS teams compete. The wrestling team competes in the 4A-SD2 Special District 2 that also includes Junction City, Newport, Philomath, Siuslaw, Stayton, Sweet Home, Cascade and Alsea.
The Elmira/Crow wrestling team’s next meet will be this Saturday, Dec. 18, in the North Douglas Holiday Classic. The meet is scheduled to start at 9 a.m.
