Izaak had an outstanding tournament. He lost the semi final match in overtime when he threw Eagle Points Aaron Lorenz in a Head and Arm but was rolled through. Izaak went for the win in overtime with a great throw but couldn't quite stop the momentum. We wanted the team to be aggressive and go for it and not wrestle tentatively, Izaak did just that. I was really proud of the way he shook off the disappointing loss and wrested back to take 3rd place.
Colby had a great final two weeks of the season he was unseeded at the district tournament where he beat the 5th, 4th and 2nd seeds to qualify for state. We talked about going out and competing every time you step on the mat, it does not matter if a guy has beaten you during the regular season or is a returning state placer. Colby just kept battling and got on a roll and started winning those close matches. He had an impressive 5th place finish at the state meet.
Devan Merrifield had an stellar senior season he followed his district championship with a 6th place finish at state. Devan started wrestling his sophomore year. His dedicated work ethic has allowed him to become one of the top wrestlers in the state in such a short time.
Maybe the most impressive performance was Senior Jose Altamirano who joined the team as a first year wrestler on December 7th. He placed 3rd at the district meet and finished top 8 in the state coming up one match short of placing. I told Jose after his final match that he was beaten by experience not by heart. I will be telling Jose's story to prospective wrestlers for years to come, anything can happen if you try.
The team went 7-2 in the 1st round of the state meet on the way to a 13th place finish. I don't think any of the coaches or wrestlers are satisfied with our final result, but with 6 returning state qualifiers we feel that the program has momentum going into next season.
We were proud of all our wrestlers and how they represented Silverton at State.
