Vikings district meet at Philomath canceled

Siuslaw wrestling coach Neil Wartnik

There was no wrestling meet at Philomath on Wednesday for the Siuslaw Vikings.

But there will be a Nick Lutz Memorial Wrestling Tournament on Saturday at Glenn Butler Court, just without fans.

"Tonight's duals at Philomath have been canceled due to a covid case at Philomath," Siuslaw coach Neil Wartnik said.

"This may turn into a blessing in disguise. We are hosting our big tournament this weekend. We need all our resources to do a good job — especially with the covid conditions as they are."

Two teams already have canceled participation in the Siuslaw tournament.

"We have chosen to allow no spectators to reduce the Petri dish effect," Wartnik said. "I'm praying for God's mercy to keep us all safe as we proceed with the best wisdom available to us."

The Vikings are coming off a strong performance last weekend at the King of the Hill tournament in Pleasant Hill. Siuslaw placed second among 15 schools in the boys competition, sixth among 12 in the girls.

"I am so proud of the boys team for what it accomplished last week," Wartnik said. "Two big performances. The dual at Cottage Grove was magical, and so was the performance Saturday.

"We won so many matches by coming from behind or by beating wrestlers who had stronger credentials than us. I saw a lot of heart and poise."

Wartnik was particularly proud of some of his unheralded athletes.

"We had several very capable tier two performers," he said. "Leonardo Robertson, Lucian Murphy, Joel Sissel, Jesus Garcia-Galvan and Chance O'Brien are capable of winning big matches for us.

"Newcomers Wilson Zhen and Jacob Welton also picked up big wins for us against Cottage Grove."

The Vikings project as a top contender at district (which will be at Siuslaw) and state (at Cascade High School in Turner), but they face challenges familiar to all schools this year.

"Our biggest challenge has been getting the team on the mat," Wartnik said. "We have been battling sickness, injury and other trials. We will see how resilient this team is. That is being tested."

SCHEDULE
Saturday, Jan. 15 — Nick Lutz Memorial Tournament at Siuslaw, 9:30 a.m.
Thursday, Jan. 20 — at Junction City Three-Way Meet, 5 p.m.
Friday-Saturday, Jan. 21-22 — at Bay City Duals, Marshfield
Wednesday, Jan. 26 — Conference Duals at Elmira
Saturday, Jan. 29 — at Newport, 4 p.m.
Thursday, Feb. 3 — vs. Stayton, Glenn Butler Court, 6 p.m.
Friday-Saturday, Feb. 11-12 — District 2 Regional at Siuslaw
Friday-Saturday, Feb. 25-26 — OSAA State Championships, Cascade High School, Turner

ROSTER
Freshmen 9
Jordan Albin, 152
Aiden Armstrong, 285
Ty Bond, 138
Ryan Clark, 126
Macali Lade, 120
Talin Loomis, 138
Wesley Nicholls, 132
Leonardo Robertson, 145
Joel Sissel, 170
Sophomores 7
Makayla Freeman, 140
River Howell, 220
Dayne Muller, 135
Daniel Petrovic, 220
Deegan Smith, 152
Rosa Velasco-Mendez, 130
Cort Waggoner, 220
Juniors 8
Mason Buss, 170
Yoskar De la Mora, 120
Cayden Gray, 120
Lucian Murphy, 160
Chance O'Brien, 220
Hunter Petterson, 138
Madison Petterson, 110
Jacob Welton, 138
Seniors 8
John Corser, 152
Dante Galli, 182
Jesus Garcia 182
JC Gentry, 285
Jessie Hoover, 100
Hayden Muller, 135
Brooke Olson, 135
Bailey Overton, 120
Coach: Neil Wartnik
Assistants: Chris Rupp, Chris LaCosse, Robert Forsythe, Stecher Buss, Ryan Jennings, Elijah LaCosse