Siuslaw coach pleased with his 6 medalists


The Siuslaw Vikings will send four wrestlers to the 4A state championships Feb. 22-23 at Veterans Memorial Stadium in Portland.

Sophomores Elijah LaCosse and Ryan Jennings, junior Matthew Horrillo and senior Riley Jennings advanced this past weekend at the 4A Special District 2 tournament in Junction City.

"We really wrestled pretty well," Siuslaw coach Neil Wartnik said. "We just don't have the depth and experience of the other schools.

"We had six wrestlers medal."

Sophomores Brady Libby and Hector Garcia also medaled, but did not qualify for state.

Here is coach Wartnik's recap:

  • "Elijah LaCosse, who placed third at 126, turned in the performance of the week. First of all, he worked very hard this week so he could compete in the 126-pound weight class. He was 4-1 for the tournament, and his win in the consolation semifinals was very gutsy. He was wrestling an outstanding freshman from Philomath, Blaise Pindell, who won at the 29-team Cottage Grove Invitational two weeks prior (Elijah did not place at that event). Pindell was leading the match by two points entering the third period. Elijah worked hard to escape with about 1:12 remaining. Then, with about 45 seconds left Elijah executed a complicated takedown attack sequence and scored a takedown. He held Pindell down for the remaining 45 seconds to secure a one-point win. Elijah will represent the team at state.
  • "Matthew Horrillo placed third at 220, going 3-1 for the tournament. He lost a nailbiter in the championship semifinals on a scramble that didn't go Matthew's way. The score was knotted 1-1, and a flurry of action occurred in which both wrestlers had the opportunity to score. Matt's opponent was the one to come out on top. Matt's win in the consolation finals came in overtime on a gutty takedown maneuver.
  • "Ryan Jennings placed fourth at 152, going 3-2 on the weekend, and will compete at state because he won his wrestleback match.  This was particularly special given that Ryan suffered a knee dislocation a week ago Friday. It was unclear whether he would even get to wrestle until Thursday afternoon.
  • "Riley Jennings placed fourth at 170, going 4-2, and will compete at state. There was no wrestleback match because Riley had defeated fifth earlier in the tournament.
  • "Brady Libby placed fourth at 120.  He was also 3-3 for the tournament. Although he placed fourth, he did not qualify for state because he lost a challenge match to the fifth-place finisher in a wrestleback.  Wrestlebacks occur when a fourth-place finisher has not beaten a fifth-place finisher earlier in the tournament.
  • "Hector Garcia placed sixth at 160 pounds. He was 3-3 for the tournament."