Season ends for Wallowa County wrestlers

Published 6:15 am Friday, February 23, 2024

PORTLAND — The wrestling season came to a conclusion for both the combined team from Enterprise and Wallowa along with Joseph as the 2A/1A state wrestling tournament ended on Saturday, Feb. 23 at Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Portland.

With a 34.5-point total, the Outlaws placed 13th among the 37 teams participating. Toledo was crowned state champions after putting up 138 points over the two days of action. Willamina, Camas Valley, Illinois Valley and Elgin rounded out the top five team scores.

Wrestling in the 150-pound division, Enterprise/Wallowa’s Tegan Evans wrestled for an individual championship. Evans picked up a quarterfinal victory by technical fall and grabbed a 5-0 decision in the semifinals to advance to the first-place match.

Facing Illinois Valley’s Ryan Griffin, a wrestler with only a single loss on the year, Evans claimed the runner-up slot after being pinned by Griffin at the 4 minute, 37 second mark of the match.

Additional Outlaws adding to the Enterprise/Wallowa point total were James Royes (2-2 at 113 pounds), Luke Patterson (3-2 at 120 pounds), Gunner Sinclair (2-2 at 126 pounds) and Cade Cunningham (2-2 at 285 pounds).

Ashtyn Irwin for the Outlaws, wrestling at 165 pounds, also qualified for the state meet and went 1-2 in Friday’s action.

Joseph’s lone participant in the state tournament, Jayden McNall, finished 1-2 wrestling at 132 pounds.