REDMOND — Pendleton turned in its best placing at the Oregon Classic in the past six years, placing third in the 4A division Saturday, Jan. 17, at the Deschutes County Fairgrounds.
“I am super proud of my boys,” Pendleton coach Trevor Hancock said. “Today, we wrestled hard. I thought the boys battled and did what they needed to do. Beating Cascade at the end was big for us. It was cool for these seniors to send them out this way at the Classic.”
Pendleton placed fourth in 2018, was second in 2011 and third in 2012.
After winning Pool B on Friday, the Bucks opened championship bracket action with a 53-24 quarterfinal victory over Scappoose.
The Bucks got a 29-second fall from Wesley Browning at 106 pounds, and Hank Roy followed with a 1:06 pin of Blade Rushing.
The Indians won at 120 and 126, but Pendleton got back on track at 132 as Wyatt Taylor pinned Landen Sarver in 2:38.
Scappoose won at 138 and 142, but Pendleton won the next six bouts to take control of the match.
Cole Roy pinned DD Wolfe in 2:16 at 150, and Jack DeGrofft posted an 18-0 technical fall over Zachary Thomas at 157. Kainen Zimmerman pinned Quinn Meharry at 165, and Vance Nelson needed just 24 seconds to pin Jasper Nelson.
Aidan Perkins received a forfeit at 190, and Ryder Phillips got the last win for the Bucks at 215 with a 1:20 pin of Malique Gardiner.
In the semifinals, the Bucks ran into Sweet Home, which had cut like a hot knife through butter the entire tournament.
The Huskies beat the Bucks 59-10. Though the score was lopsided, Hancock said there were good matches.
“Sweet Home is very tough,” he said. “We wrestled them very well. Hank was in a tight match until he got pinned. We wrestled some tough kids and beat some good kids. They just rolled through everyone.”
Sweet Home won every match from 106 to 144. Cole Roy stopped the Huskies’ string of wins with a 9-4 decision over Dillan Davis at 150.
The Bucks also got a win from Zimmerman, who won a 10-8 decision over Kyle Zajic at 165. Vance Nelson registered the win for the Bucks at 175, posting a 12-3 major decision over Luke Rosa.
Perkins suffered his only loss of the tournament — a 9-5 decision to Jeremiah Steagall at 190.
Pendleton dropped to the third-place match, where it beat Cascade 42-32.
Aiden Cox (120), Vance Phillips (138), DeGrofft (157) and Nelson (175) all had pins for the Bucks, who received two forfeits. Perkins added an 11-6 decision over Griffin Copple at 190, while Taylor earned a 6-0 decision over Jesse Coates.
“We have pretty much seen everyone,” Hancock said. “The only team that finished in the top eight we haven’t seen is Molalla. It gives us an idea of where we are at, and what we need to do for the end of the season.” Sweet Home won the 4A title with a 54-23 victory over La Grande.
