Area wrestlers earn county titles

BRUSH PRAIRIE – There was no shortage of highlights in the performances of area wrestlers at the 2016 Clark County Wrestling Tournament held Jan. 16 at Prairie High School.

Several wrestlers from area high schools claimed individual titles, including three repeat champions – Battle Ground siblings Chris and Sierra Joner and Ridgefield’s Trevor Newburn.

Prairie was the top performing team from area high schools. The Falcons finished tied for third place in the boys team standings with Evergreen. Both schools finished with 147.5 points. Buoyed by two individual champions, Battle Ground finished fifth in the team standings with 145.5 points followed by Ridgefield in sixth (108 points). Hockinson finished 11th (59.5 points) and La Center was 13th (51.5 points).

Sierra Joner’s championship in the girls 130-pound division was her third Clark County individual title. Joner claimed her title by defeating Washougal’s Signe Zacho with a pin in the second round of the championship match.

Brother Chris Joner earned his second consecutive Clark County title with the championship in the boys 126-pound division. Joner needed just 1:07 to pin Prairie’s Tommy Greensky in the championship match.

Battle Ground’s other champion was freshman Jake Rogers, who claimed the title at 145 pounds. Rogers faced all upper classmen during the tournament and he surrendered just one point in the entire event. Rogers earned his title with a 3-1 decision over Union’s J.J. Talavera in the title match.

Hockinson’s Cameron Loos might have turned in the most impressive individual performance of this year’s tournament, posting an individual title in the 220-pound division. Loos didn’t surrender a single point to an opponent at the tournament. He defeated Dylan Ingram, of Camas, with a 6-0 decision in the title match.

Ridgefield’s Trevor Newburn repeated as a Clark County champion. The junior defeated Battle Ground sophomore Joseph Harnett 9-2 in the finals at 120 pounds. Newburn nearly pinned Harnett one minute into the third round. The two met for the championship at 113 pounds a year ago, with Newburn also claiming the victory in that match.

Here’s a look at more results by wrestlers with area teams at this year’s Clark County Wrestling Tournament:

Prairie Falcons

The Falcons amassed their lofty team point total by virtue of 11 wrestlers who placed in this year’s tournament.

Greensky’s runnerup finish at 126 pounds was one of three second-place finishes by Prairie wrestlers. Teammate Kodi Walls finished second at 132 pounds and Talen Goodpaster was second at 138 pounds.

Rivers Greensky (120) and Eric Creamer (160) each turned in fourth-place finishes for the Falcons. Adding fifth-place efforts were Andrew Burris (152), Ethan Burris (160) and Bryan Person (285). Finishing sixth were Anthony Dancel (145), Connor Castleberry (182) and Connor Wood (195).

Battle Ground Tigers

In addition to the Tigers’ three individual champions and runnerup Harnett, Battle Ground also received a second-place finish from Taylor Stewart at 170 pounds.

Battle Ground’s Jacob Kokinakis was fourth at 152 pounds and Jesse Valitalo (182) and Jordan Sullivan (195) each had fifth-place finishes.

Ridgefield Spudders

Ridgefield’s sixth-place finish included the individual championship by Newburn and a second-place finish by Josh Sokolowski at 160 pounds.

The Spudders had three wrestlers finish third including Taylor Nolan (120), Wyatt Gaspar (126) and Tommy Herz (145). Tatsu Kirschenman was sixth at 132.

In the girls tournament, Ridgefield’s Savannah Chandler finished second at 110 pounds.

Hockinson Hawks

In addition to the championship won by Loos at 220 pounds, Hockinson’s top finishes were by Colton Wheeler (4th, 170) and Kai Blue (5th, 106).

La Center Wildcats

La Center had three wrestlers earn medals at this year’s tournament. Junior Jeffery Mayolo was third at 138 pounds and freshman Robel Grove (106) and Hazen Kapp (220) added fourth-place finishes.