Tiger wrestlers ready for league competition, host La Grande
Tigers ranked seventh in class 4A
By Ray Rodriguez
Argus Observer
Thursday, January 17, 2008 1:08 PM PST
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| Ray Rodriguez | Argus Observer
Ontario assistant coach Dave Parsons (middle) instructs wrestlers Micaelangelo Ortiz (left) and Anthony Rangel during Wednesday’s practice. McGraw, Rangel and the rest of the Tiger crew kicks off Greater Oregon League wrestling action at 6 p.m. tonight at Ontario High School. |
Ontario — Greater Oregon League wrestling is set to kick off at 5 p.m. tonight in Ontario and the No. 7 ranked Ontario Tigers are ready to hit the mat.
Coming in off a 25th place finish at Rollie Lane and solid showing at the Oregon Classic wrestling tournament a weekend ago, Tommy Martinez, Anthony Rangel and Andres Hernandez look to regain league supremacy against No. 8 La Grande.
Martinez (130 pounds) is ranked No. 5 in the state and is 14-3 on the year. Martinez has a first place finish at the Calhoun Classic and Lowry Invitational to his credit and chalked up third place honors at Rollie Lane.
“Tommy is explosive. He goes out there and goes hard,” Ontario head coach Charlie Anthony said. “That pays off for him. From time to time, his aggression gets him in a little trouble, but he’s outgrown that.”
Rangel (215) and Hernandez (140), both seniors, are ranked third in the state and have a combined record of 25-8. Anthony is looking for some major production out of the veteran grapplers.
Other standouts on the rise are Juvenal Carrillo (112), Chase Fields (119), Nico Martinez (119), Mike Gonzalez (125), Clancy Chandler (189) and Michaelangelo Ortiz (215)
Gonzalez, Chandler and Ortiz are three wrestlers Anthony said are climbing fast.
Those are just some of the names in play for Anthony who has a total of 53 wrestlers in the program, 24 of which are newcomers.
La Grande boasts Ryder Wilmarth (140), Chase Shirley (145), John Tuck (152) and Andy Godfrey (160). All are ranked in the top-5 and will prove to be formidable foes.
“La Grande definitely has some talent,” Anthony said. “They’re definitely a team we have to be concerned with. It’s kind of interesting because we are tough in the lower weights and they are pretty tough in the middle weights. We’re going to have to be our best and see how we’ll do against the rest of the league and see what comes up.”
The rest of the league (Baker City and Mac-Hi) are kind of the wild cards thus far, with the Pioneers boasting upside for the immediate future.
“Baker’s got a couple of real outstanding individuals in that Morcom kid (140-145) and John Henry (189),” Anthony said. “Mac-Hi, they’re on an upswing. They have a lot of kids back from last year. They have a good freshman class, so they have a bright future. They could be a threat in district based on their numbers. They are gaining ground faster than anybody.”
With football cutting into some of the mat time, Anthony said the team is still in catch-up mode, but is optimistic the team can rally at the right time of year.
“We’re a little behind where we need to be,” the coach said. “But, we’re starting to come together. I think we’re ready to start rolling. The kids are working hard in practice, so it’s a matter of time before that starts paying off on the mat.”
