The Scots finish with three champions and 146 points to claim the big-school wrestling crown
PORTLAND David Douglas turned away all challengers to win this weekends 6A state wrestling championship going away. The Scots crowned three weight-class champions Saturday night and finished with 146 points, beating runner-up Oregon City by almost 20.
Senior Ihoghama Odighizuwa led the charge with a perfect 30-point effort in the 195-pound bracket. He scored first-round pins against each of his first three opponents, getting pushed past the minute mark just once.
Odighizuwa would have to work a bit harder in Saturdays title bout. But the result would be the same.
He held a 3-1 lead early in the third period when his opponent, Clackamas sophomore Kyle Anderegg, made a move to try and knot the score. He went low trying to take out the legs of Odighizuwa, but it proved to be like trying to tackle a Douglas fir to the ground.
The Scots senior didnt budge, then countered with a shot of his own, burying his shoulder into the hips of Anderegg and taking him to the mat for a takedown and a clinching 5-1 lead.
But Odighizuwa wasnt looking for a decision. He wanted a fall.
With 15 seconds left, he trapped his opponent into a cradle hold cinching it up tight with shouts of encouragement coming from his teammates in the stands above the mat. The referee dropped to the mat to get in position, Odighizuwa squeezed tighter, the clock ticked under 10 seconds.
Then the sound came the slap of the mat.
Odighizuwa had officially flattened all four of his state tournament foes.
We got to the third period, and I pushed the pace just like we do all the time in practice, and I came out with the W, he said.
Teammate Vagif Afrasov got the night rolling for the Scots with a 3-1 overtime win over West Linns Tim Harman. Afrasov took out a leg halfway through the extra session for the winning takedown on the edge of the mat. West Linn challenged the call, but after a brief conference, the referees upheld the ruling.
Elijah Taylor scored a 6-3 win over Craters Chase Mackey in the 160-pound championship. The wrestlers entered the final two-minute period deadlocked 3-3, but Taylor was granted a quick escape then shot in on Mackeys hips for a clinching takedown with 1:04 on the clock.
Quincy Clarkson (182) also reached his weight-class finals before falling 10-2 against Hillsboros John Morin.
Douglas qualified 13 wrestlers for the tournament and 10 of them contributed points toward the team championship.
We really focus on team unity, Douglas coach Ron Holyoak said. These kids are a big family they care about each other. The bleed together, they sweat together and they win together.
Look for expanded state tournament coverage, including a look at other East County wrestlers in the finals, in our Tuesday, Feb. 26, print edition.
View a photo gallery from Saturday's championship bouts at ...
http://daveball.exposuremanager.com/g/feb23_state_wrestling_finals