Wilsonville Spokesman Online

Wilsonville 48, Liberty 29: Strong start propels Wildcats past Liberty

Wildcats win second league dual under coach Jason Milham last week at Liberty High

• By: Alex Tam  
• Published: 2/2/2010 3:36:48 PM

Photo By: Alex TamWrestling: Wilsonville 48, Liberty 29
Wilsonville High School junior Adrian Escobedo looks to score the pinfall over Liberty’s Carlos Ocampo in 3 minutes, 49 seconds at 215 pounds during the Wildcats’ 48-29 victory last Wednesday at Liberty High School in Hillsboro.

HILLSBORO — Another positive sign and another step forward was taken by the Wilsonville wrestling team.

On the strength of four pinfalls in the first four matches of the night, the Wildcats earned their second Northwest Oregon Conference dual victory under coach Jason Milham’s three-year tenure.

Wilsonville took down Liberty, 48-29, last Wednesday at Liberty High School to improve to 1-4 in league duals.

“It was good, we talked about all week putting matches together and wrestling smart,” Milham said. “We came out and did that. We’re heading in the right direction and working on a lot of things that we wanted to do.”

The Wildcats’ last league dual victory came Jan. 29, 2009 when they took down Parkrose, 51-22, at home — marking Milham’s first since taking over Wilsonville.

“It’s nice to get a league dual win just because these are the guys we’re going to see at the district tournament,” Milham said. “It sets a tone for once we go in and get ready to wrestle. So yeah, it’s nice to get a league win but ultimately, we’re looking for getting the guys to the state tournament.”

The Wildcats raced out to a 24-0 lead after sophomore Seth Sondenaa opened with a fall in 1 minute, 48 seconds over Liberty’s Derrick Roy at 103 pounds.

Senior Hunter Smith followed with a fall in 5:31 over Gabe Garcia at 112; Adam Buck then quickly pinned Trevor Lane in 1:36 at 119; and Colton Holly capped the run with an impressive fall in 1:16 at 125.

“In a dual meet, the first few matches always sets the tone no matter of the situation,” Milham said. “So when you get your first guys on the mat to go out and get falls, everybody gets excited and everybody builds on that. It’s not linear. It just builds and builds and builds, and suddenly it’s infectious and everybody’s going out there looking for falls. So that’s what we want to have happen in a dual.”

Liberty closed the gap to 24-15 when Ruben Garcia defeated Wilsonville junior Patrick McDermott by 4-2 decision at 130, despite a late push by McDermott in the third round.

At 135, Liberty’s Ryder Waddington won by forfeit; and at 140, AJ Antillion defeated Wilsonville’s Duncan Soqui by fall in 1:18.

The Wildcats won the ensuing two matches when junior Mike Hadley beat Kyle Law by fall in 5:52 at 145, and Mike Nelson won by forfeit at 152 to boost the lead back to 36-15.

The two teams traded victories over the final five matches as Gabe Carbajal cemented the dual victory after winning by forfeit at 171 for a 42-20 lead with three matches remaining.

Junior Adrian Escobedo continued his undefeated streak to begin his season after a late start due to illness, scoring a fall in 3:49 over Carlos Ocampo at 215. Escobedo improved to 8-0 this season.

In other matches, Liberty’s Bruno Beccerra beat junior Jordan Harr by 16-0 tech fall at 160; Mason Jenkins defeated Wilsonville’s Markeise Brown by 4-1 decision at 189; and Zach Kelley beat junior Neil Ochs by fall in 3:53 at 285.

Up next, Wilsonville hosts Glencoe on Thursday at 7 p.m. in the final home match this season.

“I feel good about where we’re at,” Milham said. “We got two more league duals, so we’re just going to build on this and work toward the district tournament.”

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