Lincoln City Homepage

Itty Bitty S***** Wave Contest draws pros and locals to D River

-

February 16, 2019

Itty Bitty S***** Wave Contest draws pros and locals to D River

The first Itty Bitty S***** Wave Contest is happening this weekend with the coinciding of King tides and a large ocean swell that allows surfers to ride waves up the D River.

The “World’s Shortest River” saw action from professional surfers Wade Lawson and Anthony Tashnick, as well as locals Jon “Headstand” Monroe and Jonee Wright.

Professional big wave surfer and helicopter pilot Lawson said he was alerted to the contest at the last minute by Nelcott Reef Big Wave Classic organizer John Forse. Lawson chose to SUP (stand up paddle) the river.

“I can’t feel my feet or my hands,” he said. “I’m just glad to be a part of this.”

Big wave surfer Tashnick showed off his skills on the waves by getting the longest ride of the day.

“I’m a firm believer in the twin fin,” Tashnick said. “People try to talk s*** but really it’s unfair. Twin fin is what it’s all about.”

1 of 7

Taft boys relay team fourth best at State; Newport wins boys title

Jim Fossum

-

February 16, 2019

0

Taft boys relay team fourth best at State; Newport wins boys title

From left, assistant coach Maria Cortes, Sam Cortes, Tanner Landry, Hunter Lunstedt, Joram Hoff and Lissa Parker

Taft High’s Tanner Landry, Hunter Lunstedt, Sam Cortes and Joram Hoff teamed to place fourth Saturday in a school record-shattering time in the 400-yard freestyle relay at the Class 4A/3A/2A/1A OSAA State Swimming Championships in Beaverton.

from left, Joram Hoff, Sam Cortes, Tanner Landry and Hunter Lunstedt pose with coach Lissa Parker

The Tigers’ tandem of Landry, Lunstedt, Cortes and Hoff finished in a season-best 3:31.14 to place where it was seeded entering the finals following Friday’s preliminary time of 3:32.16.

The time broke the school record of 3:47.21 set in 2007 by Keith Lewis, Aaron Roberts, Brandon Gilman and Trevor Hoagland by more than 16 seconds.

Meanwhile, fellow Special District 1 member Newport won the State boys championship 90-46 over SD4 representative Marshfield at Tualatin Hills Aquatic Center. Taft’s showing in the 400 free relay allowed the Tigers to place 12th as a team.

SD3 member Sweet Home claimed the girls crown 69-50 over SD2’s Catlin Gabel.

Newport senior Lucas Ellingson won the State 200-yard individual medley and 500 freestyle titles and junior Caden Shanks won the 100 backstroke.

Newport’s 200 free relay team of Cole Braxling, Brennen Wood, Kai Daniels and Luke Bachart, and 200 medley relay team of Caden Shanks, Nick Topar, Daniels and Ellingson also claimed State championships.

Commemorative Program

In Friday’s prelims, Hoff, an 18-year-old senior, placed seventh in the 200-yard freestyle after entering the meet seeded ninth. He matched his seeding by placing ninth in the 100-yard backstroke.

Cortes, a 14-year-old freshman, finished eighth in a school-record 1:00.30 in the 100 back that broke Hoff’s 2017 mark of 1:01.81 after starting as the 10th seed. He matched his position with an eighth-place showing in the 100 free.

Landry, a 17-year-old senior, moved up two spots for 10th in the 200-yard individual medley.

Lunstedt and Sammy Halferty, the Tigers’ only girl representative, placed 11th and 12th, respectively, in the 100 breaststroke.

Senior Micah McLeish also represented Taft as an alternate.

From left, Joram Hoff, Tanner Landry, Sam Cortes, Mich McLeish, Samantha Halferty, Hunter Lunstedt

From left, Joram Hoff, Sam Cortes, Hunter Lunstedt, Micah McLeish

Complete Individual Results

                Team Scores            
                  Girls                              
                1 Sweet Home                                    69  
                2 Catlin Gabel                                  50  
                3 La Grande                                     32  
                4 Marshfield                                    26  
                4 Tillamook                                     26  
                6 Valley Catholic                               20  
                7 Salem Academy                                 17  
                8 Sisters                                       16  
                9 Marist Catholic                               15  
               10 Baker                                         14  
               11 Newport                                        9  
               12 Madras                                         5  
               13 Corbett                                        4  
               14 Astoria                                        1  
               14 Klamath Union                                  1  
               14 Blanchet Catholic                              1 
 
                Boys                      
                1 Newport                                       90  
                2 Marshfield                                    46  
                3 La Grande                                     33  
                4 Salem Academy                                 26  
                5 St Mary's                                     21  
                6 Nyssa                                         14  
                7 Valley Catholic                               11  
                8 Philomath                                      9  
                8 Klamath Union                                  9  
               10 Catlin Gabel                                   7  
               10 Baker                                          7  
               12 Taft                                           6  
               13 Phoenix                                        5  
               13 North Marion                                   5  
               15 Cascade Christian                              4  
               15 Henley                                         4  
               15 Mazama                                         4  
               18 Blanchet Catholic                              3  
               19 Astoria                                        2  
               19 Marist Catholic                                2

Taft wrestlers stand second entering Saturday’s District 1 finals

Jim Fossum

-

February 15, 2019

0

Saying they were “getting our win on at Districts,” Taft High stood in second place Friday night following the first day of action in the Class 3A Special District 1 Wrestling Championships at Warrenton.

Taft enters Saturday’s final matches at 10 a.m. in second place behind defending State champion and heavily favored Willamina 136-81 in the seven-team tournament, “but we have a long ways to go tomorrow,” coach Robb Ellis said.

Ellis said David Jin, Biz Byrum, Riley Ellis, Gio Salazar and DeVon Lindquist “got some great wins.” He said senior Jacob Mayoral lost a close first match to the first seed in the 145-pound division, but fought back to win two in the consolation bracket to keep his chances for a trip to State alive.

“Some of our wrestlers will not have their first match until tomorrow because there were a lot of byes,” he said. “We have to get a good night’s sleep, wake up and wrestle our best.”

Taft is attempting to set a school record by advancing six or more wrestlers to the OSAA State Wrestling Championships, Feb. 22-23 at Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Portland.

Prepping for Districts — By Taft Wrestling Coach Robb Ellis

Other sports have no idea what wrestlers have to go through. Other sports just show up and compete.

Wrestlers have to make the right weight, have their hair cut the right length, nails clipped, perfectly shaved, mouth guards for braces, laces taped, no skin disease on your body – or you can show up and be told when you get there that you don’t compete that day.

You can even lose a match by bleeding too much.

Landlords seek to evict Oregon Senate’s new rental bill

Jim Fossum

-

February 15, 2019

0

Legislation to make Oregon the first state in the nation to adopt statewide rent control and make it more difficult for landlords to evict tenants without a reason has evoked swift and stern local reaction.

The Oregon Senate voted 17-11 Tuesday to adopt Senate Bill 608, which allows landlords to raise rent no more than 7 percent per year, plus the annual change in the Consumer Price Index (CPI). While the bill provides an exemption for rental properties that are less than 15 years old, the measure also reduces a landlord’s ability to evict tenants without a reason after they have lived in the building for a year.

“This will do nothing to alleviate any housing shortage,” former Lincoln City mayor and landlord Don Williams said. “Instead, it will cause fewer people to become landlords and drive landlords to sell or switch to year-to-year leases.”

“The questions no one seem to be asking are: ‘Why do we have fewer homes for rent than renters?’ and ‘Why aren’t landlords fighting to create or build rentals if there is such a demand?’

“I can answer that as a former landlord of both single-family and apartment rentals — Oregon’s landlord/tenant laws are so tilted against landlords as to make the liabilities greater than the profit. Business 101 says that is a prescription for failure.

“Now, the state of Oregon is barreling headlong into restricting the free market and the market will respond with one of three choices: 1) Go along with the law because it makes no significant financial impact; 2) Modify rental agreements that will create greater pressure on would-be tenants; 3) Leave the rental business.”

“This will just add to the housing shortage and ultimately increase the number of homeless in the state.”

Lincoln City resident Matthew Gerber

Proponents of the bill say it will prevent “price-gouging” and help address the rampant homelessness of children in the state by making it easier for Oregonians to stay in their homes.

Landlord Joe Barnes, who rents over 100 units, disagrees:

“I’m going to just raise rents every year by 7 percent,” he said. “I don’t usually raise rents on current tenants, so my tenants can thank this law for the increase.

“I am also revamping the application process and will be charging a larger deposit to help offset the potential of loss of rent for 60-day notices. Most tenants don’t pay rent after a notice. Higher deposits will help mitigate that. Other changes will evolve. Unfortunately, none will be in favor of the tenant. Rents will ultimately go up across the board.”

Williams summarized the situation:

“As written, SB 608 limits rent increases to 7 percent and a percentage of the Consumer Price Index and imposes a 60-day eviction notice period on landlords,” he said. “To the majority of people that are renters vs. the number of landlords, this will seem like a great idea. But much like the ever-increasing imposed minimum wage, they do not reflect reality and will only end up hurting those that it purports to help.”

The bill will now move to the Oregon State Legislature House of Representatives.

“SB608 will cause negative consequences for renters and decrease the number of people investing in rental properties,” Williams said. “And, much like the minimum wage argument, it’s not a moral question, it’s a math question.”

EDITOR’S NOTE: Homepage welcomes contrary comment from renters and local rental agencies regarding the adoption of SB608 and will update this post as warranted.

Senate Bill 608

For-Cause Eviction

Establishes a for-cause eviction standard after the first year of occupancy.
Landlords can continue to evict for a tenant-based cause (current law – i.e., non-payment, violation of the rental agreement, outrageous conduct, etc.).
Adds new landlord-based for-cause reasons to evict a tenant (sale to a person who will move in, landlord or family member move-in, repair or renovate, and demolish or remove unit from residential use).
If landlord uses one of these four landlord-based reasons, they must provide the tenant with 90-day notice and relocation expenses in the amount of one month’s rent.

Exceptions

Small landlords (four or fewer units) do not have to pay relocation expenses.
Landlords who live on the same property as their tenant (owner occupied, two units or less) may still use a no-cause eviction at any time.

Month-to-Month Tenancies

For the first 12 months of occupancy, a landlord may terminate the tenancy without cause with a 30-day notice.
After the first 12 months of occupancy, a landlord may only evict a tenant for cause, by using an existing tenant-based reason or by using one of the four new landlord-based reasons.

Fixed-Term Tenancies

For the first 12 months of occupancy, a landlord may terminate a fixed-term tenancy without cause by giving a 90-day notice.
After the first 12 months of occupancy, the fixed-term lease will automatically roll over to month-to-month unless the landlord has a tenant or landlord-based reason to terminate.

Exceptions:

A fixed-term lease might not automatically roll over at the end of the fixed term per landlord discretion if the tenant has violated the terms of the rental agreement three separate times during a 12-month period, with written warnings for each violation given contemporaneously with the violation.

Annual Rent Increase

Landlords may increase rent by no more than 7 percent plus CPI in a 12-month period.
Maintains current law regarding rent increases: prohibits rent increases in first year of month-to-month tenancy and requirement that landlords give 90-day notice of rent increases.

Exceptions:

New Construction: A landlord may increase the rent above 7 percent plus CPI in a 12-month period if the certificate of occupancy was issued less than 15 years ago.
New Tenancy: If the previous tenant vacated the unit voluntarily or their tenancy was otherwise terminated in compliance with other applicable law, the landlord may reset the rent on the new tenancy without limitation.
- If the previous tenant received a no-cause notice or their fixed-term lease was terminated and not allowed to roll over, they did not leave voluntarily and the landlord may only increase the rent on the unit by 7 percent plus CPI above the previous rent.
Subsidized Housing: If the landlord is providing reduced rent to the tenant as part of a federal, state, or local program or subsidy, they are exempt.

Enforcement

If a landlord violates the new provisions, they are liable for three months’ rent plus actual damages.

SOURCE: Acorn Property Management

Lincoln City Police Crime Log Feb. 8-14

Justin Werner

-

February 15, 2019

0

The Lincoln City Police Dispatch Daily Desk Log is a public record of police calls. All suspects are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

Friday, Feb. 8

Found Property – 12:19 p.m. – Canyon Drive Park – Found licence and credit card. Items turned into LCPD.

Crash – 2:33 p.m. – 1631 NW Highway 101 – Two vehicle crash with airbag deployment and blocking the roadway.

Found Property – 3:50 p.m. – Chinook Winds Casino Resort – Backpack found in parking structure containing female personal items and identifying documents. Property seized for safekeeping.

Crash – 6:39 p.m. – NE 15th St. & NE Highway 101 – Two vehicle non-injury and non-blocking crash.

Saturday, Feb. 9

Crash – 1:39 p.m. – 801 SW Highway 101 – Two vehicle crash with injuries. One driver cited for failure to yield.

Sunday, Feb. 10

Trespass – 12:24 a.m. – Chinook Winds Casino – Chinook Winds Security reports a male who has been excluded is refusing to leave and getting verbal. Forrest Locke (12/17/97) was arrested for trespass and transported to Lincoln County Jail.

Animal – 9:04 a.m. – 1635 NW Harbor Ave. – Caller reports she was bitten by a dog.

Hit and Run – 9:23 p.m. – NW 44th St. & NW Logan Rd. – Caller reported a knocked over fire hydrant with a bumper and license plate left at the scene. Andrew Vasquez (11/17/94) cited for failure to perform duties of a driver when property is damaged and criminal mischief.

Monday, Feb. 11

Car Clout – 2:11 a.m. – 1400 SE 19th St. – Caller witnessed a 6-foot male wearing a black raincoat break in to her friends vehicle. Area searched for suspect and report taken.

Tuesday, Feb. 12

Theft – 9:55 a.m. – 2150 NE Oar Pl. – No information given.

Domestic – 11:00 a.m. – 3510 NE Highway 101 – Male and female fighting in parking lot.

Burglary – 11:57 a.m. – 1363 NW 26th St. – Victim reported that her vacation house was broken into. Report taken.

Warrant Arrest – 1:56 p.m. – Chinook Winds Casino – Marissa Baker (8/20/78) taken into custody on Oregon State Parole and Probation warrant. Transported to Lincoln County Jail.

Domestic – 5:30 p.m. – 1211 NE Lakewood – Domestic between husband and wife.

Wednesday, Feb. 13

Crash – 7:56 a.m. – 4239 SW Highway 101 – Pickup stopped in traffic causing other vehicles to rear-end each other.

Assault – 12:50 p.m. – Taft High School – Officer took report.

Thursday, Feb. 14

Graffiti – 1:07 a.m. – LC Auto Supply – Located graffiti while on routine patrol. Report taken.

Burglary – 10:47 a.m. – 2462 SW Dune Ave. – Vacation rental burglarized.

Taft relay team reaches State finals; three swimmers improve positions

Jim Fossum

-

February 15, 2019

0

Taft High’s boys 400-yard freestyle relay team, left, touches in fourth place Friday to reach the State finals

Taft High’s boys 400-yard freestyle relay team — comprised of Tanner Landry, Hunter Lunstedt, Sam Cortes and Joram Hoff — matched its seeded position by placing fourth Friday to reach the finals of the Class 4A/3A/2A/1A OSAA State Swimming Championships in Beaverton.

“They are very excited for their relay,” said longtime Taft Coach Lissa Parker, who also watched a couple of her swimmers touch in personal-best times.

Hoff, an 18-year-old senior, also placed seventh in the 200-yard freestyle after entering the meet at Tualatin Hills Aquatic Center seeded ninth. He matched his seeding by placing ninth in the 100-yard backstroke.

Cortes, a 14-year-old freshman, finished eighth in the 100 back after starting with the 10^th seed. He matched his position with an eighth-place showing in the 100 free.

Landry, a 17-year-old senior, moved up two spots for 10^th in the 200-yard individual medley after entering the meet as the 12^th seed.

1 of 4

Lunstedt and Sammy Halferty, Taft’s lone girl representative, placed 11^th and 12^th, respectively, in the 100 breaststroke.

“Tanner was very positive dropping five seconds and Sam was good with his PRs [personal records],” Parker said. “Joram and Samantha were a little disappointed, but it’s a high-pressure situation and early in the morning as we are used to swimming later in the day.”

Only the top six in each of Friday’s 12-participant events advance to Saturday’s 8:15 a.m. finals.

Dahlman elected to replace Kerr as NLFR chief on interim basis

Local News

Homepage Staff

-

February 15, 2019

1

Dahlman elected to replace Kerr as NLFR chief on interim basis

Emergency Medical Services Division Chief Rob Dahlman was elected interim North Lincoln Fire & Rescue Department (NLFR) fire chief Wednesday following the recent retirement of longtime Chief Doug Kerr.

Dahlman was elected in a 4-1 vote following a motion by NLFR Board of Directors President Jamie Wright, with Board member Danny Curler casting the no vote.

Meanwhile, NLFR will hold a joint workshop with the Board of Directors of Depoe Bay Fire at 4 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 27, at the St. Clair Fire Station, 4520 SE Highway 101 in Lincoln City, to discuss potential cooperative efforts between the North Lincoln and Depoe Bay fire departments.

At Tuesday’s monthly Depoe Bay Fire District Board meeting, Depoe Bay Fire Chief Bill Johnson posed the possible benefits of joint efforts with NLFR. In his power-point presentation, Johnson referenced a 2012 countywide Opportunities for Collaborative Efforts Feasibility Study conducted by Emergency Services Consulting International.

Wallace named Samaritan North Lincoln Hospital Employee of the Year

Local News

Mary Jo Kerlin

-

February 15, 2019

0

Wallace named Samaritan North Lincoln Hospital Employee of the Year

Sandy Wallace poses with her supervisor, Christopher Garrison, and hospital CEO Dr. Lesley Ogden.

By a vote of her peers, Sandy Wallace was named 2018 Employee of the Year at Samaritan North Lincoln Hospital (SNLH).

Wallace has worked at the hospital as a housekeeper for the past 18 years. When accepting the award, she commented that working at Samaritan is a joy and that everyone in her department and throughout the hospital are like family to her.

Wallace was originally named employee of the month this past September, which made her eligible for consideration as employee of the year. At that time, several nominators praised her with such comments as:

Sandy is a joy to work with. She brings such a positive energy to our Environmental Services family. Sandy is a dedicated and hard-working employee. She is always willing to help and is appreciated so much.
She always has a smile. She will go out of her way to help other people. She is always so cheerful and good for a laugh if you need it.
She cleans and organizes the pre-op/PACU [surgical services] area for us and does this with a smile on her face! She has the best, positive, can-do attitude! We all appreciate her so much!
She is pleasant, hard-working and never complains. She transforms our workspace from being a disaster to a clean, comfortable and organized work space!

Each month throughout the year, SNLH employees are invited to submit nominations and the Employee Appreciation Committee is responsible for making the final selection. Those selected to be honored demonstrate a commitment to work excellence, provide high quality customer service and are enthusiastic and valuable team members. They also show a commitment to Samaritan’s PRIDE values: passion, respect, integrity, dedication and excellence.

At the end of the year, all SNLH staff are invited to vote for one of the 12 monthly winners to receive the top honor. The recipient receives a nice monetary reward, a traveling trophy and smaller prizes in appreciation.

Longtime Taft coach Parker to dunk five swimmers into State waters

Jim Fossum

-

February 14, 2019

0

Longtime Taft coach Parker to dunk five swimmers into State waters

From left, Tanner Landry, Hunter Lunstedt and Sam Cortes evaluate their times with Coach Lissa Parker

With more than two decades of high school coaching experience, Lissa Parker has done a deep dive into the waters that will determine the best of the best high school swimmers in the state.

An institution in local swimming annals with a pool-full of experience coaching Taft High and the Lincoln City Swim Club, Parker will dunk five swimmers into the depths of Tualatin Hills Aquatic Center in Beaverton.

While none are likely to join 2011 graduate Aly Viles — Taft’s lone State champion — on the tallest podium, four boys and one girl will command a starting block Friday at the Class 4A/3A/2A/1A OSAA State Swimming Championships.

Taft’s entourage, which includes 17-year-old senior alternate Micah McLeish, is a formidable group.

Senior Joram Hoff and freshman Sam Cortes will compete in two events and a relay and be joined by senior Tanner Landry and juniors Hunter Lunstedt and Sammy Halferty.

Cortes, 14, is seeded eighth in the 200-yard freestyle and 10th in the 100 backstroke, while Hoff, 18, is seeded ninth in the 200 free and 100 back.

Lunstedt, 16, will start 10th in the 100-yard breaststroke; Halferty, 17, 11th in the same event for the girls; and Landry, 17, 12th in the 200 individual medley.

“One never knows how this meet will shake out, but I think they all stand a good chance at taking some time off their personal-best times and moving up in the standings,” Parker said.

From left, Gabe Arce-Torres, Hunter Lundstedt, Tanner Landry and Joram Hoff are pictured from last year’s team

Taft’s 400-yard freestyle relay team of Landry, Lundstedt, Cortes and Hoff is seeded fourth.

“I think they’re very excited about the fourth place in the relay,” she said.

Parker, who sent a school-record nine swimmers to State in 2005 (five boys and four girls) and 2007 (four girls and five boys), said the team has worked on refining its skills this week following Saturday’s Special District 1 championships in Newport.

“We are primarily focused on tapering [reducing hardcore preparation], working on starts and turns, trying to relax and not do too many meters,” Parker said.

Competition in the Class 4A/3A/2A/1A classification is scheduled to begin at 9 a.m. Friday and 8:15 a.m. Saturday.

“I would like them to stay positive and focused and get enough rest,” Parker said. “It’s a little hard getting used to racing so early in the morning.”

Taft High wrestlers seek date with State at District tournament

Jim Fossum

-

February 14, 2019

0

Taft High wrestlers seek date with State at District tournament

Robb Ellis spent last year learning the ropes as a first-time head wrestling coach. This season, he’s trying to satisfy some lofty expectations by leading his team to a school record for success.

“Meeting our goals is looking good,” Taft High’s coach said Thursday on the eve of the Class 3A Special District 1 Championships in Warrenton.

The second-year coach’s Tigers will attempt to place third or better as a team and advance a school-record six or more wrestlers to the OSAA Class 3A State Championships, Feb. 22-23, at Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Portland.

Ellis said defending State champion Willamina remains a prohibitive favorite to win the District championship, but that the Tigers will flex their muscles against formidable foes Dayton and Rainier with hopes of placing third.

“The way the District brackets are laid out, we should have a good chance of that, and also making it close with Dayton for second place,” he said. “Of course, we have to show up and wrestle well to do that.”

Seventeen of Taft’s 19 wrestlers will suit up Friday with senior Jace Fostveit a major loss at 195 pounds due to a dislocated shoulder in practice that awaits Friday morning assessment.

”Jace had a great chance to do well at the State tournament, so he would be a huge loss,” Ellis said.

In addition, junior Alec Bosworth has been sidelined with a nagging shoulder injury and will not wrestle at Districts in the 220-pound division.

“He had been wrestling well, so that is also a loss,” Ellis said. “We are not alone, though. At the District seeding meeting, all of the other teams had their own losses, and some key wrestlers whose absence could make it easier for our wrestlers to qualify for State, just like Jace’s absence will help other teams.”

“As a wrestling coach, you have to prepare yourself mentally to finish with about 75 to 80 percent of what you started with,” he said. “Poor grades, injuries and wrestlers that have the wrong work ethic and attitude will cause every team’s numbers to dwindle. Going from about 24 or 25 at the start of the season to 19 currently is a success in my eyes.”

Individually, wrestlers must place third or better to advance to State.

“I think we should achieve at least six State qualifiers to break the school record and eight or more is possible,” Ellis said.

He said 160-pound team leader Cody Knott, who is ranked third by one website, should claim the District title with relative ease and earn a high seeding at State.

Fellow senior David Jin, Taft’s starting quarterback last fall, earned the District’s second seed at 170 and also has a good chance to wind up in the finals, Ellis said.

Senior Gio Salazar also earned the No. 2 seed and appears to have an open road to the finals. Freshman Riley Ellis and sophomore William Calderon “got fortunate at 138 pounds with the second and third seeds and could have a great chance to qualify for State because about six talented older wrestlers got stuck at 145 pounds,” Ellis said.

“Their bodies would just not allow them to go down to 138 pounds,” he said. “That helped Riley and William out in their bracket. So, at 145 pounds, only three will qualify for State and several talented wrestlers will not get to go.”

Occupying the 145-pound division from Taft are seniors DeVon Lindquist, a State qualifier last year, and Jacob Mayoral.

“They both have a great chance to qualify for State, but they will have to wrestle very well to make that happen,” Ellis said.

Another State qualifier from last year for Taft with a tough bracket is Jose Flores at 106 pounds.

“He has two-time State champion from Willamina and two other talented wrestlers from Amity and Rainier,” Ellis said. “He will have to wrestle well to go to State. In another district, Jose most likely would have gotten a much easier path.

“Each of the four districts in 3A look different,” Ellis said. One district may have a really tough 160-pound bracket and ours is not as competitive, but our 106-pound and 145-pound brackets may be more competitive than in other districts.”

Given its one-on-one nature, logistics and luck of the draw affect wrestling more than most sports, Ellis said.

“Sometimes going to State can have some luck involved,” he said. “Maybe a top wrestler was suddenly injured before Districts, and that helps one of our guys go to State. So, we could have some wrestlers with less talent qualify for State, and some that deserved to go not qualify because they faced much tougher competition.”

A season of perseverance and hard work will be defined in the next 48 hours, Ellis said.

“At the end of the day, we just have to go wrestle hard and see what happens,” he said. “Our team vibe has been great and I am proud of the attitude our guys are finishing with. ‘Hard Work!’ is our motto, and they have lived up to it. Now, all we can do is go wrestle this weekend and see what happens.”