Taft High senior Autumn Barela and freshman Kadence James made their presence felt against formidable odds Friday at Thurston High School in Springfield before...
Saying his team “went toe-to-toe with a wrestling machine,” the Tigers fell 63-15 to Tillamook, the state’s top-ranked Class 4A team, but experienced a “super fun night.”
Taft High won one match and lost another Thursday, but Coach Robb Ellis said his team performed like champions in both competitions in the absence of four top wrestlers and the aftermath of a punishing defeat.
The Taft High wrestling team, missing two key competitors due to illness and injury, was taken to the mat in humbling fashion Wednesday with a 48-18 loss at Harrisburg.
The Taft High wrestling team overcame the absence of two of its State-level wrestlers Saturday to defeat the big boys and the little guys in dual-meet competition.
Eleven of 19 Taft High wrestlers placed fifth or better Saturday, led by seniors Cody Knott and Devon Lindquist, who defeated State-level competitors from Class 6A Grants Pass for individual titles in the Alsea Bay Classic at Waldport.
Calling it a landmark night for Taft High wrestling, second-year Taft Coach Robb Ellis’ upstart squad defeated defending Class 3A State champion Willamina in its own gym 39-37 in a dual match Thursday.
School days for Taft High students Kadence James and Autumn Barela don’t end with a bus ride home or a gathering of friends. Rather, find them confined to a tightly quartered cushioned room filled with grunting boys who reek of sweat.
Team scores weren’t kept, but winning titles wasn’t Taft High Coach Robb Ellis’ intent for Saturday's first Holiday Crab Pools Invitational, where 123 wrestlers from 13 squads battled in the school gymnasium to turn an abundance of mat time into individual improvement.
