Walker, Trujillo win district titles

OREGON CITY, Ore. — Esco Walker (125 pounds) and Damian Trujillo (285) each won titles as North Idaho College finished second at the West District wrestling championships Sunday at Clackamas Community College.

All told, NIC qualified nine of a possible 10 wrestlers to nationals Feb. 23-24 in Council Bluffs, Iowa.

Joining Walker and Trujillo at nationals from NIC will be Austin Iorga (141), Brent Evans (149), Thomas Stevenson (157), Jacob Swift (165), Trager Abatti (174), Levi Perry (184) and Christian Grover (197).

Iorga, Evans, Swift, Abatti and Perry each qualified by reaching the finals, as the top two finishers in each weight automatically qualified for nationals. Stevenson, who placed fourth, and Grover, who took third, earned wild-card berths to nationals, as coaches met after the tourney and selected eight wrestlers (regardless of weight) to receive wild-card berths to nationals.

“We wrestled pretty well on the day,” NIC coach Pat Whitcomb said. “We would have loved to have gotten all 10 to nationals, but I’m pretty happy. If they’re not back there, they can’t score points for us.”

Clackamas, ranked second in the NJCAA, won the district title with 100.5 points. NIC, ranked eighth, was second with 82, followed by Highline (62) and Southwestern Oregon (53).

Clackamas also qualified nine to nationals.

Walker defeated Jacob Mendoza of Highline 8-3 in the finals.

“That’s a big one for Esco,” Whitcomb said. “Now he can get seeded (at nationals).”

Trujillo beat Darryl Aiello of Clackamas 12-7 in the finals.

“Damian really stood out in the finals,” Whitcomb said. “He must have scored six or seven takedowns.”

Once Evans qualified for nationals with a pin in the semifinals, Whitcomb pulled him out of the finals because of an ankle injury.

TEAM SCORES — 1, Clackamas 100.5. 2, North Idaho 82. 3, Highline 62. 4, Southwestern Oregon 53.

OUTSTANDING WRESTLER — Tanner Harven (184), Southwestern Oregon

COACH OF THE YEAR — Josh Rhoden, Clackamas

NIC RESULTS

125 — Semifinal: Esco Walker, NIC, d. Fransisco Barrera, Southwestern Oregon, 4-3. Championship: Walker, NIC, d. Jacob Mendoza, Highline, 8-3.

133 — Semifinal: Austin Wallace-Lister, Highline, p. Nicholas Hara, NIC, 0:57. Third-place match: Hara, NIC, won by forfeit over Elijah Ozuna, Clackamas.

141 — Semifinal: Austin Iorga, NIC, p. Jeff Kovach, Southwestern Oregon, 4:08. Championship: Ralph Tovar, Clackamas, p. Iorga, NIC, 1:50.

149 — Semifinal: Brent Evans, NIC, p. Marco Young, Southwestern Oregon, 0:56. Championship: Jasiah Williams, Clackamas, won by forfeit over Evans, NIC.

157 — Semifinal: Liam Corbett, Highline, d. Thomas Stevenson, NIC, 4-2. Third-place match: Cade Hite, Southwestern Oregon, d. Stevenson, NIC, 10-8.

165 — Semifinal: Jacob Swift, NIC, d. Austin Howard, Southwestern Oregon, 10-6. Championship: Dillon Ulrey, Clackamas, d. Swift, NIC, 13-9.

174 — Semifinal: Trager Abatti, NIC, d. Ben Gore, Highline, 7-3. Championship: Dylan Reel, Clackamas, d. Abatti, NIC, 5-3.

184 — Semifinal: Levi Perry, NIC, md. Nick Maximov, Clackamas,14-6. Championship: Tanner Harvey, Southwestern Oregon, p. Levi Perry, NIC, 1:43.

197 — Semifinal: Amos Daigbe, Highline, p. Christian Grover, NIC, 3:54. Third-place match: Grover, NIC, p. Kaeoliko Burley, Southwestern Oregon, 1:21.

285 — Semifinal: Damian Trujillo, NIC, md. Mario Luevano, Highline, 15-6. Championship: Trujillo, NIC, d. Darryl Aiello, Clackamas, 12-7.

PLACERS

125 (all 4 to nationals) — 1, Esco Walker, NIC. 2, Jacob Mendoza, Highline. 3, Fransisco Barrerra, Southwestern Oregon. 4, Devaughn Sapien, Clackamas.

133 (top 2 to nationals) — 1, Austin Wallace-Lister, Highline. 2, Christian Balagso, Southwestern Oregon. 3, Nicholas Hara, NIC. 4, Elijah Ozuna, Clackamas.

141 (top 2 to nationals) — 1, Ralph Tovar, Clackamas. 2, Austin Iorga, NIC. 3, Tucker Wooding, Highline. 4, Jeff Kovach, Southwestern Oregon.

149 (top 2 to nationals) — 1, Jasiah Williams, Clackamas. 2, Brent Evans, NIC. 3, Adrian Avena, Highline. 4, Marco Young, Southwestern Oregon.

157 (all 4 to nationals) — 1, Isaiah Diggs, Clackamas. 2, Liam Corbett, Highline. 3, Cade Hite, Southwestern Oregon. 4, Thomas Stevenson, NIC.

165 (top 3 to nationals) — 1, Dillon Ulrey, Clackamas. 2, Jacob Swift, NIC. 3, Austin Howard, Southwestern Oregon. 4, Patrick Wheeler, Highline.

174 (top 2 to nationals) — 1, Dylan Reel, Clackamas. 2, Trager Abatti, NIC. 3, Ben Gore, Highline. 4, Zachary Hammerschmith, Southwestern Oregon.

184 (top 3 to nationals) — 1, Tanner Harvey, Southwestern Oregon. 2, Levi Perry, NIC. 3, Nick Maximov, Clackamas. 4, Mitchell Owens, Highline.

197 (top 3 to nationals) — 1, Gage Harrah, Clackamas. 2, Amos Daigbe, Highline. 3, Christian Grover, NIC. 4, Kaeoliko Burley, Southwestern Oregon.

285 (top 3 to nationals) — 1, Damian Trujillo, NIC. 2, Darryl Aiello, Clackamas. 3, JJ Perez, Southwestern Oregon. 4, Mario Luevano, Highline.