Culver, Hermiston dominate Oregon Wrestling Classic

For the sixth-straight year, Culver (2A) and Hermiston (5A) won team dual competition titles at the prestigious and well-attended Oregon Wrestling Classic held at the Deschutes County Fairgrounds in Redmond.

Hermiston breezed through the tournament unbeaten in five duals, outscoring opponents 255-85. The Bulldogs beat Pendleton 47-20 in the championship round. In winning all six duals, Culver scored 383 points while allowing 99.

Other division winners included: Dayton over Burns by tiebreaker in 3A, Crook County over Ontario in 4A and Roseburg over Newberg in 6A.

The Oregon Wrestling Classic featured 80 high school teams competing in five school enrollment divisions. All of the state's top-ranked teams participated and it is considered one of the largest wrestling meets in the nation based on number of participants.

The tournament is considered a championship of sorts for dual meets as all state titlists and second-place finishers from 2010 participated.

The tournament, which began in 1984, acts as a preview for the state finals in March and is also a hot spot for college coaches..

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2. Gatorade honor for Jesuit's Magg: Annamarie Magg of Jesuit has been selected as 2010-11 Gatorade Oregon girls cross country runner of the year. Last fall the 5-foot-9 senior won her third consecutive Class 6A individual championship as Jesuit won the state title.

3. Bend High gridder finalist for National Rudy Award: Kenneth Dailey of Bend was among the finalists for the High School Football ‘Rudy' Award, given to players who provide inspiration by overcoming personal challenges. Dailey, a 5-6 junior, was homeless and separated from his family while his mother was incarcerated. They later lived in a tent by the Deschutes River when she was released. Bend athletic director Craig Walker says Dailey has turned into an ideal student with a goal of attending college and becoming a coach. Named after former Notre Dame player Rudy Ruettiger, the winner of the award (announced on Jan. 18) was Chance Anthony of Hardinsburg, Ky. He was awarded a $10,000 college scholarship. 

4. Milestone: Coquille hoops coach Dan Cumberland reached a milestone victory Saturday night as the Red Devils beat Reedsport, 80-30. It was Cumberland's 200th win at the school, where he has spent the last 14 seasons. The victory held extra meaning for Cumberland won a state title as a player at Reedsport in 1967.

5. Jesuit remains atop 6A basketball polls: The Jesuit boys are 11-1 with their only loss coming to DeMatha (Hyattsville, Md.) in the Les Schwab Holiday Classic. The Crusader girls are also ranked No. 1 and the defending champion in the 6A classification.

6. Fewer Unbeatens: Catlin Gabel (3A) and Condon/Wheeler (1A) suffered losses last week, dropping the number of unbeaten boys teams in Oregon to two, 5A Corvallis (13-0), and 1A McKenzie (11-0). On the girls side, 6A Jesuit (12-0), 5A Springfield (14-0), 4A La Salle (14-0) and St. Mary's (Medford) (13-0) are the remaining unbeatens. How difficult is it to go unbeaten? In 2010, only two girls team went the season without losing: 2A Portland Christian (29-0) and 1A Imbler (26-0). Oregon's 275 high schools have more than 550 teams participating in either boys or girls basketball.

Top Performances

• Mercedes Russell scored 52 points in two games as Springfield remained undefeated in 14 games this season. The No. 1-ranked 5A girls team got 26 points and 15 rebounds from Russell in 65-56 win over Marist and 26 points and 9 rebounds in 58-20 win over Marshfield. The 6-3 sophomore also blocked 14 shots in the two games.

• Junior Orlando Vance scored 28 points, grabbed 18 rebounds and blocked nine shots as Parkrose routed Putnam, 88-63. He is a 6-7 forward.

• Aloha 6-6 senior forward Doug Thomas set a school record with 44 points in a 69-52 win over Reynolds. In his previous game, Thomas scored 4 in a 58-44 loss to David Douglas.

• Senior guard Drew Henderson scored 37 points and handed out six assists as South Albany recorded a 94-69 win over Lebanon.

• Pierre Zook hit 5 three pointers and scored 24 points to lead Western Mennonite (13-2) to a 70-37 win over Kennedy. Zook's 24.8 scoring average is second only to Micah Espinosa of Mapleton. Both are 5-10 senior guards.

• In scoring 101 points against Reedsport on Dec. 30, Glide became the first and only high school team thus far this season to break the century mark. On Jan. 13, top-ranked Jesuit scored 99 in routing Grant.

Streaks

• With a 65-54 victory, the Clackamas girls basketball team not only ended its 22-game losing streak to Oregon City Saturday night, but ended the Pioneers' 45-game Three Rivers League winning streak in the process. In the latest 6A state rankings, the two teams entered Saturday' s game ranked No. 2 and No. 3 in the state. Oregon City is a perennial power in Oregon having won 11 large-school state titles in 25 years. 

• The Griswold Grizzlies defeated Central Christian Jan. 4 to snap their 40-game losing streak dating back to Feb. 3, 2009. The 69-29 triumph excited the Griswold fans so much they gave their team a standing ovation. Griswold, with an enrollment of 41, is a member of the 1A Big Sky East conference.

Upcoming Boys Basketball Spotlight

• 6A Mt. Hood Conference, Friday (Jan. 21) No. 2 Central Catholic (10-2) hosts No. 15. David Douglas (9-3).
• 2A Northwest League, Thursday, (Jan. 20) No. 12 Gaston 9-4 travels to No. 1 Knappa (10-2).
• 6A Southern Oregon Conference, Friday (Jan. 21). No. 8 South Medford (12-2) hosts No. 7 Roseburg (9-3). Jesuit (11-1) remains atop 6A Boys rankings, followed by Central Catholic and Lincoln, both of Portland.

Recruiting

Central Catholic senior Brennan Scarlett, considered one of the state's top football prospects, verbally committed to California on Thursday. The 6-5, 260-pound Scarlett was injured for most of the 2010 season, but was offered scholarships from Stanford, Notre Dame, USC and UCLA, in addition to Cal. The state's top prospect is Colt Lyerla of Hillsboro, who committed to Oregon earlier this year. Lyerla, a versatile 6-5, 225-pound athlete, chose the Ducks over USC and Cal... Jefferson (Portland) defensive end/quarterback Elisonoa Aluesi has verbally committed to accept a football scholarship from Oregon State. Aluesi, 6-8 and 255 pounds, chose the Beavers over Portland State and Idaho. He was named to the Class 5A second team at defensive end last season. Aluesi won't enroll until 2013 as he is scheduled to participate in a two-year religious program.