St. Helens strong despite being fifth at NWOC

St. Helens wrestlers send five to state on the heels of NWOC district championship bout

By Darryl Swan

The South County Spotlight, Feb 24, 2010

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The St. Helens Lions Wrestling Team turned in a fifth-place performance with 166.5 team points at the Northwest Oregon Conference District Tourney last Saturday.

Powerhouses Hillsboro and Glencoe snagged the top two positions with 381 and 307.5 total points, respectively.

Still, St. Helens wasn’t without its moments.

Number one-ranked Weston Tanner took first in the 140-weight class, a bout that culminated in a 4-0 decision against Hillboro’s number two-ranked Doogie Harer for that class.

Wrestlers Jedi Asher and Doug Girard both took second in their weight divisions.

Coach Mick McCoy said he was pleased with the team’s performance.

“Jonah [Asher] had an especially good tournament. He beat the number four seed [Mike] Wilson and the number two seed [Matt] Teeter to make it to the match for third and fourth. Wilson of Century had beat Jonah in their last meeting,” McCoy said.

Team mate Eric Redding, who had battled back from knee surgery in January, ultimately defeated Asher by an 8-6 overtime decision.

“[Jonah’s] match against Eric was highly competitive and action packed. Both guys wanted the trip to state,” McCoy said.

In the end, the St. Helens team is sending five wrestlers to the Oregon State Tournament starting Thursday, Feb. 25, at the Memorial Coliseum in Portland.

“The five guys who qualified earned their spot through a lot of hard work and quality performance when it counted,” McCoy said.

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