Held at Hillsboro’s Liberty High School, this is a bracketed, weight-class tournament with an atmosphere that rivals a state championship. There are no classifications like a state championship, however, as the idea of the event is to assemble the best 24 teams in Oregon and let them go at each other.
“This is a tournament that lets you know where you are,” Hermiston coach Curt Berger said. “Health-wise, we’re probably in the best shape we’ve been in.”
For the Dawgs to hoist the trophy by the end of Saturday, they’ll have to make it through the toughest crop of competition they have faced while wrestling in Oregon.
From Class 6A, two-time defending TOC champ Roseburg is back, led by Oregon State-bound wrestlers Drew Van Anrooy and Seth Thomas.
Team Results
Hillsboro, Crater and Thurston — all Class 5A schools last year but have made the jump to 6A — will also compete for Reser’s bragging rights.
From Class 5A, the team to beat all year as been the Hermiston Bulldogs, and no one in Oregon has been able to do it. After placing second last year and third the year before — and winning it all in 2007 — the Dawgs feel they have a legitimate shot to repeat the 2007 result. But they know the road to the title goes through the Indians.
“Roseburg is a team we could actually get after,” Berger said. “We’re going to shift our lineup a bit and try to make a run at them. It’ll be fun to see what happens.”
Reser’s TOC 2011 Schedule (pdf file)
Final Team Scores: (Top 10)
Continue Reading Article Billy Gates of the Hermiston Herald
