Seniors Jaxson Godley, Kutter Christensen make most of rare opening roles to spark MWL boys wrestling win
EAGLE POINT — The tone was going to be set either way as Eagle Point and Crater each sent out two of their top boys wrestlers to open Wednesday night’s Midwestern League dual meet.
Senior leaders Jaxson Godley and Kutter Christensen made sure momentum would ride with the Comets, who opened with a string of six straight bonus-point victories to create enough cushion toward a 49-24 triumph.
Instead of a conventional start that would open with the lightest weight and gradually increase, Wednesday’s draw sent out the 165-pounders in Godley and Eagle Point senior Gavin Pogue to kick things off with a battle of returning top-three state placers.
Then came 175, with Christensen matching up with Eagles senior Colby Price.
Crater’s Jaxson Godley makes a move against Eagle Point’s Gavin Pogue during Wednesday’s match opener at 165 pounds. (Andy Atkinson / for the Rogue Valley Times)
Pogue and Price have been two of Eagle Point’s top performers all season, so the chance was good that the Eagles could make a statement of their own in a dual that carries tremendous history between the rival programs.
Unfortunately for the host team, that didn’t happen.
“It was definitely different,” said Christensen. “Me and Jaxson aren’t usually used to starting, but it was fun. We got to go out there and kind of kick off the momentum for the dual, so it was awesome.”
Godley shrugged off an early takedown by Pogue to build a 4-3 lead through one round, then heated up to finish the match with a fall in 3 minutes, 24 seconds.
Christensen didn’t allow for any drama against Price despite joining Godley in wrestling up a weight class Wednesday, building a 12-3 lead in 90 seconds to eventually gain a 25-9 technical fall.
“The plan was just to go out there and make a statement early,” said Christensen, whose Comets placed third at the Reser’s Tournament of Champions last weekend and second at the Oregon Classic a week prior to that. “A lot of people say that’s our crosstown rival, so just to go out there and get it started like that was awesome.”
Crater’s Ryland Walters pretzels Eagle Point’s Cash Nekouie during the 190-pound match in Eagle Point Wednesday evening. (Andy Atkinson / for the Rogue Valley Times)
After seeing his own championship bid fall short in the Reser’s TOC finals on an ultimate tiebreaker, it felt good for Christensen to stretch his offensive attack out a little against Price. Christensen didn’t bother with the top position on restarts, opting instead to put both wrestlers on their feet time and again so he could work on his attacks.
“I’ve kind of been struggling this year with just attacking and just not trusting my stuff,” he said. “Last year, I had to get surgery after state, so I’ve just kind of been battling it mentally. Just going out there and trying to score as many points as I can and just run it up on the scoreboard was the plan going out there.”
It all met with the approval of Crater head coach Greg Haga, whose team will next host Sweet Home at 3 p.m. Saturday.
“I love how they wrestle, they’re in your face,” Haga said of Wednesday’s leading duo. “Jaxson comes out and gets taken down right off the bat being a little too aggressive, but he fights back tough. I knew he was going to keep the heat on.”
“Kutter’s always good,” added the coach. “He’s been struggling opening up a little bit the last week, so this week he wanted to make a point of getting after it. I think he did a great job of that.”
Those efforts were stacked by a 15-0 technical fall by Ryland Walters over Cash Nekouie at 190, a pin in 1:42 by Elijah Cole over Hayden Hanscom at 215 and quick pins by Travis Ege (285) and Mike Diaz-Torres (106) to create a 34-0 advantage for Crater.
Eagle Point’s Damian Amaral-Perez tries to squirm through the grasp of Crater’s Brayden Martinez during the 126-pound match Wednesday. (Andy Atkinson / for the Rogue Valley Times)
Eagle Point sophomore Luke Bray finally got his team on the board at 113 with a pin in 1:41 over Brayden Petersen, but Crater kept the tally from keeping closer as 120-pounder Shane Smoker rallied from a 6-0 deficit to emerge with a pin of Wyatt Dahling in 4:49, Brayden Martinez held on for a 9-6 win at 126 over Damian Amaral-Perez and Jeremiah Oliva made quick work at 132 against Cooper White with a 50-second pin.
It was 49-6 when Eagle Point finally got into a groove with match-closing wins by Thomas Wippel (138), Nathan Mallari (144), Ethan Metcalf (150) and Sean McFall (157), but almost all came over Crater’s second unit.
“If you look at the dual, we had three of our kids out and had several kids up weights,” said Haga, “so I felt pretty good about how our kids wrestled.”
“The group of our seniors and the group of their seniors have been wrestling against each other since middle school,” he added, “and back-and-forth have they gone. It’s always kind of a good fight when we get together.”
Wippel held off Haeden Durighello for a 6-3 decision to kick off the finishing run by the Eagles, while Mallari pinned Carter Cole in 1:58, Ethan Metcalf earned a 16-0 technical fall over Asher West and Sean McFall closed the night with a 10-1 major decision over Jaykob Sager.
Eagle Point’s Thomas Wippel takes down Crater’s Haeden Durighello during the 138-pound match in Eagle Point Wednesday evening. (Andy Atkinson / for the Rogue Valley Times)
“I kind of disregarded the score,” Mallari said of his approach knowing a MWL win was already out of the question. “Sometimes that’s what you’ve got to do. You’ve just got to work hard and no matter what the score is, you just have to put it on them.”
“At that point, it’s all about your own pride and to do it for yourself and for the team,” he added. “No one wants to watch you roll over and give up. I’m proud of my boys tonight, but it wasn’t the outcome we wanted.”
Eagle Point enjoyed a solid showing at the Oregon Classic, taking fifth at the 5A level, and Mallari said the team has steadily improved throughout the season. Wednesday’s setback was disheartening, but not likely to sway the Eagles’ drive toward a big finish.
“We’re working way harder in the room and trying to build our legacy back up,” said Mallari. “I think that we’re going to keep improving and keep getting better. I think Eagle Point is a team to watch out for, but you don’t have to look for us, because we’re going to find you.”
In the girls wrestling competition, Crater won two of the three contested matches as Amari Meilicke pinned Emily Fitzgerald in 3:58 at 155 pounds, and Hannah Ege pinned Desiree Daniels in 42 seconds at 235.
Eagle Point’s Baylee Jermaine pins Crater’s Abby Samitore during the 115-pound girls wrestling match Wednesday. (Andy Atkinson / for the Rogue Valley Times)
Eagle Point freshman Baylee Jermaine kept it from being a clean sweep when she turned a third-round deficit into a pin in 4:48 over Abby Samitore, who chose the down position to start the final period and fell prey to solid work on top by Jermaine.
BOYS TEAM SCORES: Crater 49, Eagle Point 24
106 — Mike Diaz-Torres, Cra, pinned Cruz Rios, :45; 113 — Luke Bray, EP, pinned Brayden Petersen, 1:41; 120 — Shane Smoker, Cra, pinned Wyatt Dahling, 4:49; 126 — Brayden Martinez, Cra, dec. Damian Amaral-Perez, 9-6; 132 — Jeremiah Oliva, Cra, pinned Cooper White, :50.
138 — Thomas Wippel, EP, dec. Haeden Durighello, 6-3; 144 — Nathan Mallari, EP, pinned Carter Cole, 1:58; 150 — Ethan Metcalf, EP, tech. fall Asher West, 16-0; 157 — Sean McFall, EP, major dec. Jaykob Sager, 10-1.
*165 — Jaxson Godley, Cra, pinned Gavin Pogue, 3:24; 175 — Kutter Christensen, Cra, tech. fall Colby Price, 25-9; 190 — Ryland Walters, Cra, tech. fall Cash Nekouie, 15-0; 215 — Elijah Cole, Cra, pinned Hayden Hanscom, 1:42; 285 — Travis Ege, Cra, pinned Easton Goettel, :36.
GIRLS TEAM SCORES: Crater 12, Eagle Point 6
*115 — Baylee Jermaine, EP, pinned Abby Samitore, 4:48; 155 — Amari Meilicke, Cra, pinned Emily Fitzgerald, 3:58; 235 — Hannah Ege, Cra, pinned Desiree Daniels, :42.
* starting weight
Reach sports editor Kris Henry at kris.henry@rv-times.com or 458-488-2035