Yamhill County wrestlers rock, roll in finals

PORTLAND -- McMinnville wrestling capped off an historic OSAA State Wrestling Championships and three other Yamhill County wrestlers won state championships at Veterans Memorial Coliseum Saturday.

The Grizzlies scored 111 points to finish in fourth place, behind Roseburg (234 points), David Douglas (170 points) and North Medford (116). It is McMinnville's first team trophy in wrestling in the school's history.

Sophomore Brian Barnes aided the Grizzlies cause while taking down No. 1 seed Alvaro Venegas of McNary in the Class 6A 195-pound match. A second-period takedown and strong performance on top in the third period proved vital as Barnes earned a 3-2 decision over Venegas, who had beaten him twice this season.

McMinnville senior Aspen Nelson came out aggressively against David Douglas freshman Kyle Beal, but a strong second period led to Beal pinning Nelson in 2 minutes, 56 seconds, in the 6A 113-pound final. Nelson had posted a 2-1 record against Beal entering the match.

Sheridan senior Justin Acuff became the first Spartan to win three state championships in the Class 3A 138-pound bracket. Acuff pinned Javier Gonzalez of Vale in 3:21 in the weight class final.

Willamina junior Michael Reyes joined Acuff as a multiple state champion, winning his second title in the Class 3A 126-pound bracket. Reyes scored a 14-2 major decision over Riverside's Elijah Conlon.

Willamina junior Austin Howard avenged a 2014 loss in the 3A 160-pound final against Dylan Potter of Glide. Howard took a five-point lead in the second period en route to a 7-2 decision over Potter for the first state title of his career.

The Bulldogs finished in a tie for sixth place in the team standings with Rainier (94.5 points). Sheridan finished 15th with 37 points; Dayton scored 19 points (21st) and Amity scored two points (27th).

Read more about the weekend in Tuesday's News-Register.