GARY HOROWITZ
Statesman Journal
He is one of the most visible athletes on a team steeped in wrestling tradition. Brock Gutches takes the attention in stride.
A sophomore at Crater High School and the No. 2 seed at 130 pounds in Class 5A at the OSAA state wrestling championships, Gutches knows he inherited great expectations.
That’s part of the landscape when your first cousin is Les Gutches, a two-time NCAA champion at Oregon State who represented the United States in the 1996 Olympics.
“I just wrestle for myself. I don’t really let the wrestling community get to me,” said Gutches, who pinned Thurston’s Daniel Merrill on Thursday in his first-round match at the Oregon State Fairgrounds Pavilion.
But Gutches acknowledges that there’s “a lot of pride in that name.” His brother Bryson was a three-time state champion at Crater.
There’s also a lot of pride involved representing Crater, which is located in Central Point.
“Wrestling’s a really big deal down where I live,” Gutches said. “In some towns like Texas and stuff like that, it’s football.”
Last year Gutches was second in the state at 103, helping Crater win its fourth straight Class 4A state championship. Because of the state’s high school reclassification that went into effect in the fall, Crater moved to 5A and was ranked second heading into the state meet behind Hermiston.
Moving up several weight classifications has apparently been a good fit for Gutches.
“I just grew a lot over the summer,” Gutches said. “I just worked out a lot and tried to get as big as I possibly could for this year.”
Gutches has yet to wrestle No. 1 seed Norman Richmond of Jefferson this season but is looking forward to the opportunity. They can’t meet before Saturday’s championship matches.
The Comets, who have won seven of the past nine state championships, have 18 wrestlers in the tournament.
That translates into a busy weekend for coach Greg Haga.
“Numbers only matter if they score. That’s our goal,” Haga said. “Each one of those kids has to find a way to win a match.”
Haga said Gutches has learned to deal with the expectations associated with his last name.
“I don’t think Les has ever put pressure on him that way, and I know for me personally I don’t look at him that way,” Haga said. “He’s just another kid in our mat room.”
Haga said the classification change has not impacted Crater’s quest for another state crown.
“I think right now the best team in the state bar none at any level is Hermiston and they’re at the 5A level,” Haga said. “The 5A is stronger than the 6A in my opinion.”
Hermiston has three top-seeded wrestlers ” Brent Parks (140), Ryan Barton (152), and Troy Kessell (189) ” and they all advanced to the quarterfinals following first-round wins.
Hermiston led in the team standings after Thursday’s matches with 49 points, followed by Crook County (42.5) and Crater (37). Silverton is the top area team with 18.
Class 6A
Much has changed for Alex Ortiz since last year’s state meet.
The Newberg sophomore, who was crowned 2A state champ at Willamina in 2006, is the No. 1 seed at 145 pounds.
ew school, new weight division, similar success.
Ortiz won his first-round match against South Medford’s Ken Hyland with a third-round fall.
He wrestled up in weight at state last year to help the team after spending most of the year at 152. Willamina took third in the state.
“It’s kind of nice for me to wrestle someone my own size,” Ortiz said. “Last year in the (state) finals I had my guy on his back in the last round and my arms were so tired.”
Ortiz said he has not noticed a major difference in competition since transferring to a larger school.
“There’s good kids in every weight class you go,” Ortiz said. “You could go to every level here and I’ll bet you could find a couple Division I wrestlers. They’re everywhere.”
Ortiz said he elected to transfer because “there are slightly better opportunities than I had at Willamina.” He is unbeaten in high school competition, other than a one-time defeat because he did not make weight.
But Ortiz does not put added pressure on himself to win every match.
I’ve always had the attitude that if you work hard enough the winning will take care of itself,” he said.
West Linn is ranked No. 1 and sent 16 wrestlers to the state tournament, including. No. 1 seed Prescott Garner (119), who won his first-round match by fall.
Two-time state champion Austin Enoch of Redmond, the No. 1 seed at 140, also won his opening match by fall.
West Linn led after the first day with 59 points. Redmond was second with 55Å’. North Salem is the top local team with 27.
Class 4A
Two-time state champion Josh Stalcup of Estacada, the top seed at 152, won by fall in his first match.
Sweet Home had 57 points to lead the team standings. Top-ranked Tillamook, behind No. 1 seeds Dustin Woosley (112) and Jared Owens (285), was second at 52.5.
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