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After three weeks of coasting through Three Rivers League dual meets, the Cougars met their toughest challenge of the year in the Colton Holly Memorial Invitational in Wilsonville.
Facing perennial state contender Newberg and other stalwarts Saturday, the deep and experienced Cougars fought their way to an impressive second-place finish.
But first, Canby had one more TRL foe in a road dual against Oregon City Thursday. The Cougars made quick work of their opponents, taking down the Pioneers 59-15.
Matthew Young (106), Brady Froyd (113), Ty Ewers (126), Benjamin Young (132), Zach Netter (145), James Keinonen (152), Ethan Ensrud (160), Jackson Doman (170) and Wyatt Samarin (182) all won by fall for the Cougars on the day. After weeks full of forfeits and thin teams, only Matthew Hagen (220) did not face an opponent.
The match served as a tune-up for the Cougars as they prepped for the prestigious Colton Holly Memorial. The memorial featured host Wilsonville, as well as Century, Grant, Newberg, Pendleton and Tigard.
For the tournament, the Cougars faced each team, defeating all but Newberg. Canby started out with a dominant 62-15 win over Barlow before taking down Pendleton 54-27. Their biggest matchup would be against Newberg, where the perennial powerhouse Tigers managed to eke out the victory, 38-36.
Matthew Young, Froyd, Benjamin Young, Ensrud, Colin Vian, and Samerian earned wins against Newberg, but the Tigers took eight matches to the Cougars’ six, and that proved decisive in the match.
Canby followed the close loss, their first of the year, by narrowly defeating Century, 40-33. They concluded the night with a 54-27 win over Grant to secure a second-place finish in the tournament.
For Canby, Matthew Young won all of his matches that he entered in on the day, as did Ensrud. Meanwhile, Newberg cruised through all opponents other than Canby; their next closest matchup was a 57-21 win over Pendleton. Century, who faced Newberg in the first-place match, tied Canby as the day’s co-runners-up.
The tournament proved that the Canby can hang with anyone in the state. While Roseburg has historically been the most dominant team in the state, Newberg is the reigning and still-defending champs from the last statewide tournament held in 2020.
The Tigers also have a 2009 championship under their belt. Saturday’s tourney is a great litmus test to see how Canby stacks up against the best of the best.
The Cougars will return to TRL action next week with a home matchup against West Linn Thursday. Canby will follow up that dual meet with the two-day Bill Geister Tournament at Clackamas High School. The tourney is scheduled to begin at 4 p.m.