Cougars Pound Pacers in Another Shorthanded Dual

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The Canby Cougar wrestling team continued their stretch of Three Rivers League dual meets when they faced off against the Lakeridge Pacers Wednesday. In a match that was nearly a carbon copy of the previous week’s showdown with Lake Oswego, the Cougars downed the Pacers 75-6 in dominant fashion.

After Lake Oswego could dress only six wrestlers due to Covid protocols the week before, Canby faced just five last week. Nine Cougars won by forfeit, meaning that most of the Canby boys have not seen real competition since the McMinnville Tournament on January 8 — which itself was the first action the team had seen in nearly a month.

Of the five Cougars that competed, four left victorious. Benjamin Young (138), Zach Netter (145) and James Keinonen (150) all won by fall. Meanwhile, Craig Williams (125) defeated Lakeridge’s Ian Healy by a 10-5 decision in the only match of the day that did not end with a pin.

Josuel Kornachuk (120) was the lone Pacer to claim victory on Wednesday, pinning Canby’s Austin Matthews 5:43 into their matchup. His win would be the Pacers’ only points of the night. Once again, the Cougar depth proved to be too much for a league foe.

The Cougars will have one dual meet and one tournament next week, facing another TRL opponent in Oregon City on Thursday. Then on Saturday, the Cougars travel to Wilsonville to take part in the Colton Holly Memorial Invitational, one of the marquee tourneys of the year.

The Invitational will feature Newberg, Barlow, Tigard, and promises to be one of the tougher matchups of the year for coach Jeremy Ensrud and his squad.

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