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A little Vision Quest Pride:

Swartz, Auburn maul AR
2006-01-19
by Erick Walker
Journal Reporter

AUBURN -- The 100-club just got a little bigger on the Auburn High wrestling mat.

Buoyed by another standout performance from 171-pound senior Kurt Swartz, the Trojans throttled cross-town rival Auburn Riverside in a South Puget Sound League dual meet Wednesday night, 41-24.

Swartz, who bumped up to 189 pounds to compete against Auburn Riverside's Kyle Jones, won again in dominating fashion. He picked apart Jones, 11-1, to improve to 100-18 in his high school career.

And, in his typical low-key manner, Swartz shrugged off the big win afterward.

``I didn't even know it was my 100th win until tonight when (the announcer) read the bio thing about me,'' said Swartz, who won the 140-pound state title last year and improved to 22-0 for the season. ``I thought it was cool.''

Auburn improved to 6-0 with the win and is in the driver's seat to snag its second straight SPSL North crown. Auburn still has three North Division dual meets remaining, including tonight's showdown against powerhouse Enumclaw (5-2). Auburn Riverside, which came in with its best chance in years to upset the Trojans, falls to 6-1 and remains in second place.

The win played out like a big brother, little brother scuffle. Beginning at 130 pounds, the Trojans took an immediate 6-0 lead behind a pin from Bryan Oreskovich.

Auburn Riverside star Michael Mangrum, who typically competes at 125, then tied the meet 6-6 at 135 pounds with a 1-minute, 11-second pin of Auburn's Michael Karpstein. The win set the stage for the match of the night at 140 pounds, where Auburn Riverside sophomore Eric Jones upended Auburn's Jake Swartz, 4-3, in double overtime.

Both wrestlers moved up a weight class for the match.

It was a key win, Jones conceded.

``I think he's staying at 135 (pounds) and I'll be staying at 135, so that win should give me the No. 1 seed (at the league tournament) and that always helps,'' said Jones, who split a pair of matches with Swartz earlier in the season.

Auburn then rattled off seven straight wins, building an insurmountable 37-9 advantage with just five bouts remaining.

``We can't seem to get them,'' Jones added. `` They seem to keep whoopin' us every time.''

Auburn Riverside hasn't beaten Auburn since 1999.

And after the loss at 140, it was complete domination by the Trojans.

Joe Johnson worked a 12-9 decision over Doug Frerichs at 145 pounds to tie the meet, 9-9. Then Auburn's Tyler Roshau, who has battled through a back injury much of the season, pinned Auburn Riverside's Dan Finn in 1:22. Roshau pinned Finn with his legs wrapped around Finn's head in a figure-four, a move that's become common in several of Roshau's victories.

Roshau missed nearly four weeks earlier this season with a pair of small fractures in his lower back.

``It feels all right now,'' said Roshau, who took second at state last year and improved to 96-23 for his prep career. ``People (with this injury) are usually only out three weeks. So I feel 100 percent now.''

Auburn also wrestled without 160-pound standout Shane Onufer, who missed the meet with a strained lower back. Sophomore Garrett Rutledge took his place and didn't miss a beat, pinning Auburn Riverside's Adam Jones in 23 seconds, pushing Auburn's lead to 21-9.

``To have all the injuries we have and to come out and perform the way they did, I am really proud of the guys,'' Auburn coach Brian Peterson said. ``When we went down to (the Rocky Mountain Rumble in) Utah last weekend, we had to pull (Roshau and Onufer) out of the tournament because we were thinking long term.

``We thought we had enough fire power (against Auburn Riverside) and we did. But the goal is the state tournament and when we get there, we'll be 100 percent.''

Auburn's Ed Conner (171 pounds), Kurt Swartz (189), James Jensen (189) and Gaston Shelton put the match out of reach with four more wins.

``We actually kind of dominated,'' Roshau said. ``(Winning the league title) is probably one of our most important goals next to winning state.''

 
Journal Reporter Erick Walker can be reached at 253-872-6640 or erick.walker@kcjn.com

Karen Henry
King County Journal
600 Washington Ave. S
Kent, WA 98032-5707
253-872-6734
Fax: 253-854-1006