Sports: Local hoopers and wrestlers take to the courts

By PAUL MATLI

The Astorian

The Astoria boys basketball team was looking for a bounce back, Warrenton and Knappa teams were both set for a busy week, while Seaside teams prepared for their annual tournament. 

On the mat, Astoria wrestlers took on Ilwaco, Clatskanie and Tillamook.

 

Basketball: Astoria boys win a thriller

After suffering their first loss of the season to The Dalles last Saturday, Astoria returned to the court for a Tuesday game against Gladstone.

The Fishermen and Gladiators could not have played a closer game as both teams went back and forth in an epic contest. Astoria prevailed by just one point to make it 55-54 to move their record to 4-1 on the year. Despite the Gladiators having just a 1-5 record, they have been a tough out for two other Cowapa League teams this year. 

Both St. Helens teams beat the Gladiators by eight points each on the road, so the Fishermen will take a quality win however they arrive.

 

Warrenton boys split the difference

This week was an even split for the Warrenton boys basketball team.

After defeating 2A Faith Bible/Life Christian on Monday by a score of 64-53, the Warriors got handled easily by a quality Ilwaco team 75-48. The loss ended Warrenton’s four-game losing streak and dropped their record to 4-2. 

The Warriors are set to take on Horizon Christian, Tualatin on the road next Monday, then will play in the Astoria Vince Dulcich Tournament starting on Sunday Dec., 28.

 

Knappa win streak snapped

The Knappa boys basketball team saw their four-game winning streak snapped at the hands of Neah-Kah-Nie on Tuesday night.

The talented Pirates squad defeated the Loggers by a score of 67-42. Knappa dropped to 4-2 after the loss and currently are ranked No. 17 in the 2A division.

The Loggers are set to return home next Tuesday for a game against Country Christian before heading out on the road to Pendleton for a three-day tournament.

 

The Seaside girls basketball team falls to Stayton

The Stayton girls basketball team showed their dominance once more in a 66-44 victory over Seaside on Monday.

The ultra difficult nonleague schedule continued for the Seagulls as they traveled to Stayton. The Eagles are returning much of the same team from last season and so far look on track to repeat as 4A state champions.

With losses to both Baker and Stayton, the Seagulls are getting an opportunity to test themselves against the best 4A has to offer. The girls will be without senior guard Mya Feeney indefinitely due to her suffering an injury recently. This means talented freshman guard Jahzara Marshall will be thrown straight into the fire. Marshall showed no signs of freshman nerves as she lit up Madras in the first half on Thursday evening. She scored 15 of her 18 total points in the first half and had multiple three-pointers.

After their Thursday night victory over Madras to start the Seaside Holiday Classic, the Seagulls will be playing either league rival St. Helens or Baker on Saturday. This will be a great way for the Seagulls to end their annual tournament.

 

The Warrenton girls basketball team takes a split

The Warrenton girls team followed a similar script to their male counterparts.

After the boys won their first game and lost their second, the girls did the reverse. The Lady Warriors lost on Monday to Faith Bible/ Life Christian and then defeated Ilwaco 56-30 on Thursday evening. Thursday’s victory meant that Warrenton have already doubled their win total from last season as they are now 2-3, after winning just one game all of last season.

They are also set to travel to Horizon Christian/Tualatin for a road game, before heading to Astoria for the Vince Dulcich Tournament.

 

The Knappa girls lose another close one

The good thing is the Knappa girls have been in it every game; the bad news is that so far, they seem to have come out on the short end of all of them.

After playing a competitive first half against a talented Valley Catholic team, the Loggers last four games have been decided by a total of 10 points. Unfortunately, the Loggers are winless in all four.

The girls played 3A Neah-Kah-Nie very competitively but ended up falling 38-35. This sent the girls’ record to 1-4, after their lone win against Santiam.

The Knappa girls are set for one more home game against Country Christian before they travel to Pendleton for two state playoff rematches with Heppner and Weston-McEwen. The Loggers defeated Heppner in the round of 16 a year ago, then lost a tough game to Weston McEwen in the round of eight tournament.

 

Wrestling: Astoria boy wrestlers get edged out by Tillamook

Astoria finished second place out of four during Wednesday’s four-way wrestling meet.

The four-way meet meant that each team in attendance were going to wrestle each other once. Tillamook and Astoria wrestled in round one. Round two consisted of Astoria wrestling Ilwaco and in round three, the Fishermen wrestled Clatskanie.

In the end, this was a Cowapa League battle as Tillamook outlasted Astoria to take home the victory. The Cheesemakers score of a 48-30 point victory over Astoria in round one proved decisive, as they finished 3-0 to the Fishermen’s 2-1 overall record.