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Back on top: Kuenzi claims second state title

James DaySilverton High standout junior wrestler Kaden Kuenzi took an undefeated record into the state tournament. And left the Class 5A event still undefeated.

Kuenzi won his second state title in three years Saturday at the Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Portland, taking out Haydn Millard of Dallas 10-3 in the 120-pound final.

Kuenzi also won a state title as a freshman, while finishing second a year ago. Kuenzi scored pins in less than a minute in his first two matches at state before pinning Hunter Harwood of Thurston 3:22 into their semifinal match.

Kuenzi then outscored Millard in the finals. Kuenzi also had defeated Millard 14-6 in the Mid-Willamette Conference district meet.

A Mid-Willamette Conference matchup in a final was fitting given how the league dominated the meet. Silverton finished ninth with 88 points, and four MWC teams finished ahead of the Foxes. Crescent Valley took first, Dallas third, Lebanon sixth and North Salem eighth.

Also scoring for the Foxes were junior Robert Guenther, who finished third at 138 pounds, junior Nathan Kuenzi (third at 170), sophomore Owen Magill, who advanced to the semifinals at 195, freshman Jacob Moore, who had a 1-2 mark at 106 and 220-pounder Ben Reed, who also went 1-2.

Earlier the Foxes finished fifth at the Feb. 8-9 district meet behind Dallas, Lebanon, host Crescent Valley and West Albany. Kaden Kuenzi and Magill won district titles, with Guenther and Nathan Kuenzi taking second and Moore third.

Also scoring at districts for Silverton were Eli Kemble (126), Austin Moore (132), Arte Barsukoff (145), Gerardo Cortes Cruz (160), Josten Richardson (182), Augustus Axmaker (182) and 220-pounders Uriel Cruz and Reed.

From left, Marie Tolmachoff, Maddie Broyhill, Maggie Kelley and Samantha Zurcher, are shown after leading the Silverton girls squad to sixth place at the Class 5A state swim meet Feb. 16 in Beaverton. Submitted photo

Swimming: It was an historic state swim meet for Silverton. The girls squad finished with 25 points, good for sixth place, the highest finish in school history.

“We had four girls get an individual medal,” coach Lucky Rogers told Our Town. “The last time a girl got an individual medal was 1998. Only three teams had all three girls relays medal at state and we were one of them. We also sent all three boys relay teams to state for the first time.

“I am very proud of our kids and what they accomplished through a lot of hard work.”

Here are the highlights from the Feb 15-16 Class 5A competition at the Tualatin Hills Aquatic Center:

• Silverton junior Marie Tolmachoff twice set school records in the 100 breast and finished second in the event. Tolmachoff set a school record of 1:09.18 in finishing second at the district meet but swam 1:07.78 in the state prelims and came back with a 1:07.67 in the final, where she touched the wall second behind Abby Maoz of Wilsonville.

• Tolmachoff also finished fourth in the 50 free in 25.68 and swam on 200 free relay and 200 medley relay teams that finished third and fifth, respectively. Tolmachoff was joined on the 200 free relay squad by Maggie Kelley, Hailey Kelley and Maddie Broyhill. The quartet swam 1:43.51. Also on the 200 medley relay squad were Samantha Zurcher, Maggie Kelley and Broyhill. The team swam 1:54.48.

• Also scoring individually for the girls were Maggie Kelley (6th. 100 free, 57.27), Broyhill (6th, 50 free, 26.18) and Zurcher (6th, 100 back, in 1:04.10, breaking a school record that dated to 1995). In addition, the 400 free relay squad of Maggie Kelley, Hailey Kelley, Broyhill and Zurcher took sixth in 3:54.01.

• The Silverton boys team was 10th overall with 8 points, led by the third-place 200 free relay squad of Cole Runion, Carson Brighton, Blake Doerfler and, David Reeves III, which swam a school record 1:31.95, breaking the 1:32.75 mark set by the same four swimmers at the district meet.

Hoops: The Kennedy High basketball teams are back in Pendleton. The girls, who won the Class 2A title a year ago, are seeded No. 1 and took on Central Linn on Feb. 28 in the quarterfinals after Our Town’s presstime. The Trojans, 26-1 overall, advanced to Pendleton with a 68-17 win Feb. 23 vs. Lakeview.

The No. 9 boys, who finished a year ago, advanced with a 56-38 win at Heppner. The Trojans faced No. 1 and defending champion Columbia Christian in the quarterfinals after presstime,

Silverton, meanwhile, has both of its squads in the playoffs as well. The boys finished 15-1 in the Mid-Willamette Conference, winning the title for the second consecutive year. The Foxes, who lost only to Corvallis in January, turned the tables on the Spartans in a 65-50 win Feb. 12 at Silverton. The Foxes take the No. 3 ranking into the playoffs and will host a game March 1.

The girls finished 14-2 in the MWC, one game behind Lebanon and are ranked No. 4 heading into their March 2 playoff game against a team to be determined. The Foxes closed the regular season with a 55-45 win against Crescent Valley, sending the lone senior on the roster,
Jori Paradis, off to the playoffs in a raucous celebration.

Signings: Two more Silverton High athletes have made decisions about their college destinations.

Max Linn, a standout forward on the Foxes’ boys soccer squad, will attend Corban University, while cross country and track and field athlete Haile Stutzman is bound for Huntington University in Indiana.

Linn was a Class 5A all-state player as well as first-team all-Mid-Willamette Conference. He broke school records for goals in a game (four) and a season (17) while helping lead the Foxes to an 11-3-1 record. Silverton advanced to the Class 5A quarterfinals before falling to league rival South Albany. Linn will be joining a high-powered program at Corban. The Warriors were 15-4-1 last fall, 11-1-1 in the Cascade Collegiate Conference and played in the NAIA national tournament.

Stutzman was the 2018 Mid-Willamette Conference district champion in cross country, helping the Foxes take the district title. He moved on to finish sixth at state. Last spring in track and field he finished ninth in the 1,500 and fifth in the 3,000 at Class 5A meet. He set a school record of 8:43.79 in that 3,000 race.

Huntington also is an NAIA school. The Foresters play in the Mid-Central College Conference and also are affiliated with the National Christian College Athletic Association.

Colton Meyer: The former Silverton High athlete has signed a contract with the Corvallis Knights to play summer baseball. Meyer was a three-sport athlete with the Foxes. The former all-state and all-Mid-Willamette Conference pitcher currently is competing for Linfield College. The Knights open their season May 29.

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