Oregon’s equivalant of the powerhouse Lake Stevens wrestling team may very well be Roseburg.
Tonight the two schools face off in an interstate rivalry.
Roseburg, the 6A defending state champ and No. 1-ranked team in Oregon, visits Lake Stevens High School for a match at 8 p.m. tonight. Orting, the No. 1-ranked 2A school from Washington, faces Oregon powerhouse Culver, ranked No. 1 in 2A, in the first match of the night at 6 p.m.
“We’re hoping to have a really good atmosphere for what should be a great couple of matches,” said Lake Stevens head coach Brent Barnes.
Lake Stevens is 4-0 and ranked No. 3 in the most recent Washington Wrestling Report rankings.
Last year the Vikings traveled the 8 hours to Roseburg and then jumped up on the hosts 22-0 early in the match. But Roseburg stormed back in the upper weights and beat the Vikings. This year Lake Stevens looks to avenge the loss.
“We embrace competition,” Barnes said of the Vikings, who will also be trying to keep alive its 17-year home winning streak. “(Roseburg) could come in and beat us but in the end we’d learn something. It gives us more opportunity for those teachable moments.”
Barnes also said some younger wrestlers from Roseburg and Lake Stevens will square off at 4 p.m.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.