SALEM, Ore.–  Saturday morning rang out across the McKay High School campus with the Herrin Holiday Classic that saw schools like Yamhill-Carlton, Dallas and Forest Grove to name a few taking part in the tournament at the Home of the Royal Scots.

For McKay Head Coach Troy Thomas, it’s a nice change of pace to allow the community of Northeast Salem to come out and watch some good wrestling.

“It’s beneficial to the wrestlers because it’s a competition time,” said Thomas.  “But to the community because a lot of our kids don’t travel very well.  They don’t have cars, their parents don’t have access to rides.  So here, they can walk down the street, walk in and watch some good wrestling.

“It’s easier for parents to come to this school then to load up, get all the kids into the car and take them up to Portland or down to Eugene.  Having it here shows that we have the potential to host tournaments like this.”

Thomas mentions how important it is to honor the former Scots Head Coach, Rick Herrin, with this tournament.

“I believe you have to honor people that put you in the position in where you are at,” said Thomas.  “We wouldn’t be in a position to win if it wasn’t for the things that Rick Herrin did.

“So we’re trying to compliment him on those things by going out and working hard and bringing home some W’s.”

For Jamie Lara, the 132-pound wrestler for McKay, he said it was nice to actually compete in familiar territory by hosting the tourney.

“It feels great,” he said.  “We have the whole gym to ourselves.  We have all our mats out.  It’s the Herrin Classic, it’s our tournament.  It’s just us, brining in the wrestling community.”

In the second round of the consolation round, Lara pinned his opponent in a matter of seconds after the start of the match.

“I didn’t expect a quick pin but I planned it you know.  I wanted to end the match quick and get after it in consolations.

“My last match, I didn’t do so well.  My goal (now) is to get third and I plan to make my match quick.”

Lara finished sixth in the bracket at 132.

Manny Miranda found himself advancing through the 152 consolation bracket behind an 8-3 decision over Centennial on Mat 3.

Miranda described the turn around as help from Troy Thomas and working on technique.

“I started off slow in my first match, I wrestled a tough guy but I just got to work on my technique,” said Miranda.  “In the second match I felt more comfortable because of my coach, Troy, in my corner.

Miranda finished sixth in his bracket as well.

Shane Tennis placed third at 126 with a fall over Gay Nay Say of Centennial.  At 160, David Rubio finished fourth and Bryce Clifton finished sixth in the weight class.

Andy Rubio finished third at 170 with a 9-6 decision.  Andy Dryden lost a tough 6-0 decision to Clay Coxen of Dallas to finish second at 182 pounds.

At heavyweight, Salvador Calmargo finished a close second after a 5-3 decision to first-place winner Dalton Holmes (Reynolds) and McKay’s Isaiah Garcia finished fourth.

Overall, the Scots finished fifth of eight teams with 157.06 points in the Herrin Hoilday Classic with Dallas winning the tournament with 395.04 team points.

TEAM POINTS

1. DALLAS                                      395.04
2. FOREST GROVE                        275.05
3. REYNOLDS                                 217.07
4. BEAVERTON                               197.02
5. MCKAY                                        157.06
6. CENTENNIAL                            140.00
7. YAMHILL-CARLTON                 98.00
8. UNION (VANCOVER, WASH.) 81.08

Jeremy McDonald is a professional sports journalist in the Salem/Portland area and is a member of the Society of Professional Journalist in Oregon with B.S. degrees from Southern Oregon University in Journalism (2011) and Health/PE (2013).  Got a story idea? Email him at jeremymcdonald73@gmail.com or on Twitter at @J_McDonald81!

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