By Jeremy McDonald

jeremymcdonald73@gmail.com

DAYTON, Ore.–  Sprague senior  Avidan Brennan is making the most of his last ride as a Olympian grappler, starting wrestling as a freshman the Olympian senior is just out here looking to have some fun and enjoying the moment as he faced some tough 2A-4A Varsity talent at the Dayton Invitational Saturday.  Going up against talent from Columbia River of Washington, Newport and 2A power Kennedy in the process to reach the Dayton Invitational finals at 152 pounds, gathering the reps to hopefully help the Sprague Varsity squad when his name is called at some point this season.  

Reflecting too on his time in the Orange and Black as this season is underway for Brennan.

“I’m just going out there, trying to have a little bit of fun and mostly out here for the win.  My last year I got to make it count,” Brennan said following his semi-final win over Kennedy’s Zach Talbot.  “It’s been hard sometimes, but that’s how you get better.  It’s been a lot more challenging, but I feel like I wouldn’t have been as good as I am today if I didn’t challenge myself against tougher guys. It helps me get Varsity matches out here.

“It really challenged my gas tank.  I won my first two matches, went all six minutes into the third round and it really challenged my gas tank.”

Varsity matches are Varsity matches though for Brennan.  It’s preparing him for what is ahead as Sprague is looking for another District Title this Winter with the new Central Valley Conference this season with the Bend school departing for 5A and the Intermountain Conference over the hill.  Technique will be huge for Brennan moving forward.  A funky move here or there helped him against Talbot, but he knows he’ll need to be more sound coming down the stretch of the season to make a run at it.

“I can improve in multiple ways,” Brennan starts.  “I’ll try not to do crazy stuff like what I just did, but that’s where you stick to the good sutff that you know and keep my mind in the right spot.  Not self-doubting and having confidence in myself with my shots.”

Brennan would finish Runner-Up in the 152-pound bracket Saturday, joining Jaxon Camillo (145), Ethan Barth (220) to finish Runner-Up in their respective weight classes Saturday.    Jacob Bate was third at 106 pounds, Adrian Truelove was fourth at 120 pounds.  Bradley Johnson and Miguel Perez went third and fourth at 138 pounds as the Sprague JV/Novice team finished third at the Dayton Invitational.  

Photos By Jeremy McDonald