By MICHAEL LYCKLAMA mlycklama@idahopress.com © 2013 Idaho Press-Tribune | Posted 3 days ago
NAMPA — Centennial’s Logan Blackwood knows all about the heartbreak of finishing second at a major tournament.
The Patriots’ senior took second at last year’s Rollie Lane Invitational, second at last year’s 5A state tournament and second two weeks ago at the Reno Tournament of Champions in Nevada.
But Blackwood finally broke through Saturday, winning the 220-pound title at the 14th annual Rollie Lane Invitational.
“It feels way better than second,” Blackwood joked after the match Saturday.
Blackwood needed to hang on for a 5-4 victory against Borah’s Eric Thrift. He scored two points when he escaped the mat and earned an extra point when Thrift was penalized for grabbing Blackwood’s singlet with 1:12 left.
The drama continued into the final seconds when Thrift, needing a takedown to win, shot Blackwood’s legs and dropped Blackwood to the mat. But Blackwood earned a standing reset when he squirmed out of bounds with one second left in the match, finally claiming his first major tournament victory.
It likely won’t be his last. Blackwood has plenty of experience wrestling in the finals of a major tournament. After finally scoring a win Saturday, he said that will help his confidence in the future.
Centennial coach Collin Robertson said Blackwood didn’t do anything different leading up to Rollie Lane. He just caught some tough competition in the past year, and his hard work finally paid off Saturday.
“He’s wrestled some really tough wrestlers,” Robertson said. “The heavyweight guys are different these days. They’re athletic, they’re strong and they’re really quick. It’s really competitive, and he’s faced some really competitive opponents in those championships.”
COBB AVENGES LONE LOSS OF 2013: Kuna’s Casey Cobb finished last season with just one loss on his resume — a 1-0 defeat in the finals of Rollie Lane.
But Cobb avenged that loss with a 12-1 major decision over Nampa’s Mikel Perales in the finals of the 120-pound bracket, adding a second Rollie Lane title to Cobb’s mantle.
He previously won the 98-pound title in 2012.
With last year’s disappointment erased, the verbal commit to the Naval Academy and two-time state champ can now turn his focus to his next goal — an undefeated season.
“I just got to keep practicing with a chip on my shoulder,” Cobb said. “I can’t give in to anything yet. I still got to prove I’m the best.”
TUMA BACK ON TOP: Centennial’s Hayden Tuma reclaimed the top spot on the Rollie Lane podium. And he did it by winning the tournament’s most prestigious match of the day.
Tuma, a three-time 5A state champ and University of Nebraska signee, squared off against Columbia’s Tristian Jarboe, a three-time 4A state champ. And Tuma scored a 12-4 major decision in a chippy match that officials had to stop with seven seconds remaining to pull both wrestlers back under control.
Tuma won a Rollie Lane title as a freshman, finished second as a sophomore and had to sit out last year’s tournament with the flu and a knee injury. But coming back and topping another three-time state champ provided a memorable moment for the senior.
“I heard during the match that combined we have six state championships,” Tuma said. “I wanted to just got out there and prove I was a superior wrestler to him.”
ANOTHER OREGON TEAM CROWNED: Crook County High of Prineville, Ore., added another Rollie Lane title for Oregon, placing first with 106 points, 12 ahead of Kuna and 26 ahead of Centennial.
Hermiston won the 2013 and ‘11 titles, and an Idaho squad has not claimed the Rollie Lane team title since Columbia won back-to-back titles in 2009 and 2010.
Crook County only claimed one individual champion – Tyler Berger at 152 pounds – but the Cowboys also earned 11 placers, including one second-place finish, three third-place finishes, five fourth-place finishes and two fifth-place finishes.
Crook County High is located 35 miles northeast of Bend, Ore.
REPEAT CHAMPS: Five Rollie Lane champions from 2013 returned and four earned repeat titles Saturday.
Kuna’s Michael Cook claimed his fourth straight title, making him just the second wrestler to do so in Rollie Lane history. Gooding’s Cole McGinnis, a Division I football recruit, pinned every opponent he faced in the tournament bracket on his way to repeat at 285 pounds. Post Falls’ Drake Foster won the 120-pound title last year and claimed the 126-pound title this year. And Berger added a 152-pound title to his 138-pound title in 2013 and won the most outstanding wrestling award for heavyweights.
Like Tuma, Berger has also signed with Nebraska.
Cole Verner of Green River, Wyo., was the only defending champ to fail to repeat. He won the 106-pound tournament last year and finished fourth at 113 this year.
MOST TEAMS AT ROLLIE: Rollie Lane hosted 51 teams this year, a record for the 14-year tournament.
The Idaho Center hosted teams from six states — Idaho, Oregon, Washington, Nevada, Wyoming and its first team from Alaska.
