Sprague wrestlers Evan Spragg, left, Michael Murphy and Daniel McClung during practice Thursday, Jan. 28, 2016, in Salem, Ore.
Sprague wrestlers Evan Spragg, left, Michael Murphy and Daniel McClung during practice Thursday, Jan. 28, 2016, in Salem, Ore.
The senior night festivities at Sprague High School’s final home dual meet of the season last week against West Salem were short.
That’s because the youth movement on the team has made the Olympians one of the top teams in the state again.
With a roster made up of over 23 freshmen – highlighted by No. 2-ranked Daniel McClung – and a large group of sophomores – including No. 4-ranked Michael Murphy – the Olympians are 6-0 in Greater Valley Conference dual meets and ranked No. 10 in the state.
“They’ve made a huge impact,” junior Evan Spragg said. “Michael Murphy and Danny McClung are hard workers, and we are partners. We push each other to the max, and I think that’s a big contributor to their success.
“We have a really young team, and it’s nice having the numbers because of diversity among your partners.”
The common thread among the underclassmen who are having success is that they wrestled with the Salem Elite Wrestling Club.
They all did well at the youth levels and that connection binds the young group.
“I mean yeah, it’s cool that we’ve all wrestled together before, but it’s also cool that we’re all in the same room now, practicing at the same time every single day,” McClung said.
Even in the upperclassmen, there are some relatively inexperienced wrestlers in juniors Dane McKinney, Nathan Rediger and Seth Rediger.
All three are relative newcomers to wrestling with McKinney in his second year of wrestling and the Rediger twins are in their third year.
Nathan Rediger is ranked No. 13 in the state.
“There’s a variety to our youth and how you would define that,” first-year coach Nolan Harris said. “There’s no mistaking whether it’s by grade or by experience we’re pretty young and people saw it coming in and I think that’s how some people are looking at it.”
While Sprague’s two seniors – No. 10-ranked heavyweight Jacob Nelson and No. 12-ranked Justin Vasquez-Ellis – are among the best in the state, it’s the underclassmen who have brought excitement to the team.
Beyond the quantity of underclassmen, what makes the group exciting is what they’ve already accomplished.
McClung placed second at the Reser’s Tournament of Champions and Murphy was fourth.
“Having coach Harris as the freshman football coach got a whole bunch of those freshman come out,” said freshman Landon Davis. “That’s pretty exciting to have 30 freshmen in the room.”
Sprague’s two star freshmen – Murphy and McClung – have become standouts in different ways.
McClung is a year-round wrestler who puts his focus on wrestling.
He was a standout at all the youth levels and emerged as soon as he came into high school and is 30-6 this season with 18 pins.
Even his loss in the finals at Reser’s was a motivator.
“Success and defeat both drive you to work harder,” McClung said. “Losing every once in a while pushes me to work harder, but success also keeps that drive alive and makes me want to work even harder.”
Murphy is a three-sport athlete who has made an immediate impact.
Beyond being a varsity wrestler and baseball starter as a freshman, he made a big impact in football in the fall.
Murphy is 29-8 with 15 pins.
“I looked up to Sprague wrestling,” Murphy said. “It’s always been at the top of its league. I want to keep that tradition going.
“And I know that our coaches are working us hard enough to keep that going where I think that we’ve got a really tough room right now and we’re working hard. I think we’re working the hardest.”
Where Sprague’s district champion team of last year was led by the upperclassmen, this team’s success at the higher levels of the state will be dependent on the underclassmen.
“I don’t need to wait my turn to be a senior to do something good, and that’s what I think a lot of the kids in the room are realizing that we can all contribute even though we might not have as much experience as some of the juniors and seniors from other schools,” Davis said.
bpoehler@StatesmanJournal.com, (503) 399-6701 or Twitter.com/bpoehler