Dallas’ Joseph Foster, top, and Central’s Manuel Martinez compete in the 120 pound weight class during a wrestling meet at Lebanon High School in Lebanon, Ore., on Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2015.
LEBANON – Tanner Earhart figures he’s automatically doing better this year.
At this point last season, the Dallas High School junior was sitting out with a concussion so just to be wrestling right now is a good thing.
Earhart continued his solid season by pinning Central’s John Lippsmeyer in 3:51 as part of the No. 4 Dallas commanding 63-15 win against the No. 9-ranked Panthers in a dual meet Wednesday at Lebanon High School.
“But I feel like right now I learned that if I push the pace on someone that I can open up a lot more opportunities to score, and I’m really working on that in practice, just pushing the pace when I’m tired and getting some better lines in matches,” Earhart said.
Dallas’ sweep of Lebanon, Central and Corvallis confirms the Dragons are the favorite to win the Mid-Willamette Conference for a seventh year in a row.
“Right now I think we’re still a little bit rusty because we don’t have all our guys at their weights for state, but I feel like when we get to state we can to take a state championship,” said Jeffy Dunagan, who won his match at 170 by a pin in 25 seconds.
Dallas’ Sammy Chung, top, and Central’s Caedman Whisenhunt compete in the 132 pound weight class during a wrestling meet at Lebanon High School in Lebanon, Ore., on Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2015.
Also scoring pins against Central for Dallas were Dawson Barcroft (106), Jacob Jones (113), Joseph Foster (120), Jesse Stuhr (126), Sammy Chung (132), Noel Reyes (145) and Clay Coxen (182).
In the closest match of the night, Central senior Collin Swinehart, who is ranked No. 1 in the state, defeated Dallas’ Cody Janssen, who is ranked No. 9, by a 4-0 decision.
“We got a state runner-up there and Cody placed in state last year so that was probably, in the dual, that was the one that we were kind of focused on,” Dallas coach Tony Olliff said. “Getting that first takedown was a huge deal.
“Swinehart’s a tough rider, he doesn’t give up points, he doesn’t give them away, you got to earn them. It’s one of those deals that you can keep it close, but can you grab the win. We got a month to figure that out. Swinehart’s tough.”
Dallas has a couple clusters of strong wrestlers in its lineup, none more than in the 160- to 170-pound weight range.
Between Earhart, Treve Earhart and Dunagan, there are times in practices that the majority of the coaching staff will stop what they’re doing and watch them go at it.
The competition between the Earhart brothers is especially close.
“As the older brother I can’t lose to the younger brother,” Tanner Earhart said. “It’s awesome wrestling him, having him there because he can always push me really hard because he does beat me sometimes, and it really does, it eats at me. It motivates me to get better and not let my younger brother beat me.”
Tanner Earhart has learned to diversify his attacks, and that has paid off against some tough competition this year.
“Tanner probably the most exciting, he’s a 4-point student, he obeys every rule,” Olliff said. “If you ever have him in class, he’s quiet as a mouse, he never misses a point, but for six minutes he gets to be a complete jerk, and he takes full advantage of that.
“You just see all this stuff that in the regular world he can’t be and do, and you just get to see it ooze out of him.”
bpoehler@StatesmanJournal.com, (503) 399-6701 or Twitter.com/bpoehler
Dallas 63, Central 15
At Lebanon
106- Barcroft (D) p. Martinez 1:55; 113- Jones (D) p. Arciniega 1:03; 120- Foster (D) p. Martinez 3:25; 126- Stuhr (D) p. Martinez 1:40; 132- Chung (D) p. Whisenhunt 4:56; 138- English (D) by fft; 145- Reyes (D) p. Vargas 1:42; 152- Swinehart (C) d. Janssen 4-0; 160- Earhart (D) p. Lippsmeyer 3:51; 170- Dunagan (D) p. Stepp :25; 180- Coxen (D) p. Chadwick :34; 190- Crow (C) p. Colipano 2:38; 220- Molina d. Tuipulotu 7-2; 285- Sedlaeck (C) p. Kiggins 1:02.
Dallas’ Jacob Jones, top, and Central’s Michael Arciniega compete in the 113 pound weight class during a wrestling meet at Lebanon High School in Lebanon, Ore., on Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2015.