Sweet Home, Alsea wrestling teams thrive despite smaller numbers

By Patrick Gurczynski

Mid-Valley Sunday

PORTLAND - When Curt Chilcote and Scott France qualified for the state Class 2A/1A wrestling tournament last weekend in Jefferson, Alsea had done what most teams could only dream about: qualify two-thirds of its team.

Making it more spectacular was the fact that Alsea has only three wrestlers.

In Sweet Home, the Huskies were celebrating what was supposed to be a down year. After graduating 18 seniors, no one expected the team to finish in the top 15 at the Class 3A state tournament. After qualifying 19 for state a week before in Cascade, Sweet Home spent most of Saturday afternoon pleasantly sitting in fifth place.

Lebanon's John Von Ruden (189) and Monroe's Jake Howell (152) won individual titles Saturday night.

Scio's Earl Nollen (135), Central Linn's Travis Stutz (145) and Harrisburg's Robert Womack (160) lost in the finals.

Last year, the Alsea wrestling room was bustling with a whopping six kids. Not bad for a high school that has an enrollment of 74. Graduating seniors at Alsea can destroy a program, while at Sweet Home, it only gives some underclassmen their shot at stardom.

In what Sweet Home coach Steve Thorpe says is a "down year," the Huskies packed 32 athletes into the room, down from 48 a year ago. A year removed from graduating 18, they'll lose nine seniors from this year's team.

But the differences between Sweet Home and Alsea are more than just numbers. Budget cuts have many wrestling programs struggling to find the economic support they need.

At Alsea, head coach Jim France and assistant coach Curtis Chilcote were informed that all their services during the upcoming year would be as a volunteer. They just didn't have enough kids to justify a salary. Chilcote would later receive compensation for his work with the middle school program, which sports 12 kids.

While most schools spend their time fund-raising for the upcoming season, Alsea spent any fund-raising efforts trying to support this year's season. The team was constantly holding bottle drives and relying on community support just to keep the team afloat.

"We raised over $1,100 in bottle drives this season," Chilcote said. "The community does an amazing job of supporting us through donations, and just helping out when they could."

While no team is financially secure, the Huskies are a team built on tradition. Having already established a reputation as a perennial state power, athletes entering the Sweet Home program know what to expect. Wrestling is adopted by the working-class town because of the hard-nosed nature of the sport. The Huskies have established methods of fund-raising they are always able to rely on.

So when Sweet Home packs its gymnasium for a dual meet, it's not surprising, but for Alsea to draw half as many people as the basketball team, it's a shock.

"It can be hard on the kids, but they continue to work hard," France said. "That's our only way of repaying the community, is through our success."

One similarity between the two programs is the community support. In both communities, the parents involved with the program often go beyond the call of duty. In Alsea, the wives and daughters of both Chilcote and France can often be found taking stats, working the clock, and even managing the team's equipment.

In Sweet Home, the parents are so close, it almost seems as if they belong to a club.

"Our parents communicate with each other all the time," said Sweet Home's Ron Swanson, father of Andrew Swanson (125), who finished third. "We share ideas, buttons and root for each other's kids."

"Our mat club makes all the difference," said Tim Carr, father of Robert Carr (145) who finished fifth. "A lot of the parents are up in the room coaching and helping out whenever they can."

With the conclusion of the state tournament Saturday night, both Sweet Home and Alsea left Memorial Coliseum in good spirits. While Alsea dreams of the success Sweet Home has achieved, even they realize they can't turn around a program overnight.

"As long as there are kids, we'll have a program at Alsea," France said.

So with Curt, a sophomore placing fifth at 160, and Scott, a junior placing sixth at 119, the future seems bright in Alsea. Meanwhile, Sweet Home continues its dominance by placing five in the top eight. Aside from Carr and Swanson, Shane Vandehei (103) placed seventh, Kyle Temple (140) placed fourth, and Rob Martin (215) placed eighth.