Hailing out of Central Point, Oregon and Crater High School coach Temple has signed Tanner Ulrey to fill a role at 125 pounds for the RiverHawks. Tanner was the OSAA 5A state third placer at 120 pounds during his senior campaign at Crater High School following his third place finish as a junior at 113 pounds. Coach temple had the following to say; "Tanner will add a versatile athlete for our line-up at 125 pounds that will be able to compete with the top wrestlers in the NJCAA. Tanner comes from a wrestling family and understands the Junior College route as his older brother Dylan was a 2X All American for Clackamas Community College and is currently wrestling for Arizona State University. I feel grateful that Tanner chose to stay close to home and build a strong bond for the RiverHawks in the Southern Oregon wrestling community. Tanner will be our leadoff hitter starting us off on the right foot in each dual. I'm excited to add Tanner to our program and look forward to watching Tanner accomplish his goals over the next two years."
Next up coach Temple added the opposite bookend from Ulrey in the form of Eugene, Oregon native Jayden De Fond of Churchill High School. Jayden competed for the Lancers at 285 pounds placing 4th in the 5A OSAA state tournament in 2019. Jayden has been active this summer wrestling in the Western States Championships in Pocatello, Idaho where he won the heavyweight brackets in both Freestyle and Greco Roman as well as placing second in the Folkstyle tournament. Additionally, De Fond wrestled in the Junior National Championships in Fargo, North Dakota. "Jayden will add depth to our upper weights while competing for a starting spot with returning national qualifier Adam Lamb" said coach Temple. "We spent a lot of time this off-season strengthening our upper weights and the addition of De Fond will only increase our presence at these weights. I expect Jayden to compete for a starting spot right away and push Adam which ultimately only makes both athletes better. I feel great about the future of our upper weights in the RiverHawk program"
The final piece to the RiverHawks wrestling class comes in the form of Washington product Chris Montelongo out of Chiawana High School. Chris last competed competitively in wrestling in 2013. Montelongo was a 2X state placer for the RiverHawks of Chiawana before graduating. After Montelongo graduated he attended Washington State University- Pullman for a year and took time off of wrestling to allow his body to heal after some injuries he incurred during his senior campaign. Chris then returned to his alma mater Chiawana High School as an assistant coach while training with former UFC fighters Meisha Tate and Bryan Caraway as well as Shane Jamie while he began his fighting career at 135 pounds. Montelongo helped lead the RiverHawks of Chiawana to their first WIAA 4A state title in school history this past season as an assistant coach. This experience ultimately lead Montelongo back to the wrestling mats to wrestle for Umpqua while he pursues a degree in Education where he plans to become a teacher and high school coach. "I am really excited to add Chris to our lineup this next season," said Coach Temple. "Chris will be like having another assistant coach in the room with his years of experience in coaching at the club and high school level. Chris was a key coach and workout partner for Chiawana's Darion Johnson (120lbs), Robby Vaughn (138lbs), Israel Romero (145lbs), Tyson Stover (182lbs), and Isaiah Anderson (195lbs) who were all state finalist for the RiverHawks this past season. Chris knows how to compete and will also help add some leadership in our lower weights this next season."