Page 12 PIT,% h= . - August 29, 2012
S Africa trip about much more than wrestling for Huskies
By Scott Swanson
Of The New Era
When Steve Thorpe passed on
a chance to take a wrestling tour
to South Africa 24 years ago, he
tumed it down - and regretted it
ever since.
He finally got a chance to make
that trip, this time as one of the lead-
ers of an Oregon all-star team that
toured the southern tip of Africa for
three weeks, returning just over a
week ago.
So what did Thorpe think of
the experience?
"It went beyond my expecta-
tions," he said. "I thought I was
going on just a wrestling tour, but
wrestling was a catalyst that cre-
ated opportunities for education,
for one-in-a-lifetime experiences. It.
was just an adventure."
Also along on the trip from
Sweet Home were fellow coach
Steve Schilling and four Husky
wrestlers - seniors-to-be Tyler
Cowger, Wade Paulus and Colton
Schilling, and sophomore-to-be Ty-
ler Schilling.
They traveled with a team of
wrestlers in 11 weight classes who
qualified from all over the state in
a special tournament in April to
make the trip to South Africa, led
by Thurston Coach Mike Simons,
from July 25 to Aug. 12.
Wrestling-wise, the Huskies
did great, Thorpe said.
They participated in training
sessions with different clubs and
wrestled five dual matches and two
tournaments.
He said Cowger finished 19-1,
Colton Schilling 16-1, Paulus 10-1
andTyler Schilling 16-4.
"The kids got upwards of 20
matches," he said. "It was just a
great experience. We were very
Photos courtesy of Steve Thorpe
Oregon wrestlers and their South African hosts combine for a group photo after the Oregon team's final dual in
Durbanville.
proud of the kids, how they com-
9eted. They weren't afraid of any
3f the challenges."
Cowger said he enjoyed the
wrestling immensely.
"We were wrestling kids who
were the best in all of Africa," he
said. "When we beat them, it was
awesome. They weren't as good as
kids from the U.S. They don't have
the right training and it's more of a
club sport, an on-your-own kind of
thing. But wrestling their best kids
was pretty awesome."
As it turned out, though, wres-
tling was only a fraction of the ex-
perience.
They toured black townships,
some literally ghettos, Thorpe said.
Coaches, from left, Steve Thorpe, Steve Schilling and Mike Simons enjoy a
Photo by Chris Pinto •
Green and Gold
Husky football players scrimmage in front of fans and family dur-
ing the Green and Gold Scrimmage Friday night at Husky Sta-
dium. The team travels to Redmond this Friday, Aug, 31 for its
season opener. The New Era will preview football and other fall
sports next week in our Sept: 5 edition.
They also went to the Pretoria Zoo,
a Zulu village, flea markets, and
spent time in Capetown, Johannes-
burg and Durban.
In Johannesburg they visited
Table Mountain, a landmark over-
looking the city, and in Capetown
they visited Robben Island, the
prison where Nelson Mandela was
held captive, and took a Cape Coast
tour.
taste of African big game hunting.
"Capetown is one of the most
• beautiful places I have ever been
to," Thorpe said.
"The South African people,
hospitality is very important to
them," Thorpe said. "We were treat-
ed beyond what we expected. They
took care of us and made sure we
had a good time. They made sure
every need was met."
new choice
uliette Asuncion, DO
Dr. Asuncion earned a bachelor's
degree from the University of Cincinnati-
McMicken College of Arts Sciences
and a medical degree from Western
University of Health Sciences College
of Osteopathic Medicine of the Pacific in
Pomona, Calif. She completed residency
in family medicine at Downey Regional
Medical Center in Downey, Calif.
Dr. Asuncion is trained in Osteopathic
Manipulative Treatment (OMT), which is a
form of hands-on care involving the use of
the hands to diagnose, treat and prevent
or injury. OMT can help ease acute
and.chronic pain and can even help deter
prescriptive drugs or surgery.
r from the office, Dr. Asuncion enjoys
playing video games, listening to music,
and spending time with her significant
other and their two dogs, Panda and Gizmo.
Samaritan
Sweet Home Family btedicine
samhealth.org
Cowger said he particularly
enjoyed hanging out with South Af-
rican wrestlers and "all the friends I
made on the (Oregon) team. I made
lifetime friends."
He said he made a particu-
larly good friend with a wrestler
about his own age, whose family he
stayed with.
One of the most memorable
experiences for Thorpe and Steve
Schilling was a surprise hunting
trip, in which Thorpe bagged a wil-
debeest and Schilling shot a bles-
bock and a hartebeest.
"They paid," Thorpe said. "You
know what a wildebeest hunt would
cost? We never expected that."
He said he expects to get the
horns and skull.
He said it was interesting how
the climate changed from Johan-
nesburg, which he likened to East-
em Oregon - "between Bend and
Bums," to the coastal cities, which
were more like the Oregon coast.
He said it was cold for much
of their trip because it was winter
below the equator - even snowing
in Johannesburg the day after they
left.
Thorpe said the team was ready
to go when the time came, but he's
eager to host the South Africans,
who are talking about sending two
teams next year.
"We will show them not only
USA hospitality but good old Sweet
Home hospitality," he promised.
Both he and Cowger said
that the wrestlers started realizing
quickly how life in a foreign coun-
try is different.
"You start realizing what you
have, how scary and sketchy life
is in a different country," Cowger
said. "But everybody just took care
of us and made us feel at home the
best they could."
He said the trip left him with
lots to talk about.
"I could tell stories for
weeks."
