Birthday boy Jackson Potts serves up dramatic finish to give Mountain View its only Reser’s champion (160 pounds)

“I’ve wanted this for a long time. So, this is a big one.”

By René Ferrán | Photos by Leon Neuschwander  

The final seconds of sudden-victory overtime in Saturday’s 160-pound final at the Reser’s Tournament of Champions ticked off the matside clock as Mountain View junior Jackson Potts pondered his options. 

“Going into the final 15 (seconds), I knew it was either going to go to rideouts, or something was going to happen,” Potts said. “So, I knew with about five seconds left, and I hit the shot that I knew was there.”

It had taken Potts seven minutes to set up his shot, but just as the clock flipped from :01 to :00, he got Scappoose’s Ben Rintoul to the mat for the winning takedown, sending the Liberty High School crowd into a frenzy.

“He had really strong hips and overall was pretty strong,” Potts said of Rintoul, a third-place finisher at last year’s OSAA 5A state meet. “So, I was just waiting for the right moment.”

The 5-3 victory proved the perfect birthday present for Potts, one of four Cougars celebrating a birthday in Hillsboro on Saturday.

“I’ve wanted this for a long time,” Potts said. “So, this is a big one.” 

Bigger still would be a victory in three weeks at Memorial Coliseum in Portland. Last February, Potts reached the semifinals in the 6A 145 division before placing third. This year, he’ll compete at 5A after Mountain View dropped in reclassification.

“I feel like I’m in the right place right now,” he said. “So, I’ve just got to take it one step at a time.”

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