SANDY – Newberg completed its seasonlong flex as the kingpin of Oregon high school wrestling Sunday night in the finals of the OSAA/OnPoint Community Credit Union 6A championships at Sandy High School.
The Tigers put 11 wrestlers in the finals and won six individual titles – including their second four-time champion in Ayden Garver – to easily outdistance runner-up Sprague 418-220.5. Of their 21 entries in the tournament, 17 placed, more than living up to the hype that surrounded them entering the season.
“I told the kids that I didn't think there was any way we could live up to expectations that everyone had for us, and even the expectations we had for ourselves,” Newberg coach Neil Russo said. “And like they do fairly regularly, they proved me wrong.
“What an unbelievable performance by our kids this weekend. You ask them to be just a little bit better every time, and you think you hit that ceiling, but man, today was quite the show.”
It is the 13th official title for Newberg, moving the Tigers ahead of Roseburg (12) for the most big-school championships. It comes after Newberg won the 6A title in 2020 and the unofficial culminating week tournament last year.
“We knew we were the favorites, and we weren't taking any shortcuts as a team,” said senior Charlie Evans, who became a three-time champion. “We push each other. It's the hardest-working room in the state.”
Garver pinned sophomore teammate Trae Frederick in the 145-pound final for his fourth state title. Previously, the only Tiger to win four titles was Tommy Siciliano (2007-10).
Garver bounced back from breaking his ankle after winning a third title last summer.
“I was determined to come back and win my fourth state title,” Garver said. “I came back and I was doing really great, and then I wrestled some better kids, and I lost. I was like, 'I've got to step up my game.' So I really started putting in the extra work. I think I came the distance.”
Newberg's other champions were Evans (152), sophomores Isaac Hampton (113) and Zachary Keinonen (126), senior Price Pothier (160) and junior Hudson Davis (195). It was the third title for Evans and the second for both Keinonen and Davis.
Newberg's 418 points set a big-school state-tournament record, breaking the previous mark of 366, set by Roseburg in 2017.
“This group of kids, last year and this year, they negotiated this pandemic and all of those distractions,” Russo said. “They didn't just negotiate it, they thrived in it. That's a credit to them. They never used it as an excuse. They continued to get better all the time.”
Evans came within one match of being a four-time champion. As a freshman, he lost 4-1 in the final to Centennial's Phillip Kue, a three-time champion.
“Since freshman year, I've grown a ton,” said Evans, who went 41-0 this season. “If I could have a shot at Phillip Kue, if he's reading this article, I want that back.”
Newberg got runner-up finishes from Frederick and seniors Nicky Olmstead (132), Ethan Ritchie (120), Kyle Kelley (182) and Hayden Hampton (220). Olmstead, a two-time champion, lost by pin in the final to Roseburg senior Nash Singleton, who won his third title.
The Oregon State-bound Singleton was single-minded in attacking Olmstead in the night's marquee match.
“He's a competitor, but I came out here and I knew what I had to do to help my team, and that was pin,” Singleton said. “So that's what I was going to do when I walked out there.”
Said Roseburg coach Steve Lander: “We have a lot of respect for Nicky Olmstead. He's a great opponent. So that was a nice exclamation point for Nash to put on his career, for sure.”
Roseburg sophomore Gage Singleton, Nash's brother, picked up his second title by beating Clackamas sophomore Jeremiah Wachsmuth 9-5. The Singletons helped the Indians finish in a third-place tie with West Linn at 163 points.
Sprague had five wrestlers in the finals and all prevailed. Seniors Brayden Boyd (120) and Brook Byers (182) claimed their third titles, juniors Riley Davis (170) and David Sherman (220) won their second and junior Cole Steketee (285) won his first.
Boyd pinned Ritchie in the final, marking the third year in a row he defeated Ritchie for a title.
“Ever since I was younger, I came to the state tournament and watched the finals with my family,” Boyd said. “It's always been my goal to get four-time. It didn't happen freshman year, so I went for the next-best thing, and I got the three.”
Byers, who is headed to Stanford, needed only 27 seconds to dispatch Kelley in the final.
“When I saw that opportunity, it's kind of hard to pass that up in the state finals,” Byers said. “I wanted a longer match, because this is my going-away match, but in the state finals, you don't pass up an opportunity like that.”
6A finals, Sandy HS
106 – Gage Singleton (Roseburg) 42-3, So. over Jeremiah Wachsmuth (Clackamas) 26-3, So. (Dec 9-5)
113 – Isaac Hampton (Newberg) 44-0, So. over Scout Santos (Mountain View) 29-4, So. (MD 12-4)
120 – Brayden Boyd (Sprague) 45-2, Sr. over Ethan Ritchie (Newberg) 40-4, Sr. (Fall 3:05)
126 – Zachary Keinonen (Newberg) 42-4, So. over Chris Dillworth (McMinnville) 37-9, Sr. (Dec 1-0)
132 – Nash Singleton (Roseburg) 43-2, Sr. over Nicky Olmstead (Newberg) 36-2, Sr. (Fall 1:53)
138 – Drew Jones (Mountain View) 37-7, Jr. over Charles Spinning (West Linn) 42-7, So. (Dec 7-3)
145 – Ayden Garver (Newberg) 33-2, Sr. over Trae Frederick (Newberg) 26-8, So. (Fall 0:59)
152 – Charlie Evans (Newberg) 41-0, Sr. over Varrius Scanlan (Roseburg) 35-7, Sr. (Dec 8-2)
160 – Price Pothier (Newberg) 41-7, Sr. over Liam Byrne (Mountain View) 32-8, So. (Dec 3-1)
170 – Riley Davis (Sprague) 42-2, Jr. over Justin Rademacher (West Linn) 35-3, Jr. (Dec 5-2)
182 – Brook Byers (Sprague) 35-3, Sr. over Kyle Kelley (Newberg) 37-6, Sr. (Fall 0:27)
195 – Hudson Davis (Newberg) 38-2, Jr. over Robert Plympton (Reynolds) 34-1, Sr. (Dec 3-1)
220 – David Sherman (Sprague) 22-3, Sr. over Hayden Hampton (Newberg) 42-6, Sr. (Dec 3-2)
285 – Cole Steketee (Sprague) 30-2, Jr. over Grady Hamilton (Roseburg) 32-6, Jr. (Fall 2:23)
jerryu@osaa.org
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