We’re off! The OSAA winter season began officially last week. For wrestlers, that means non-stop action until the state championships at Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Portland from Feb. 27 through March 1.
Looking back…
Let’s start by reminding everyone which teams won state titles last winter.
In boys 6A, Newberg won for the fourth time in five years. The Tigers will be favored again in 2025, with 2023 champion West Linn expected to be their biggest challenge. Newberg has won 14 team titles all-time, which is tied for first with Lowell.
Dallas captured the boys 5A title, its third overall and first since 2018. The Dragons are expected to be led by senior Joseph Johnson, a state champion last year at 120 pounds; and junior Carsen Atterbury, who placed fifth at 113 but is a state title favorite this year.
In boys 4A, Sweet Home is primed to repeat its 2024 title, the ninth overall for the Huskies and first since 2017. Steve Thorpe’s team returns state champions Jesse Landtroop (106) and Ashton Swanson (175) as well as several other state placers.
“The expectation every year remains the same,” said Thorpe. “We had kids do a lot of work in the off season that I believe will pay off for us. We are wrestling our toughest schedule ever in one of the toughest regions in our division. We are young this year but working towards three-peating as regional champions.”
Harrisburg won its first-ever 3A title last year and could repeat even with powers like Burns and La Pine in the classification. The Eagles return 2024 state champions Andrei Donayri at 106, Luke Cheek at 120 and Brody Buzzard at 165. They also have six other state placers back and several talented freshmen who could push for the podium.
Toledo captured its first state title last year in 2A/1A, but its four state champions have all graduated. Seniors Kolby Coxen and Nic Kaufman are expected to lead the way this season for the Boomers.
Thurston’s girls won their second OSAA title last year, taking 6A/5A. The Colts, who have been the state’s premier girls’ program over the past decade, should be formidable again, with seven state placers back, including junior Izabella Castleberry, state champion at 155; and senior Kristal Zamora, a three-time placer and 2024 runner up at 140 pounds.
La Grande won its first girls title last year in 4A/3A/2A/1A. Senior Lyndie Isaacson, state champion last winter at 115 pounds; and state placers Paige Allen and Maddy Armstrong are all expected back for the Tigers.
Making history?
There are six wrestlers vying to be four-time state champions, five boys plus Mallory Lusco of Grant Union, who has won two titles at 235 pounds and one at 190.
The five boys are all in 3A: Luke Cheek of Harrisburg, who has won at 106, 113 and 120 in consecutive years; Kale Cornell of Burns, who has a title at 113 and the past two at 126; Landyn Philpott of La Pine, who has prevailed at 120, 132 and 138; Devin Kerr of La Pine, a victor at 132, 138 and 144 over the past three seasons; and Easton Kemper of Burns, a winner three straight years at 175. Kemper’s younger brother, Cannon Kemper, won the 150-pound division as a freshman last year.
Ten more wrestlers have the opportunity this fall to become three-time champions. The four on the girls’ side are Bailey Chaffin of Sweet Home, Skyler Hall of North Medford, Vanessa Keller of Oakridge and Polly Oliff of Dallas.
The six boys include Harley Hardison of Lowell, Oscar Doces of West Linn, Brody Buzzard of Harrisburg, Taylor Parsons of Grant Union / Prairie City, Gavin Sandoval of Crook County and Micah Martinho of Illinois Valley.
All were state champions for a second time last year except for Martinho, who suffered a knee injury at Districts last year and was unable to compete in the state tournament. Martinho had surgery over the summer and wrestled on Saturday but had to forfeit his final match because of the knee. Martinho may miss a few tournaments but is expected to be ready to participate fully once the District and State meets come around.
“All I do is win”
Six underclass wrestlers won state championships last year without losing a match all season. They include Bridger Foss of South Medford, Jackson Doman of Canby, Logan Sunnell of Tualatin, Brash Henderson of Silverton, Domonic Mason of Nelson and, the lone girl on the list, Zorina Johnson of Ida B. Wells.
If you know of others, please let me know at johnt@osaa.org.
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According to ORHSsportsrecords.com, Cornell is the active leader in career wins, with 134 against just 14 losses.
Another 22 boys enter their senior seasons with 100 or more wins: Philpott (129), , Eric Larwin of Bend (121), Kaison Smith of Warrenton (120), Brody Lybarger of Mountainside (118), Kerr (116), Easton Kemper (110), Swanson (110), Doman (109), Colton Annis of Thurston (109), Conrad Baxter of Cascade (107), Landon Lavey of Crook County (103), Carter Bennett of Forest Grove (103), Billy Jackson of Redmond (102), James Keinonen of Newberg (102), Hunter Langham of Harrisburg (102), Cheek (101), Owen Hull of Grants Pass (101), Maverick Heimbuck of Scappoose (101), Henderson of Silverton (100), Cam Houston of Coquille / Bandon (100), Kase Schaffeld of Vale (100) and Riley Flack of La Pine (100)
Senior girls with 100 or more wins include Kennedy Blanton of Forest Grove, whose 115 victories are the most all-time; McKenzie Shearon of Redmond (109) and Kailea Takahashi (109).
Hot starts
Caldera, which finished 22nd last year at the 5A state tournament, stunned a strong 12-team field that included Bend, Crook County, Mountain View and La Pine, to win the season-opening Adrian Irwin hosted by Bend. The Wolfpack entered 18 wrestlers and emerged with three champions: Griffin Miller at 120; Denny Dean at 144 and Masin Sanchez at 157.
“We definitely didn't expect to win this tournament,” said coach Mihail Kalugin. “Our expectations were to wrestle with a purpose, and wrestle without fear of losing.”
Caldera had “a handful” of wrestlers drop out of contention in the blood round at last year’s state tournament, which put a bad taste in their mouths, Kalugin said.
“The hunger this group has is contagious and I really think they will do great things.”
Kalugin said that a top five finish was a team goal, but a fast start sparked the Wolfpack, which was unranked in the pre-season 5A coaches poll; beyond their expectations.
“Everyone was wrestling with a fire we haven't seen in a long time and that showed huge motivation to the team that kept their momentum going, the coach said. “We wrestled freely where, in the past, we have been hesitant. I think it's a testament to the hard work this group put forth in the off season.”
Kalugin added that his captains, Dean and Miller, showed tremendous leadership and character during the event.
“They both came out and dominated like they know they can and came out on top,” he said. “Not only did they walk the walk; they led others with motivation and accountability.”
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Bend finished 10 points behind Caldera at the AI.
The Lava Bears competed without senior Eric Larwin, who has a knee injury that will keep him off the mat for a few weeks. The Eastern Oregon recruit has made significant improvement over last year and is one to watch for Bend, which also was without senior state placer Uriel Valdez, who is expected back in late January after suffering an injury during football season.
“We felt really good about our performance at the Adrian Irwin Memorial Tournament,” said coach Luke Larwin. “We have quite a few varsity wrestlers that are out of our line-up right now and we were still able to crown five individual boys champions, and see some of our younger athletes compete well as varsity athletes.”
One of the champions, sophomore Leif Larwin, lost just three matches last year on his way to winning state at 165 pounds. He is considered one of the top wrestlers nationally in his class.
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Bend’s girls won the AI team title in commanding fashion.
Valerie Bowman and Anna McMullin led the way.
“We have added some tough newcomers to our girls line-up,” Coach Larwin said. “The girls’ team has been a united and committed group! I think they will improve to be a force this year.”
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Harrisburg won the 16-team Deven Dawson Memorial Wrestling Tournament it hosted, out pointing Santiam Christian. The Eagles had six individual champions, including Outstanding Wrestler Luke Cheek at 132. Other Harrisburg winners included Brandon Henderson (106), Andrea Donayri (120), John Henderson (126), Trayson Truesdell (138) and Levi Conley (144). The Eagles were without heavyweight Hunter Langham. He is recovering from an injury suffered during football season.
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Redmond’s boys took first at the Tyrone S. Woods Invitational for the third year in a row, edging out Newberg. The Panthers were led by individual champions Ryder Lee at 126, Billy Jackson at 138, Mason Thynes at 150 and Orinn Hubbard at 215. Redmond placed 13 wrestlers among the top six in their respective brackets.
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McNary Girls Wrestling won the Tyrone S. Woods Women's Tournament. Sophomore Marlina Martinez, freshman Solé Bartlemay, senior Cadence Fineran and junior McKenna Unger all won bracket titles. The Celtics also had runner up finishes from seniors Jessica Cottings and Desiree Brown and junior Jace Friesen.
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Thurston’s boys overwhelmed the 15-team field at the Kenny Cox Memorial hosted by Churchill. The Colts scored 537.5 points, almost 400 more than the second-place finisher. They won a majority of the divisions, including a victory for returning state champion Colton Annis.
Thurston’s girls, -- 23 strong – also won impressively. The Colts took the three lightest divisions and three others, including wins from Kristal Zamora and Izabella Castleberry.
News & Notes
Westview is hosting the Rose City Championship and War of the Roses this weekend, the premier early-season tournament in the state. Thirty-five boys teams and more than 40 girls teams will be represented.
Muilenburg and the North Bend Coast Classic also are on tap for the weekend.
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Forest Grove sophomore Archy De La Rosa, whose freshman season included wins over four 2023 state champions and a 6A runner up finish at 113 pounds to multi-time state champion Gage Singleton of Roseburg; won the 110-pound title at Reno Worlds in April, as well as the freestyle and Greco-Roman titles in the Oregon Wrestling Association championships.
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Hunter Kemper graduated from Burns a couple of years ago with two state titles to his credit. He is one of four Kemper brothers. Senior Easton Kemper has three state titles already and sophomore Cannon Kemper won his first as a freshman last year. The fourth Kemper is still in middle school…
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Kennedy competed at the Devin Dawson Memorial Tournament in Harrisburg, finishing sixth out of 16 teams. The Trojans showed off two outstanding freshmen, Caleb Kline, who lost his first match at 106 to the eventual champion, then won his next two matches by first-round falls to take third place; and Bohden Sowa, who made the finals at 132 pounds.
Kennedy also got strong efforts from senior Julio Reyes Hernandez, whose only loss was to Cheek, a three-time state champion; and sophomore Creo Walker, who finished 3-2 at 215 pounds.
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West Linn beat a tough Crater team on Friday night at the Crater Duals. Freshman Darion Johnson (113) put the state on notice with five pins over the weekend. Senior Oscar Doces (157) recorded five pins as well. Ryder Sprague (138) wrestled spectacularly and beat returning state champion Jeremiah Oliva of Crater, 8-2.
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Kiya Roe, who finished second at 100 pounds for Knappa last year, has started 4-0 with four, first-round pins at 105 at the Kelly Bledsoe in Rainier.
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Union’s boys and girls competed in Enterprise this past Friday.
Sam Platz, the 2A/1A runner up at 165, placed first, as expected, with two first-round falls to his credit.
“He looks very poised and confident on the mat, which is a big step towards moving to the next level of wrestling,” said coach Joe Shaw. “It took him most of the season last year to build that confidence and we are starting where we left off, in a very good spot.”
Union also got a nice showing from Larry McKaig, who went 3-1 and took third.
“With so many new wrestlers, Week 1 is a great weekend to let our wrestlers’ eyes get opened,” Shaw said. “Many of our wrestlers noted their exhaustion and many have set goals to work harder to be better prepared for the coming tournaments.”
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Estacada placed third at its own Lady Ranger Classic over the weekend. The team is 15 strong this year, most brand new to the sport. The girls wrestled with true grit and strength, said coach Nathan Allen. McKenzie Reilly and Emma Stalcup emerged with titles. Abby Taylor placed second and Callie Hardesty third. Among the new wrestlers, Chloe Kyler and Daniela Perez Ruiz finished fourth and fifth in their weight classes, respectively.
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Cleveland’s boys competed at the Perry Burlison Tournament, with sophomore Stewart Bromwell taking fifth at 126 after a thrilling win on OT, and senior Max Copus placing fourth at 165.
Cleveland’s girls were at the Cougar Invite.
Defending state champion Isabel Herring won at 155. In four matches this season, she has yet to have a point scored against her!
Cleveland also had Lilly Love (135) take second and both Maria Carillo (105) and Aubrey Spangler (145) place third.
johnt@osaa.org
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