Wrestlers are coming to the Rose City with the Oregon high school boys and girls state wrestling championships set for Feb. 26-28 inside Veterans Memorial Coliseum.
New champions will be crowned, former champions will add hardware and the scene inside the VMC will be electric as always.
With grapplers getting ready to hit the mat, we preview some of the best wrestlers to watch, top storylines to follow and potential intriguing matchups.
Check out our state wrestling preview down below!
Returning champions
One of the stories for every state wrestling meet is the potential to see history, and three wrestlers this year have a chance of joining the most elite with four individual state titles.
Vanessa Keller from the Oakridge girls, Brody Buzzard from the Harrisburg boys and Skyler Hall from the North Medford girls all have a shot at that fourth state crown this weekend.
For Keller and Hall, they can become the first official girls four-timers in state history. Destiny Rodriguez from West Linn is considered to be the first though with one coming in 2021 when the state tournament wasn’t sanctioned by the OSAA.
Buzzard could become the 44th boy to accomplish the feat and the second from Harrisburg, joining Dax Bennett who did it from 2016-2019.
There are plenty of wrestlers who are on track to join these three in the hunt for four at this year’s tournament as well. Those are any juniors with two titles already or any sophomore who won last year.
There are six juniors with two titles already on their belt. Those are Jadyn Pense from St. Helens girls, Aidan Godley from Crater boys, Cannon Kemper from Burns, Jesse Landtroop from Sweet Home boys, Leif Larwin from Bend boys and Jeremiah Oliva from Crater.
There are nine sophomores looking to grab title No. 2 in 2026. Those include: Rowdy Williams from Oakridge boys, Lukas Salas-Sanchez from Thurston boys, Carson Langford from Dallas boys, Darion Johnson from West Linn boys, Isaac Conner from Mountainside boys, Audrey Robinson from Crater girls, Hadley Gunderson from Burns girls, Paisley Morrison from Coquille girls and Megan Weil from Burns girls.
Here’s a look at all 62 returning state champions:
2A/1A boys
James Conn, Illinois Valley: 2025 2A/1A at 120 and 2024 2A/1A at 106
Landyn Fincher, Elgin: 2025 2A/1A at 113
Taylor Parsons, Grant Union: 2024 2A/1A at 126 and 2023 2A/1A at 126
Rowdy Williams, Oakridge: 2025 2A/1A at 138
Micah Davis, Siletz Valley: 2025 2A/1A at 144
Nolan Timeus, Gold Beach: 2025 2A/1A at 165
Lee Brainard, Oakridge: 2025 2A/1A at 190
3A boys
Bryson Boyles, Pleasant Hill: 2025 3A at 113
Andrei Donayri, Harrisburg: 2024 3A at 106
Owen Turner, Banks: 2024 3A at 132
Cannon Kemper, Burns: 2025 3A at 150 and 2024 3A at 150
Gunnar Tamez, Vale: 2025 3A at 165
Brody Buzzard, Harrisburg: 2025 3A at 175, 2024 3A at 165 and 2023 3A at 145
Joe Weil, Burns: 2025 3A at 215
4A boys
Riley Vaughan, Sweet Home: 2025 4A at 113
Jesse Landtroop, Sweet Home: 2025 4A at 120 and 2024 4A at 106
Tytus Hardee, Sweet Home: 2025 4A at 126
Dillan Davis, Sweet Home: 2025 4A at 132
Riley Barrett, Philomath: 2025 4A at 150 and 2024 4A at 150
Tommy Belding, La Grande: 2025 4A at 157 and 2024 4A at 144
Hans Kamm, Cascade: 2025 4A at 144
Lake Mulberry, Philomath: 2025 4A at 190
Matthew Hinkle, Cascade: 2025 4A at 215
5A boys
Lukas Salas-Sanchez, Thurston: 2025 5A at 106
Casen Villastrigo, Crook County: 2025 4A at 106
Michael Salas-Sanchez, Thurston: 2025 5A at 113
Jeremiah Oliva, Crater: 5A at 120 and 2024 5A at 113
Aiden Nelmes, Mountain View: 2024 5A at 106
Colton Hankey, Crescent Valley: 2025 5A at 126
Jaret Hickey, Crater: 2025 5A at 138
Aidan Godley, Crater: 2025 5A at 144 and 2024 5A at 126
Kutter Christensen, Crater: 2025 5A at 157
Leif Larwin, Bend: 2025 5A at 175 and 2024 5A at 165
Carson Langford, Dallas: 2025 5A at 190
6A boys
Hezekiah Worthington, Newberg: 2025 6A at 106
Archy De La Rosa, Forest Grove: 2025 6A at 120
Carter Dawson, Roseburg: 2023 3A at 106 for Glide
Darion Johnson, West Linn: 2025 6A at 113
Drew Dawson, Roseburg: 2024 6A at 106
Sawyer Keinonen, Newberg: 2025 6A at 126
Amir Khanjan, Westview: 2025 6A at 132
Gavin Rangel, Newberg: 2024 6A at 132
Isaac Conner, Mountainside: 2025 6A at 138
Heston Likens, North Medford: 2025 6A at 150
Isandre De La Torre, South Medford: 2025 6A at 285
4A/3A/2A/1A girls
Lorien Bowns, Nyssa: 2025 4A/3A/2A/1A at 100
Paxton Steele, Harrisburg: 2024 4A/3A/2A/1A at 110
Vanessa Keller, Oakridge: 2025 4A/3A/2A/1A at 110, 2024 4A/3A/2A/1A at 105 and 2023 4A/3A/2A/1A at 100
Hadley Gunderson, Burns: 2025 4A/3A/2A/1A at 115
Bailey Chafin, Sweet Home: 2024 4A/3A/2A/1A at 125 and 2023 4A/3A/2A/1A at 125
Kali Williams, Oakridge: 2024 4A/3A/2A/1A at 130
Paisley Morrison, Coquille: 2025 4A/3A/2A/1A at 140
Jadyn Pense, St. Helens: 2025 4A/3A/2A/1A at 170 and 2024 4A/3A/2A/1A at 170
Izabella Castleberry, Harrisburg: 2024 6A/5A at 155 for Thurston
Megan Weil, Burns: 2025 4A/3A/2A/1A at 190
Lizabeth Henderson, Mazama: 2025 4A/3A/2A/1A at 235
6A/5A girls
Marlina Martinez, McNary: 6A/5A at 110
Skyler Hall, North Medford: 2025 6A/5A at 105, 2024 6A/5A at 105 and 2023 6A/5A at 100
Mia Pedersen, Redmond: 2025 6A/5A at 120
Zorina Johnson, Ida B. Wells: 2025 6A/5A at 130 and 2024 6A/5A at 125
Taylor Echeverria, Crook County: 2025 4A/3A/2A/1A at 130
Audrey Robinson, Crater: 2025 6A/5A at 135
Undefeated wrestlers
We’ve pulled 21 wrestlers at state who enter with an unblemished record, with at least 10 wins to their name:
46-0: Jeffery Conklin, Cottage Grove boys (4A 132)
46-0: Naudia Edmiston, West Albany girls (6A/5A 120)
44-0: Lauren Echeverria, Crook County girls (6A/5A 110)
42-0: Jadyn Pense, St. Helens girls (4A-1A 170)
39-0: Lee Brainard, Oakridge boys (2A/1A 190)
36-0: Madison Turner, Banks girls (4A-1A 155)
34-0: Elijah Hatfield, Glide boys (3A 157)
34-0: Megan Weil, Burns girls (4A-1A 190)
33-0: Lukas Salas-Sanchez, Thurston boys (5A 113)
33-0: Bohden Sowa, Kennedy boys (2A/1A 150)
33-0: Gunnar Tamez, Vale boys (3A 175)
33-0: Kenzie Turner, Banks girls (4A-1A 145)
32-0: Zorina Johnson, Ida B. Wells girls (6A/5A 135)
26-0: Skylar Hall, North Medford girls (6A/5A 120)
23-0: Audrey Robinson, Crater girls (6A/5A 145)
19-0: Arturo Echeverria, Hillsboro boys (5A 175)
18-0: Riley Barrett, Philomath boys (4A 150)
18-0: Charlie Becker, Gladstone boys (4A 190)
18-0: Rhoan Rambo, Hidden Valley boys (4A 106)
13-0: Paisley Morrison, Coquille girls (4A-1A 140)
10-0: Corbyn Schumack, South Medford boys (6A 190)
Potential can’t-miss matchups
With the returning champions and undefeated wrestlers laid out, we can take a look at the brackets and look for some potential big-time matchups.
The first big one is at 2A/1A boys 144 where Oakridge sophomore Rowdy Williams won at 138 last year and has moved up to 144 where he is the No. 2 seed. The No. 1 seed is the returning champion in the weight class in Siletz Valley senior Micah Davis.
Up next is in 4A at 132 where Sweet Home senior Tytus Hardee moves up a weight class after winning at 126 last year. He’s only the No. 5 seed in the bracket where 46-0 Cottage Grove junior Jeffery Conklin is the No. 2 seed. The top seed is La Grande senior Bragen Anderson.
Sticking in 4A, the 190 bracket has some intrigue with returning champion Lake Mulberry, a senior from Philomath, as the top seed. Gladstone junior Charlie Becker is the No. 3 seed and undefeated, but it’s at 18-0, leaving some mystery. Pendleton senior Aidan Perkins is the No. 2 seed.
Moving up to 5A, the 113 bracket brings the first case of Crook County’s impact moving up the 5A from 4A. Cowboys junior Casen Villastrigo won at 106 last year in 4A and is the No. 2 seed at 113 in 5A this year. He could go against Thurston sophomore Lukas Salas-Sanchez, the top seed and undefeated at 33-0, in the final.
A little heavier in 5A at 175 is another potential matchup with mystery. Bend junior Leif Larwin is already a two-time champion, including the reigning 175 winner. He’s the No. 1 seed, but the No. 2 seed is Hillsboro junior Arturo Echeverria who is 19-0 on the year and his last name at Hillsboro certainly precedes itself.
For the 6A boys, 126 has some potential intrigue with No. 1 seed Forest Grove junior Archy De La Rosa moving up a weight class after winning state at 120 last year. The biggest challenger seems to be No. 2 seed Carter Dawson, a senior from Roseburg. Dawson won a state title his freshman year at Glide at 2A/1A 106, so he knows what it takes to win it all.
The 6A boys 132 bracket has the chance to be the most unpredictable of the weekend. It features two returning champions in West Linn sophomore Darion Johnson (won at 113 last year) and Roseburg senior Drew Dawson (won at 106 in 2024). But neither are the top seed with Westview senior Isaiah Snyder sitting at No. 1.
There’s two champions in the 6A 150 bracket as well with the returning champion in North Medford senior Heston Likens at the No. 1 seed. Sitting at No. 2 is Mountainside sophomore Isaac Conner who has moved up after winning state at 138 last season.
Switching over to the girls, at 4A/3A/2A/1A 115 there could be fireworks. Oakridge senior Vanessa Keller is a three-time champion, but she comes in as the No. 2 seed because Burns sophomore Hadley Gunderson is the returning state champion at the weight class and the No. 1 seed. Keller is going to have a lot of work ahead of her to get title No. 4.
St. Helens junior Jadyn Pense has dominated at 4A/3A/2A/1A 170, winning her two state titles at the weight class. This year, the 42-0 grappler will possibly have to deal with another former champion in Harrisburg senior Izabella Castleberry. The senior won a state title at 155 in 2024 for Thurston at the 6A/5A level and is the No. 3 seed. Tillamook senior Addison Josi is the No. 2 seed.
Another four-timer who could be in for a battle is North Medford senior Skyler Hall at 6A/5A 120. The three-time champ is the top seed, but could face No. 4 seed Naudia Edmiston, a senior from West Albany, in the semifinals who is 46-0 this year. Barlow senior Abbeline Richard is the No. 2 seed and Canby junior Emilia Ensrud is the No. 3 seed.
Representing at state
Now we’ll pan out and look at it from a team perspective with the number of qualifiers some of the top teams are sending to the VMC.
2A/1A boys
15 – Culver
9 – Lowell
7 – Oakridge
6 – Illinois Valley, Irrigon, Oakland
5 – Crane, Grant Union/Prairie City
4 – Camas Valley, Elgin, Kennedy, Myrtle Point, Nestucca and North Douglas/Elkton
3A boys
17 – Banks
15 – Nyssa
13 – Harrisburg
11 – Burns
8 – Pleasant Hill
6 – Glide, Scio, Warrenton, Willamina
5 – Coquille, Douglas, Elmira, Santiam Christian, Sutherlin, Vale
4A boys
20 – Sweet Home
18 – Pendleton
17 – La Grande
15 – Tillamook, Marshfield
14 – Cascade
11 – Molalla
10 – Estacada, Madras
9 – Hidden Valley, Mazama, North Bend
8 – Scappoose, Philomath
5A boys
22 – Thurston
17 – Canby
16 – Crater, Hillsboro
14 – Eagle Point, Redmond, West Albany
12 – Mountain View
11 – Crook County, Dallas
9 – Silverton
8 – Bend
7 – Centennial, Lebanon
6A boys
16 – Mountainside, Roseburg
15 – Newberg
14 – McDaniel
13 – North Salem, West Linn
12 – Sprague, Tualatin
11 – Grant, Grants Pass
10 – Barlow, Sandy
9 – Century, Clackamas, Oregon City, South Salem, Tigard, Westview
8 – Glencoe, Southridge
4A/3A/2A/1A girls
10 – La Grande
8 – St. Helens
6 – Scappoose, Sweet Home
5 – Harrisburg, Mazama, Nyssa, Pendleton, Oakridge, Tillamook
6A/5A girls
12 – Dallas
11 – Crook County
9 – North Salem, Redmond
8 – Centennial, Hillsboro
7 – Century, McNary
6 – Forest Grove, Grants Pass, Woodburn
5 – Aloha, Southridge, Thurston
For 2A/1A boys, it's once again Culver's to lose as the Bulldogs go for state title No. 15 to try and tie Newberg for the most in state history (if Newberg doesn’t also win). Lowell and Oakridge appear set to try and give Culver a run.
Harrisburg and Burns are expected to duke it out for the 3A team title, but with 17 wrestlers for Banks and 15 for Nyssa, look for them to have an outside shot of making this the closest team race of the weekend.
With four returning state champions and more looking to add their name to that list, Sweet Home will be the heavy favorite at 4A where it brings the most qualifiers to the tournament of any school in the state. Pendleton and La Grande bring large contingents as well though and will try to pull off the upset.
District foes Thurston and Crater look to be in a two-team race in a year where 5A might be the best it’s ever been. Thurston won the Reser’s Tournament of Champions and Oregon Classic titles, but Crater has four returning champions who can rack up points.
Newberg and West Linn are the consensus top two in 6A once again where both schools are looking to introduce some potential champions to the state. Mountainside and Roseburg have the most grapplers on the mat though and will try to break up that two-team race.
La Grande is going for a three-peat in 4A/3A/2A/1A girls, but Oakridge has a real strong five at state that could get them over the hurdle. Harrisburg also has a strong five that could contend and St. Helens’ number gives the Lions a shot as well.
Crook County enters as the 6A/5A favorites, but if the Dragon Invite from earlier in the season taught us anything, this could be the deepest and closest team race of the weekend. Dallas, Redmond and those Dragon Invite winners in North Salem all have the numbers to pull off a win. It’ll come down to who sneaks in some points through the consolation rounds.
Final storylines
You know the returning champions and team-title favorites, so let’s take a look at some new names who might introduce themselves to the state this weekend.
To close out our preview, here are top seeded wrestlers going for their first state title along with their record on the year.
2A/1A boys
Rhett Arsenault, Culver, freshman: 46-3 record at 106
Kaden Williams, Camas Valley, junior: 25-7 record at 120
Preston Slawson, Irrigon, senior: 37-2 record at 138
Bohden Sowa, Kennedy, sophomore: 33-0 record at 150
Talon Harvey, North Douglas/Elkton, freshman: 23-3 record at 157
Bear Doman, Crane, junior: 44-7 record at 175
Coby Holmes, Culver, junior: 37-12 record at 215
David Finch, Lowell, senior: 39-2 record at 285
Sowa from Kennedy would be the first boys wrestler to ever win a state title for the Trojans. Their only state wrestling title came in 2023 when Alexandra Geschwill won the 4A/3A/2A/1A girls title at 130.
Williams from Camas Valley would be the second wrestler ever from the school with a state title, following in the footsteps of Owen Koegler who won the 2A/1A 165 title in 2024.
3A boys
Jose Jimenez, Nyssa, senior: 30-2 record at 106
Adan De La Fuente, Nyssa, sophomore: 28-13 record at 120
Braxton Henager, Harrisburg, junior: 30-5 record at 126
John Henderson, Harrisburg, senior: 33-7 record at 132
Kisor Savage, Willamina, senior: 45-3 record at 138
Jackson Peterman, Harrisburg, junior: 40-5 record at 144
James Turner, Banks, junior: 31-5 record at 150
Luke Baker, Nyssa, junior: 35-8 record at 157
Wyatt Cox, Vale, senior: 32-10 record at 190
4A boys
Cody Sieminski, Sweet Home, freshman: 44-2 record at 106
Braiden Grochowsky, Estacada, senior: 30-1 record at 113
Bragen Anderson, La Grande, senior: 40-7 record at 132
Henry Bankhead, North Marion, junior: 35-2 record at 138
Leonardo Michel, Stayton, senior: 30-2 record at 144
Vance Nelson, Pendleton, senior: 38-4 record at 175
Mitchell Quist, Hidden Valley, senior: 26-1 record at 285
Grochowsky from Estacada could be the first state champion from the school since a 2016 title from Nicholas Ledbury at 4A 220.
Michel from Stayton is looking to become only the fourth state wrestling champ in the school’s history. The other three came in 2022 (Mauro Michel), 1993 (Travis King) and 1992 (Jake Whisenhunt).
Quist from Hidden Valley is seeking to become only the fifth state champion in school history and fourth boy. The last boy state champion came in 1987 when Dan Vidlak won his second consecutive title. The last was Megan Peterson in 2024 on the girls side.
5A boys
Samuel Greenstreet, Thurston, sophomore: 41-2 record at 106
Ivan Henderson, Thurston, sophomore: 43-4 record at 132
Seth Wynn, Lebanon, senior: 49-2 record at 157
Ryland Walters, Crater, junior: 42-3 record at 190
Jayden Lopez, Crook County, senior: 5-0 record at 215
Travis Ege, Crater, senior: 34-6 record at 285
6A boys
Anthony Diaz, Oregon City, junior: 19-1 record at 106
Eli Borrayo, Cleveland, junior: 35-5 record at 120
Isaiah Snyder, Westview, senior: 29-8 record at 132
Ethan Stock, Mountainside, junior: 45-4 record at 144
Titus Rodela, Jefferson, senior: 32-1 record at 157
Giovanni Silva, Westview, senior: 38-5 record at 165
Maximus Rodriguez, North Salem, junior: 30-4 record at 175
Isaac Reynoso, Glencoe, senior: 15-2 record at 190
Brandon Cook, Forest Grove, senior: 44-6 record at 215
Rodela from Jefferson is looking to be the Democrats first boys wrestling state champ in 10 years, last done by Jasiah Williams in 2016. The Demos also had Tiana A’au win for the girls in 2017.
Reynoso from Glencoe is in a similar spot, looking to end a 10-year drought for the Crimson Tide boys. Their last state champ was in 2016 when both Nate Johnson and Tyler Self won a title.
4A/3A/2A/1A girls
Kiya Roe, Rainier, senior: 33-2 record at 105
Emmalee Brissette, Oakridge, junior: 45-2 record at 120
Shyla Sells, Mazama, sophomore: 39-2 record at 130
Adysen Maupin, Vale, senior: 11-2 record at 145
Madison Turner, Banks, freshman: 36-0 record at 155
Roe from Rainier is looking to be not only the school’s first girls state champ, but also its first since 2014 when Jesse Hutchins won. That 2014 title is also the last individual title for any Rainier athlete across all individual sports.
6A/5A girls
Aileen Paniagua, North Salem, junior: 38-4 record at 100
Cadence Morales, Grants Pass, junior: 43-4 record at 105
Lauren Echeverria, Crook County, freshman: 44-0 record at 110
Paisley Conway, Newberg, junior: 30-2 record at 115
Taylor Ward, Barlow, sophomore: 31-4 record at 130
Leticia Martinez, Century, senior: 38-5 record at 155
Evelyn Wirfs, Sprague, senior: 43-7 record at 170
Emony Greely, Roosevelt, junior: 27-2 record at 190
Madelynn Littlejohn, North Salem, sophomore: 26-8 record at 235
Ward from Barlow could be the first Bruins state champ since 2015 when Chandler Michael won at 6A 145. She’d also be the first girl to ever win a state title for Barlow.
Wirfs from Sprague is looking to add to a strong wrestling tradition for the school by becoming the first girls state champion in Olympians history.
Greely from Roosevelt hopes to become only the second Roughrider to ever win a state wrestling title. The last came in 2014 when Semise Kofe won his second consecutive crown after also winning in 2013.
austinw@osaa.org
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