The big schools are setting up for an exciting finish on Saturday at the OSAA/OnPoint Community Credit Union Oregon high school state wrestling tournament.
All three team races between the 6A boys, 5A boys and 6A/5A girls are tight, two-team races after the first day of action Friday inside the Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Portland.
The 6A boys quarterfinals begin at 9 a.m. Saturday, meanwhile 5A boys and 6A/5A girls will work through more consolation rounds.
The semifinals for all three levels won’t begin until at least 12:30 p.m., followed by the parade of champions at 6 p.m. to kick off the finals.
Here’s a look at each classification with the state of the team race and more storylines to follow on Saturday.
6A/5A girls
North Medford senior Skyler Hall admitted that earlier in the season, the pressure of becoming a four-time state champion was getting to her.
She was wrestling nervous and “stress wrestling” at practice as the state tournament dates loomed closer and closer.
However, the senior said this week she was able to calm her mind knowing that win or lose, she’s got the love and appreciation of all those around her.
“This week I realized no one is going to lose their level of respect for me if I don’t win the fourth,” Hall said. “I’m just coming in here with the focus of wrestling my best. If I win a fourth, that is amazing. But my focus is to wrestle my best and compete to the best of my ability.”
Hall’s best looked strong on day one as the 6A/5A girls top seed at 120 won her first match via pin at 1:03, and then won in the quarterfinals with a 14-3 major decision.
The senior said she was recently battling some sickness, but is feeling better this week physically and is ready for the competition.
“I’m looking a lot better at this tournament than I personally think I have all year, which is perfect timing,” Hall said. “I spent a lot of time these past two weeks working on the finer details, so I feel really good.”
There’s always room for improvement, even if you're a three-time state champion. For Hall, she said this season has been about improving her game on her feet to set up her ties and shots, along with being better on bottom when the time comes.
That could come on Saturday as the path won’t be easy for Hall. Her semifinals opponent is West Albany senior Naudia Edmiston, who improved to 48-0 on the season on Friday.
It’s two more matches to try and become the first girls wrestler to ever win four OSAA-sanctioned state titles, and the first wrestler ever from North Medford to pull off the feat.
The ending is bittersweet, but Hall is in the right mindset to try and close her high school career with a bang.
“I’m so excited and I’m also so sad,” Hall said. “I have potentially only two more folkstyle matches for the rest of my life. After this it’s freestyle.”
On the other end of the spectrum from Hall is Crook County freshman Lauren Echeverria.
The top seed at 110 remained unbeaten at 46-0 thanks to two more wins on Friday that included two pins, one at 1:19 and the other at 2:50.
Not only that, but her dominance is part of the Cowgirls’ current lead in the 6A/5A team standings with 71.5 points compared to Dallas’ 65.
“It’s pretty chill, you just have to treat it like any other tournament so it’s not that big of a deal,” Echeverria said of her first state tournament experience. “Don’t over-hype it so you don’t get nervous.”
Of course, she’s had a chance to be up close to the tournament before as her older sister Taylor Echeverria is a junior and returning champion from last season.
Taylor Echeverria is now at 140 as the top seed and also cruised to the semifinals with two pins, one at 1:24 and the other at 3:14.
Getting to see older sis throw people around at state was a valuable lesson for Lauren Echeverria to receive.
“She told me that it’d be fine and it’d be easy,” Lauren Echeverria said of older sister’s advice. “It’s been pretty cool, our community is super supportive, lots of people cheering me on.”
The Cowgirls have three more wrestlers in the semifinals that include Chevelle Boynton (100), Emerie Cox (115) and Jolisa Mendoza (235). They also have six grapplers still competing in the consolation brackets.
Those five leave Crook County as the favorites still, but Dallas isn’t far behind and also has five wrestlers in the semifinals. The Dragons have four remaining in the consolation rounds.
The race will be close, but a competitive Crook County squad hopes to maintain the lead and bring home the program’s first state title in girls wrestling.
“It’s really cool, it’s nice to see our team has grown and we have a great coach,” Lauren Echeverria said. “It’s really cool to be a part of such a dominating team.”
There are only four other returning champions on the 6A/5A girls side, and all four remain in the hunt for more crowns.
Ida B. Wells senior Zorina Johnson is looking for her third title, this one at 135. McNary junior Marlina Martinez is onto the semifinals at 115, Redmond senior Mia Pedersen is alive at 125 and Crater junior Audrey Robinson is in the 145 semifinals.
The biggest upset of the session might have come from the 6A/5A girls as well. Jefferson, Portland junior Dominic Rodela was able to pin top-seeded Evelyn Wirfs out of Sprague in 1:30. Rodela is trying to become the first Democrats girls wrestler to win state since 2017.
6A boys
Two-time defending state champion Newberg currently holds a slight lead over West Linn in the 6A boys race. The Tigers finished day one with 86 points to the Lions’ 77.
The not-so-secret weapon for Newberg to get back over the hurdle in 2026 might be senior Gavin Rangel at 144 pounds.
Rangel won state as a sophomore in 2024, but missed the 2025 tournament due to a shoulder injury. Back for his senior year, Rangel is seeded No. 2 at 144 and said he was getting flashbacks to 2024 after his one bout of the day on Friday which he won with a pin in 39 seconds.
“Overall, feeling fantastic, it’s like flashbacks playing back because I missed it last year,” Rangel said.
Instead of eating popcorn and watching from the stands, Rangel will be back on the mat for Saturday starting with the quarterfinals against No. 7 seed Denys Skrypnyk from Nelson.
While Rangel didn’t get to show out on the state stage last year, he learned more about what it takes to take his game to the next level.
“I’ve taken it in much more than I would have if I didn’t get hurt,” Rangel said. “I didn’t watch much film, the wrestler I was before. I started to watch more film at home, and watching the matches made it easier for me to slow down my match and my opponent.”
That dedication has made Rangel a vital piece of the puzzle as Newberg has nine wrestlers still competing in the quarterfinals and three more still alive in the consolation brackets.
One of those still alive is defending state champion Hezekiah Worthington at 113. Sawyer Keinonen is another reigning champion who did qualify for the state tournament, but wasn’t able to participate.
Still, the Tigers are holding strong thanks in part to the leadership from those big three.
“We talk about that daily … We’re not defending anything, it’s a new year and individually you’re in a different weight class so there are different elements,” Newberg head coach Neil Russo told OSAAtoday earlier this season. “(Worthington and Keinonen) are leaders in our program and have been where we’re trying to take a lot of other kids. They’re doing all the right things and trying to show the way a little bit.”
Other quarterfinalists for Newberg include Andres Mendoza (120), Jacob Jump (120), Hunter Hurl (126), Kingston Meaders (138), Artem Bikmurzin (144), Tylor Johnson (165) and Zadek Bowlby (215),
With Rangel being a senior, he described the moment as bittersweet knowing he only has two more matches left in his high school career.
At the same time, he has a close knit family forever with the Newberg wrestling team and he’s excited to see how they can close things out Saturday.
“This is my last year, this is the most special group of them all,” Rangel said. “I don’t want to speak on (winning the team state title). Not gonna put anything out there, but we have the confidence.”
West Linn is right on the Tigers’ tail though with nearly an identical lookout of remaining wrestlers. The Lions have nine grapplers into the quarterfinals and two still alive on the consolation side.
Mountainside is sitting in third with 52 points and has four wrestlers in the quarterfinals, five alive in the consolations.
All seven of the returning state champions at the 6A boys level are still in the hunt after the first day as well, which includes Worthington (113), Forest Grove junior Archy De La Rosa (126), West Linn sophomore Darian Johnson (132), Westview senior Amir Khanjan (138), North Medford senior Hesston Likens (150), Mountainside sophomore Isaac Conner (150) and South Medford senior Isandre De La Torre (285).
5A boys
Thurston and Crater have been battling all season, and the Colts once again are in the lead.
They hold a lead in the 5A boys team race after day one with 136 points compared to the Comets’ 127.5. Both teams have 10 wrestlers set to compete in the semifinals on Saturday, but the Colts have more alive in the consolations with 11 compared to Crater’s six.
But just don’t tell Thurston head coach Mike Simons that, he doesn’t want to know. Instead, the focus is individually showing up for each match and letting the points fall where they may.
So far, so good on that strategy.
“From what I hear, we’re right in the hunt. I don’t think we lost a boy, I think everyone of our kids – five girls – are still in from what I know,” Simons said. “We knew it was going to be like this, our goal is to get everybody to make it to day two, that’s step one.”
The eyes for Thurston immediately go to Michael and Lukas Salas-Sanchez, two brothers back as state champions from last year. Michael is a junior and Lukas is a sophomore.
Lukas won his first match as the top seed at 113 via a fall in 49 seconds, and won his quarterfinals match with a 17-4 major decision.
Meanwhile Michael was equally as dominant, winning round one with a 17-1 tech fall and getting a pin in the quarterfinals at 1:29 as the top seed in 120.
“They love this, this is what they live for all year, they trained all season for today and tomorrow,” Simons said. “They’re gamers and they show up.”
They are very far from alone with eight other Colts in the semifinals, which includes sophomore Samuel Greenstreet at 106, who Simons said set the tone from the jump.
Greenstreet won by tech fall and fall in the first two rounds to reach the semifinals. The other seven include Tanner Brumble (126), Ivan Henderson (132), Jaxon Harada (138), Truman Winningham (138), Bill Matheus (150), Chase Brumble (150) and Emmit Distefano (190).
Crater has 10 semifinalists as well, and did best the Colts at the end of the regular season in a dual hosted by Thurston.
That didn’t necessarily motivate the Colts any more according to Simons, but they are in for a battle on Saturday.
“We really didn’t talk about it, we flushed it. Turned off the lights in the gym and showed up the next day with our hard hats on and got back to work,” Simons said. “I haven’t had to give too many pep talks to get them fired up. They’re pretty much self motivated.”
As for the individual title hunt, Bend junior Leif Larwin continues to crush everyone in his path. The two-time state champion spent less than two minutes on the mat as the 175 top seed with a first-round pin at 1:08, followed by a quarterfinal pin at 42 seconds.
The junior said this year hasn’t been about adjusting technique or anything related to his game, but rather tuning the details and preparing himself for wrestling outside of high school.
Still, he loves to represent Bend and the community around the program on the state-wide stage.
“I feel good, I think I’ve trusted in my process and I know what it takes to get it done here,” Larwin said. “The focus is to get better. … I recognize the value of representing my school and my community here and I love to be here. I’m looking ahead to those (collegiate) goals while staying focused on what’s here.”
Larwin is one of 10 returning state champions at the 5A level, and all 10 remain alive for another crown after day one.
Those include Larwin, both Salas-Sanchez brothers, Crook County junior Casen Villastrigo (113), Crater junior Jeremiah Oliva (126), Crescent Valley junior Colton Hankey (138), Crater senior Jaret Hickey (144), Crater junior Aidan Godley (150), Crater senior Kutter Christensen (165) and Dallas sophomore Carson Langford (215).
Crook County is sitting third place as a team with a strong showing as well, putting seven Cowboys into the semifinals with four still alive in the consolations.
austinw@osaa.org
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