Time to make a move

Two weeks from today, the OSAA / OnPoint Community Credit Union Wrestling State Championships will commence at Memorial Coliseum in downtown Portland. Two days later, five boys team state champions and two girls state champions will be identified. Individual championship medals will be conferred on 70 boys and 28 girls.

Will La Grande’s boys team win a fourth straight 4A title?

Will Newberg’s Zachary Keinonen in 6A, Sweet Home’s Kylie Sieminski in 4A and Illinois Valley’s Mike Miller in 2A/1A complete their careers by winning state titles for the fourth consecutive year?

Can Canby junior Jackson Doman, Nelson  junior Dominic Macon, Forest Grove freshman Archie De La Rosa, North Valley junior Sarah Gonzales and Summit senior EunMi Kippley stay unbeaten to the end and win?

These questions and many more will soon be decided as contending teams and hopeful wrestlers chase history. But, before teams and individual can claim state titles, they first have to get there. This coming weekend and next, league and district tournaments will determine qualifiers for the state tournament. Between 3-5 wrestlers per league or district, depending on enrollment classification, will qualify for each of the 14 weight classes pre-determined for boys and for girls.

The one thing to keep in mind is that more than one wrestler from a school may qualify in a given weight class. That seems to be key to piling up points at state and winning state team titles. Last year, both 6A state champion West Linn and runner up Newberg put 16 boys into the state tournament. 5A boys champion Redmond had 15, 4A champion La Grande placed 17 and 3A and 2A/1A titleists La Pine and Illinois Valley sent at least 12 to the Coliseum.

On the girls’ side, no one sent more wrestlers to state than 6A/5A champion North Medford, with seven. 4A/3A/2A/1A champion La Pine had five. These numbers are sure to rise this year and into the future as the girls’ side of the sport becomes more entrenched and continues to grow in popularity.

It’s not perfect science, but if you want to know which teams will contend for team trophies at State, check to see how many wrestlers they qualify for the Dance.

News and notes

Canby won the 24-team Bill Geister Invitational hosted by Clackamas HS. The Cougars piled up 315 points to outpace runner up Centennial by more than 80 points. Brandon Harms’ squad finished with five champions and 12 placers. Trey Smith (Fr.; 106), Dean Williams (Soph.; 120), Isaiah Parsons (Jr.; 165), James Keinonen (Jr.; 175), and Jackson Doman (Jr.; 215) all won tough brackets. Doman remained unbeaten on the year by edging Lake Oswego’s Luisiano Lopez, 9-8.

Nelson heavyweight Dominic Macon also stayed unbeaten with a 2-1 tiebreaker victory in the final over AJ Wedge of David Douglas.

Centennial had no champions but placed 10 wrestlers among the top six in their weight classes, including 175-pound runner up Ilya Yurko.

Third-place Clackamas’ two champions are returning state champs, Max Blanco at 113 and Jeremiah Wachsmuth at 126. Wachsmuth won four of this five matches by fall, including in the final.

Moises Lopez (132) and Richard Lopez (190) took home individual titles for Aloha. Scappoose junior Maverick Heimbuck pinned his way through the 157-pound bracket.

***

Oakridge, eight wrestlers strong, won the 12-team Central Linn Girls Invite.

Vanessa Keller (100-105) and Kali Williams (130-135) won their brackets for the Warriors but freshman sensation Emmalee Brissette did not. She lost in the 110-115 semifinals to eventual champion Jennifer Russell of Corvallis. Recall that Brissette and Russell both made last week’s Notebook for knocking off then-unbeaten wrestlers (and defending state champions) Macali Lade of Siuslaw and Polly Olliff of Dallas, respectively.  

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Scappoose sophomore Emmerson Jarman pinned her way through the 100-pound bracket and three other Vikings finished second in their brackets for the champions at the Guardian Invitational hosted by Ida B. Wells.

Scappoose entered 11 wrestlers and third-place Hillsboro had 12, which makes Grant’s second-place team finish impressive. The Generals entered just six wrestlers, but three emerged as champions: Niazeal Orduna Torres at 105, Lillian Courtnage-Dyke at 130 and Esperanza Walsh at 145. Two others placed: Zuzana Pleva was second at 190 and  Seph Jarosh finished fourth at 135.

“It was a wonderful team effort and the women are riding high going into this weekend's district meet,” said coach Warren McPherson.

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Dallas outdistanced Forest Grove and the host school to win the Hood River Memorial Tournament. The Dragons had seven individual champions in the 14 brackets contested: Joseph Johnson (120), Sully ill (126), Tyler Basey (132), Blake Atterbury (144), Thomas Talmadge (150), Cole Langford (215) and Kyron Dodds (285).

Freshman standout Archie De La Rosa of Forest Grove continued his standout season by winning the 113-pound bracket. De La Rosa won his first three matches by fall before earning a majority decision in the championship match. He remains undefeated on the season.

***

La Pine won its own Frostbite Open by a wide margin over Lowell, Culver, Cottage Grove and Caldera. The Hawks won despite entering just 11 wrestlers. Riley Flack (113), Landyn Philpott (138), Devon Kerr (144), Cache Montgomery (175), Tag DeLuca (190) and Dylan Kerr (215) were individual champions for the reigning 3A state champs. Philpott, Devin Kerr and DeLuca all are returning state champions.

Two other returning state champions, Dylan Clark of Henley and Harley Hardison of Lowell, also won their brackets.

***

Ridgeview had champions in Joselyn James and Nova Danzig to prevail in the Girls Frostbite Open. The Ravens had only five girls entered.

Defending 4A/3A/2A/1A champion La Pine entered only three, but emerged with two champions, Jade Seymour and Riley Allison.

***

Illinois Valley edged North Bend to win the Panther Coastal Challenge hosted by Gold Beach HS. The reigning boys 2A/1A state champs had four individual champions, James Conn, Mike Miller, Ethan Green and Joziah Williams.

Heavyweight Logan Clyburn of Myrtle Point, a returning state champion, pinned his three opponents to win at 285.

***

With Victoria Glade leading the way, Rogue River won the Panther Coast Challenge Girls Tournament.

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Sandy dominated the 18-team Sherwood Invitational behind champions Mason Culp (138) and Matthew Tammad (215). Four other Pioneers finished as runners up in their respective brackets.

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Harrisburg wrestled in the District 2 Duals this past Friday and Saturday. Over eight duals, the Eagles lost only two matches, one by fall and one by medial forfeit. Six of the results were between 81 and 84 to zero. That’s awfully impressive!

The most notable individual performance came from Hunter Langham at 285. He defeated defending state champ Brett Highburger of Elmira, 3-1, in overtime. 

***

For the first time ever the Central Valley Conference has awarded a team championship for Girls Wrestling. McNary defeated Sprague, 60-18, in a dual to clinch the first-ever conference championship. 

***

Lebanon heavyweight Isaac Jordan has had a dominant season. He is 40-6 on the year and has won four tournaments, including back-to-back at Tualatin and this past weekend at Sherwood.

Undefeateds

In this recurring category, we list wrestlers with 15 or more wins who are currently undefeated on the season.

33-0 – Jackson Doman, Jr., Canby, 5A (190/215)

31-0 – Archie De La Rosa, Fr., Forest Grove, 6A (113)

25-0 – Dominic Macon, Jr., Nelson, 6A (285)

19-0 – Sarah Gonzales, Jr., North Valley, 4A/3A/2A/1A (105)

15-0 – EunMi Kippley, Sr., Summit, 6A/5A (100)

Legends of the fall

In this section, we list wrestlers recording pins this season in under 15 seconds.

8 seconds

Colby Rich, Soph., Kennedy, 175, Jan. 25

10 seconds

Scout Santos, Sr., Mountain View, 132, Dec. 15

11 seconds

Abby Daugherty, Jr., North Douglas, 105, Jan. 14

Soraya Pickett, Fr., North Salem, 120, Jan. 25

12 seconds

Reid Abrahamson, Sr., Mountain View, 285, Jan. 11

Max Smith, Jr., Warrenton, 190, Jan. 6

13 seconds

Grant Brunner, Soph., Kennedy, 165, Jan.23

Mason Core, Sr., North Valley, 150, Jan. 13

Katlyn Morton, Jr., Waldport, 185-192, Feb. 3

Chaya Palomo, Soph., Sprague, 100, Dec. 2

14 seconds

Reid Abrahamson, Sr., Mountain View, 285, Dec. 1

Liam Williams, Sr., Mountain View, 215, Jan. 11

15 seconds

Karly Wilson, Soph., Thurston, 122, Jan. 13

Pin to the end

In this section, we list wrestlers who pinned their way through an event with four or more wins.

Thomas Bischoff, Sr., Regis, 215, Culver Tournament Dec 8-9

Kira Boitano, Sr., Kennedy, 110, Dayton, Jan. 6

Melani Correa Artiaga, Sr., Century, 130, Tyrone Woods, Dec. 3

Maverick Heimbuck, Jr., Scappoose, 157, Bill Geister Invitational, Feb. 2-3

Hannah Henderson, Sr., Harrisburg, 155, North Bend Coast Classic, Dec. 9-10

Hannah Henderson, Sr., Harrisburg, 155, Pape Linn County Championship, Jan. 4

Hannah Henderson, Sr., Harrisburg, 155, Hood River Girl’s Tournament, Jan. 27

Emmerson Jarman, Soph., Scappoose, 100, Guardian Invitational, Feb. 2-3

Zorina Johnson, Soph., Ida B. Wells, Braided 64, Jan. 5-6

Macali Lade, Jr., Siuslaw, 115, Perry Burlison, Dec. 2

Macali Lade, Jr., Siuslaw, 115, North Bend Coast Classic Dec. 8-9

Macali Lade, Jr., Siuslaw, 115, Grants Pass Winter Kick-off, Dec. 15-16

Delilah Leusch, Fr., West Linn, 115, Tod Surmon/Mid-Valley Classic, Jan. 27

Ali Martinez, Sr., McNary, 190, Lady Dragon Invitational, Jan. 20

Landyn Philpott, Sr., La Pine, 138, Sierra Nevada Classic, Dec. 28-29

100 % COMMITTED!

In this section, we identify those wrestlers who have made commitments to wrestle in college.

Kai Carson, Sr., La Grande, 138 – Eastern Oregon University

Isaac Hampton, Sr., Newberg, 125/133 -- Navy

Jackson Potts, Sr., Mountain View, 175 – Gardner-Webb University

If you are a high school varsity wrestling head coach and want to know how you can contribute to future Notebooks, contact John Tawa at [email protected]