Another wrestling season, another campaign of dominance from Legend Lamer.
The Crescent Valley senior, who has not lost to an Oregon wrestler in his high school career, began blazing a path toward a fourth 5A title Saturday with four first-round pins at 145 pounds in the Perry Burlison Classic.
“He just is pretty much in total control,” said Raiders coach Chad Lamer, his father. “He was doing exactly what he wants to do.”
It would be an upset if Lamer didn’t add a title at 145 to his previous championships at 106, 120 and 138. Still, becoming Crescent Valley’s second four-time champion, following Alex Rich (2012-15), provides motivation.
“It would mean a lot,” said Legend, who has signed with Cal Poly. “Bringing that fourth title back to my school, just kind of make all the hard work through high school worth it. It’s been my goal since my freshman year.”
Legend grew up in a wrestling family, winning his first state title as a kindergartner.
His father was a three-time NCAA Division II champion at South Dakota State and placed fourth in the Olympic Trials in 2000. His brother, Brawley, won a state title for Crescent Valley as a senior in 2017 and is on the team at Cal Poly. His brother, Chance, a sophomore for the Raiders, won the state title at 106 last season. And his youngest brother, Daschle, is a standout eighth-grader.
Legend and Chance have risen far above the competition in Oregon and measure themselves nationally. Their high school matches in the state have become exhibitions, more than anything.
“I really don’t have to worry about them,” Chad said. “Even when I’m in their corner, I really don’t have to say a whole lot. They have wrestled in such huge national tournaments, this is pretty low stress compared to some of that.”
Legend’s only two losses last high school season came against wrestlers from Colorado and Washington. The defeats helped spur his offseason improvement.
“I learned a lot,” Legend said about the losses. “I got back in the room and worked on some certain positions. Hopefully, I’ll get to wrestle tougher kids like that again.”
Chad said that Legend has focused on improving his set-ups and hand-fighting, to quickly snap and reach an opponent’s legs.
“Maybe he hasn’t had to do that much while he’s in the state of Oregon, but he got beat twice last year by out-of-state kids, and he got rode by both of them,” Chad said.
Legend hasn’t been seriously challenged in Oregon since his freshman season. One potential obstacle this season is Mountain View junior Beau Ohlson, a two-time 5A champion (106, 120) who has moved to 6A.
“He’s a tough wrestler,” Chad said of Ohlson. “We’ll probably get to see them at the Reser’s tournament, so hopefully he’s at 145, so Legend can get to face him.”
Chance, who placed fifth in the Cadet World Championships in Croatia in July, also is a heavy favorite at 113. In his first tournament, he pinned three of his four opponents.
“He’s really good,” Legend said of his brother. “He’s super fast and really competitive and wants to win really bad. He works hard to make that happen.
“I think we both make each other better. We’ll call each other out on things we see, what we’re doing wrong. I think we win off each other. If I see him win a tournament, I want to go win that tournament. I think a little bit of competitiveness between us helps us out.”
Chad said that Chance is ahead of where Legend was as a sophomore.
“He’s just got a lot of natural athleticism,” Chad said. “And he’s super competitive, at everything he does, even board games.”
With the Lamers leading the way, the Raiders are hoping to contend for their first 5A team title. They finished fifth at state last season and were voted No. 6 in the OSAAtoday 5A preseason coaches poll.
“I’m feeling a lot more confident this year than I have any other season,” Legend said of his team. “Our guys have really developed. We’ve got two freshmen that are really tough.
“I think we’re definitely in there to win the state tournament. We’ll have quite a few kids bring home medals. I’m excited to see how it turns out.”
