Last week was a big one for wrestling, with notable events on the coast, in the Portland area and in the east.
Crater holes on at Coast Classic
Crater, the pre-season No. 3 boys team in the OSAAtoday 5A coaches polls, outpointed Crook County, Redmond and Harrisburg to capture the 41-team North Bend Coast Classic. The Comets had five champions: Jeremiah Oliva at 132, Joey Hutchins at 138, Jaret Hickey at 144, Jaxon Godley at 157 and Ryland Walters at 175. Oliva and Hutchins are returning state champions.
“Our wrestlers did a great job working on the techniques that we have been practicing,” said coach Greg Higa. “It is always good to start the year out with a tournament like the Coast Classic. It shows us where we are and what we need to do to improve.”
Crater put seven in the finals. Oliva was voted lightweight Outstanding wrestler, while Hickey, a junior, was unseeded and proceeded to pin his way through the bracket. Walters, who was fourth in State at 126 a year ago as a freshman, won the 175-pound bracket with a stunning win over sophomore Leif Larwin, a returning state champion. The Comets also got strong showings from Brayden Martinez (106) and Boston Tazioli (165), both of whom placed third; and Daemian Deen, who took fifth in a loaded 190-pound bracket that saw Bridger Foss of South Medford defeat Gavin Sandoval of Crook County, with Brody Buzzard third and Orinn Hubbard fourth. Foss, Sandoval and Buzzard are all returning state champions, while Hubbard was second last year at 190 in 5A.
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Other champions included Casen Villastrigo of Crook County (106), Roseburg’s Drew Dawson (113), Caleb Enoch of Clackamas (120), Chase Hemphill of Crook County (126), Gavin Pogue of Eagle Point (165), Jacob Mann of Siuslaw / Mapleton (215) and Isandre De La Torre of South Medford (285).
Redmond rosy in taking Coast Classic Girls
Redmond, 18 wrestlers strong, lived up to its billing as the fifth best 6A/5A girls squad by winning the 38-team North Bend Coast Classic Girls tournament. The Panthers outdistanced McNary (eighth in 6A/5A) and Harrisburg (fourth in 4A/3A/2A/1A). North Medford, which was fourth in the 6A/5A pre-season rankings, placed sixth with just seven wrestlers entered.
Mackenzie Shearon pinned her way through the 145-pound bracket to become Redmond’s only champion. Gemma DeLance (110), Mia Pedersen (120) and Reina Barnes-Rubio (140) finished second for the victors.
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McNary’s strong finish came with a few point scorers missing. The Celtics had strong showings from Jessica Cottings (100) and McKenna Unger (145), who were ach second; Solé Bartlemay (120) and Cadence Fineran (135), who were ach third; and Izzy Hublitz, who took home fourth.
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Harrisburg placed third overall, with freshman Eden Ridgley, junior Gracie Williams and sophomore Paxton Steele taking the first three weight classes.
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Returning champion Skylar Hall of North Medford won at 115, Macali Lade of Siuslaw,/ Mapleton, who was second at State behind Steele at 110 last year, won at 120, and senior Allison Palluck of Cottage Grove won 125 by fall.
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Mountainside’s Layla Morris, the reigning 6A/5A champion at 115 pounds, dominated the 130-pound division. She won all five matches by first period pins and was named Outstanding Wrestler for the tournament.
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Other champions included Cadence Payton of Clackamas (135), Paisley Morrison of Coquille / Bandon (140), Kaylianna Mazzucchi and Rowan Hampton of North Bend (150 and 170, respectively), Lielarose Vaa Calva of South Medford (190) and Liberty’s Bianca Miranda (235).
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Newport showed well with a 18th-place finish. Camille Keck had a strong tournament in the brutal 140-pound bracket, taking fifth; while Zoie Garcia, Mysti Ferguson and freshman Jaidyn Nastiuk also distinguished themselves.
“We are extremely proud of all of our girls,” said coach Micheal Bradley. “I think we wrestled very well, with much better wrestling ahead of us as our new, young wrestlers continue to figure out the sport.”
La Grande big winners at Muilenburg
La Grande won the tournament it hosts, “Muilenburg,” for the second time over the past three years. The Tigers scored 346.5 points and beat second-place Banks by almost 80 points. Sixteen teams entered the event, which is named after Brian Muilenburg, a former Tiger wrestler who was killed at a very young age in a car accident.
La Grande had 15 wrestlers place and won four brackets, with Colton Livingstone (138), Tommy Belding (157), Dex Dunlap (215) and Kenai Huff (285) winning titles. Belding was named the Ryan Jorgenson Outstanding Wrestler Award after he defeated returning Idaho state champion Carlos Valdez in the finals.
“Our young kids stepped up,” said La Grande head coach Klel Carson. “It was impressive actually. They exceeded my expectations and truly got me excited about the future of La Grande Wrestling. It's going to be just fine. Super proud of them. To score that many points in a tourney takes everyone. The work that these guys have done in the off season has already begun to show this season.”
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Other Oregon winners included three from Barlow: senior Garrett Head at 120, and two freshmen, Olin Storlie at 132 and Layth Qouchbane at 175. Aldo Duran of Baker / Powder Valley prevailed at 126, Scappoose’s Maverick Heimbuck won at 165 and Sam Platz of Union / Cove took first at 190.
“Winning the tournament is a major feat for most, but for a small school team like Union/Cove, this is a big notch in program history,” noted coach Joe Shaw about Platz’ win. “We have not had an individual champion of the Muilenburg tournament since Jon Cox in 2010. This win is a great indication of what lies ahead for Sam this season, and with that win, Sam remains undefeated at 7-0!”
Thurston for the title at Rose City
Thurston outdistanced defending state champions Sweet Home (4A) and Newberg (6A) to capture the prestigious Rose City Championships. The Colts scored 407 points to win by almost 50. Sophomore Michael Salas-Sanchez, at 113 pounds, won the squad’s only individual title. Lukas Salas-Sanchez (106) and Mason Hakki (120) were second-place finishers. Ivan Henderson (120) and Holton Halstead (144) each earned third-place showings.
“We are deep in the lower and middle weights, which helped rack up a bunch of points,” said coach Mike Simons. “It was an overall team performance.”
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Sweet Home took second, highlighted by sophomore Jesse Landtroop winning at 120 pounds. Tytus Hardee placed second at 126 and the Huskies saw two take third, Keegan Jefferson at 106 and Ashton Swanson at 190.
“We had a great showing there,” said Sweet Home coach Steve Thorpe. “Jesse Landtroop had a finals rematch from last year [with Hakki]. This year he came out with the championship belt.”
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Other Oregon champions included Newberg’s Kiah Worthington at 106, Aiden Nelmes of Mountain View (126), Gus Amerson of Newberg (157), Maclain Culp of West Linn (165) and Noah Miner of Aloha (285).
Dallas blooms at War of the Roses
Four teams from Washington state captured the top four spots at the War of the Roses Tournament on Saturday. Dallas, Thurston, Sweet Home and Sprague were the Oregon schools among the top 10, with Dallas fifth, six points ahead of defending 6A/5A state champion Thurston.
Dallas had two champions in Polly Oliff (115) and Jenna Rogers (145). Oliff won state at 110 last year. The Dragons also had two other veterans place, Marissa McGinnis at 105 and Ay Pymm McDaniel at 120.
“Mid-December wrestling often exposes more questions than answers,” said coach Tony Oliff. “What has our girl's program discovered so far (After Knife River in Scappoose and Rose City)? We've discovered that La Grande, Crook County, Redmond and Thurston all have formidable girls’ wrestling programs. We've also learned that our first-year wrestlers and new freshmen are on track in their development. Our big returners (Polly, Ah Pym, Marissa, and Jenna) are all competing at the level that we want to see them compete at in mid-December. If we can stay healthy, adjust wrestlers to their appropriate weight, and use venues like Northwest Duals (Albany over Christmas Break) and The Classic (Redmond in January) to come-together as a team, there is no reason this Girls Wrestling team can't be in the conversation for a trophy at the state tourney...perhaps pushing for a state title.”
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Thurston wrestled well in taking sixth-place overall, especially considering that four regulars were missing from the regular lineup. Kristal Zamora won at 140 for the Colts, while Eily Asher (100) and Izabella Castleberry (190) each took second.
“Dallas has a really good group of wrestlers this year again and they snuck by us,” Simons said.
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Sweet Home’s ninth-place finish was aided by Bailey Chaffin’s championship belt at 125 pounds.
“This tourney was tough this year!!!!” Thorpe emphasized.
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Other Oregon individual bracket winners included Chaya Palomo of Sprague (100), Paisley Conway of Newberg (110) and Isabel Herring of Cleveland (155).
Egging Roe on!
Knappa wrestled at the Fast Lube Invitational in Warrenton. The Loggers only had five girls participate and we third as a team with everyone placing, including champions Kiya Roe (105) and Caidence Crawford (135), who pinned everyone in their brackets. Roe received most outstanding lightweight and Crawford received most outstanding heavy weight!
“The two best girls in the tournament from the same school!” exclaimed coach Kyle Anderegg. “How cool is that?”
Roe returned with the boys the following day and entered in the 106-pound bracket. She through that bracket as well and received most outstanding lightweight wrestler in the BOYS tournament!!!
News & Notes
Grants Pass senior Owen Hull has more than 100 wins in his career, one of which was for the 2023 state title at 138 pounds. Hull’s 2024 year was cut short by season-ending surgery last December and he had another surgery at the start of this school year.
Hull is hoping to return to action in the next few weeks.
“If he makes it back and can stay healthy, he should be in the hunt for another state title,” said coach Ben Coulter.
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McNary’s boys have been battling injuries but the team saw Christian Pineda wrestled extremely well in his first varsity tournament at the North Bend Coast Classic.
He came from behind to win in a few matches and putting in the work to carve out a spot in the Celtic lineup, said coach Samuel Martin.
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Martin also lauded Hannah Herrera on the girls’ team.
“She has come into her second season a completely different wrestler, already surpassing her win total from last year through two tournaments and a duel,” Martin said. “She is looking like she could be a sneaky state qualifier at 235.”
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Newport's boys came into the Coast Classic very banged up and trying to get healthy. The Cubs entered only three boys on the varsity side of the tournament.
Evan Hernandez continues to shine in his second year wrestling, showing how far a next-level work ethic can carry someone,” noted coach Bradley. “Evan did not place but went 2-2 for the tournament in a very tough bracket.”
Ivan Wagner went 3-2 for Newport and made it to the blood round.
“Ivan is one of the most technically sound wrestlers I have ever worked with and has all the physical abilities to be a high podium wrestler at state when the season ends,” Bradley said.
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The Union/Cove girls competed at the Safeway Buckle Classic. Kari Stockhoff started the tournament well by beating two opponents she had not previously defeated and finished sixth in a tough bracket.
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Imbler wrestled at the county championships in Echo on Dec. 11. Evan Burns was champion at 106; Lucy Camacho was girls’ champion at 155. Anthony Pallis finished second at 157.
On the weekend, Burns took third at 106 at Muilenburg, while Camacho finished third at the Safeway Buckle, avenging a loss to an Idaho girl in the first round.
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Canby’s boys were back in action Saturday at the Herrin Holiday Classic at McKay High School.
Behind the strength of nine champions and 14 placers, the Cougars took home the hardware for first place as a team for the fourth consecutive year.
Trey Smith, Dean Williams, Brady Froyd, Nico Yazzolino, Taeler Pfenning, James Keinonen, Isaiah Parsons, Jackson Doman and Alexander Maurer were all individual champs.
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Canby’s girls brought home fifth place at the Rick Sanders Girls Invitational. Emilia Ensrud and Kinley Walters were both individual champions. Mollie Kivett, Isabella Quesada and Clarisa Santiago Martinez each finished second for the Cougs.
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Grant's girls took second place at the Rick Sanders Invitational. The Generals entered eight and had six place, including champion Esperanza Walsh, who won all of her four matches at 170 by fall. Five others, Niazeal Orduna Torres (105), Melanie Blecher (130), Verity Winterbower (140), Seph Jarosh 145) and Val Bright 155), all placed third.
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Kennedy wrestling competed at the Gary McDaniel tournament in Scio this past Saturday.
Bohden Sowa took home the title at 132, but that wasn’t the biggest Trojan news. Caleb Kline made the finals with a third period fall. He was losing 16-3 at the time!!!
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Pendleton’s boys have four returning state placers from last season, all of whom are juniors: Aidan Perkins, Vance Nelson, Kainen Zimmerman and Cole Roy. The Buckaroos also have five more returning state qualifiers. Last week, they competed at the Tim Patrick Dual Tournament, and won the championship there.
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Pendleton’s girls are a first-year program and are off to a roaring start. The Buckaroos took first at the Enterprise Kick-Off tournament opening weekend and last week placed fourth out of 12 teams at the Oregon Trail County Championships in Echo.
