1A+ for Elgin
Elgin’s boys team repeated as state champions at the 1A State Championship Tournament conducted Jan. 21 at Alsea High School.
Wait!, you exclaim. The OSAA state championships don’t happen until the end of the month. That’s true. The OSAA groups 2A and 1A together, and the larger schools tend to dominate. Only Pine Eagle finished in the top 10 last year. Since 2004, the 1A schools have gotten together in January to determine their own unofficial state champion.
When Elgin won last year, the Huskies were first out of nine teams. Many 1A schools could not make the trip to Crane High School because of Covid or travel challenges. This year’s bracket-style event featured 17 teams, 16 of which scored points.
The 17 teams was the largest 1A state yet! More than 60 percent of the 27 schools listed on the OSAA site as having 1A wrestlers were represented. Some had just two wrestlers. Five had nine or more. A total of 86 boys made it to the mat.
“Alsea hosted the tournament, and, from my understanding, this is the first wrestling event they have hosted in 20 years!” said Union coach Joe Shaw. “What a great way to build wrestling in a small community. There was a wrestler from Alsea who decided to wrestle this year because he knew they would be hosting a home event!”
Elgin scored 131.5 points to outpace second-place Glendale by 19.5 points and third-place Camas Valley by 28 points. The Huskies put wrestlers in eight of the 14 brackets and emerged with three individual champions, junior Ty McLaughlin and senior Joe Lathrop, who repeated as champions from a year ago; and senior Gabe Hasbell, who won for the first time at 160 pounds. Elgin had four other boys, Bruce Moorehead, Sean Peden, Phoenix Taylor and Brandon Medlock, finish second or third. Elgin also had two first-year girl wrestlers, Olivia Farris and Jacie Lathrop, win two of the six girls brackets.
“The kids wrestled well at the 1A state championship,” noted Elgin coach Lee Fincher. “It was a goal of the team to repeat as team champs and all the kids wrestled really hard to make it happen.”
Second-place Glendale had the most boys individual champions, with four: Juan Ramirez (120), Luis Flores (126), Aaron Martin (138) and Howard Lewelling (220).
Heavyweight Kamalu Swift was the lone individual champion for third-place Camas Valley. He lived up to his name, pinning his three opponents in an average time of 59 seconds.
Union, which brought six wrestlers, had a great showing. The Bobcats had a freshman, Sam Platz, win his bracket at 145 pounds; and two more place among the top three in their brackets.
“This is the first time Union has had a state champion since 1978!” Shaw exclaimed. “Perhaps the most exciting part is that Sam is a freshman, so he has the potential to be a 4-time 1A state champion.”
Which 1A wrestlers have the best chance of winning OSAA 2A/1A titles later this month? Lathrop, who was second at 160 pounds last year, has to be a favorite whether he wrestles at 170 or 182. Crane senior Jake Doman, who won the 1A title at 170 and placed second at that weight at the OSAA tournament last February, also could finish atop the podium. So, too, Myrtle Point junior Logan Clayburn, who was second at 195 last year. Myrtle Point did not participate in the 1A state tournament.
Buffaloed!
Madras edged Marshfield to win the 12-team Cottage Grove Invitational on Saturday. Senior Cael White won the White Buffaloes’ only individual title, pinning his way through the 160-pound bracket. Fellow seniors Isaiah Martinez and Brady David secured top-four finishes.
“Our team wrestled better than they have all season and won the day,” noted coach Travis Ralls. “This young team is really improving. It was really exciting to watch! We have faced some of the toughest teams in the state this season in nearly all divisions and have been humbled. It was a great win for our program and the first team championship Madras has brought home in over a decade. We are very excited about the trajectory of our program. Madras has had some tough wrestlers and some good teams in the past; just never the numbers. The team is getting bigger and better. Wrestling is becoming something to talk about here in Madras.”
Lakeview won the girls’ event. The Honkers had five wrestlers entered and two captured titles.
Sandy beaches field at Paul/Larson
Sandy won the 10-team Paul/Larson Boys Invitational it hosts. The Pioneers defeated second-place Mountain View by a wide margin.
Sandy put nine wrestlers in the finals and produced five champions: Garrett Head at 106, Mason Culp at 132, Soren Dyal at 170, Uriah Subia at 195, and Nate Shea at 285, Sandy has been one of the big surprises on the Oregon wrestling scene this year after placing 18th at state a year ago, 13 places behind Mountain View.
In fairness to Mountain View, which won the Oregon Classic duals for the first time two weekends before, some of its top wrestlers missed the Sandy tournament dues to illness, including Drew Jones, who eclipsed 100 career wins at the Oregon Classic. Senior Andrew Worthington (97 career wins) and junior Jackson Potts (90) also did not make the drive over Mount Hood from Bend.
Ridgeview took third place in Sandy, with 12 individual placers. Individual highlights include Dylan Lee, who won his 3rd tournament of the year and has a 34-3 record; Rylen Castino, who took home his very first tournament gold at 182 pounds; and Elijah Hocker, who won his second tournament of the year. Both Castino and Hocker have 33 wins this season.
Cavemen draw acclaim at Tualatin Invitational
Tualatin entered 29 wrestlers and won its own Tualatin Invitational on Saturday. The Timberwolves got points from 28 wrestlers and an individual gold medalist in junior Jesse Gutierrez at 152 pounds to edge second place Grants Pass by 15.5 point. The Cavemen entered 19 wrestlers and had four individual champions, three of whom are seniors in Nathan Higa, Tagge Fry and Parker Jarvis.
“We have a great group of seniors that are good leaders and, more importantly, just good dudes,” noted GP head coach Ben Coulter. “They treat every one of our kids with respect and make them feel like the most important part of the team.
“Nathan Higa at 106 is a quiet kid, but leads by example and the whole team likes him. He is starting to turn the corner and believe in himself a little more and should perform well at our District tournament.
“Tagge Fry at 145 is a kid that you can build a program around. He is our leader and uplifts the whole team; he never has a bad thing to say to any of the kids. He pinned his way through the tournament last weekend he has only lost one match in Oregon so far this year.
“Parker Jarvis is our heavyweight who last wrestled his freshman year. Parker is one of the most likeable kids you will meet, super respectful and kind, but very competitive on the mat. He is having a tremendous season and his only loss so far has been to the No. 7 ranked heavyweight in California; he also beat him the next time they wrestled. He has pinned his way through three different tournaments this season, including Tualatin last weekend. He is a tremendous athlete and a great motivator on our team.
“Another wrestler that I believe deserves some recognition is Owen Hull. He is a sophomore with a 35-3 record and has only lost one match in Oregon. 27 of his wins have come by fall and he beat the #1 ranked wrestler at his weight last weekend in Tualatin. He is another great kid with a great attitude and work ethic.
“Our team is young, but with the leadership we have in our seniors, many of our kids are stepping up and performing well for us. We are hoping to keep the momentum going and have a good District tournament leading into State.”
Standin’ in the Hall of Fame
Later this afternoon, John Horn will be inducted into the North Salem Athletics Hall of Fame, commemorating his 30+ years as a head wrestling coach in Oregon. Horn currently assists his son, Casey, who is the head coach at West Albany. All told, John Horn is in his 59th year as a coach in Oregon. Remarkable.
“He is totally the reason I am in coaching,” Casey Horn said. “Every day I strive to be the coach that he was. I think the biggest take away/highlight of my dad’s career would be his relationships with his wrestlers. He is loved by his wrestlers. We continue to run into his ex-wrestlers and they all talk about my dad in the same light that I see my dad in. The wrestlers all love him and respect him. I hope I can live up to what he has done in his career. It is about the relationships; not about the wins and losses.”
Feeling Hawkish
Defending 3A champion La Pine was denied the chance to win the Oregon Classic, the premier dual match event in the state, because a wrestler weight in at a fraction over allotted weight and wrestled anyway. Harrisburg ended up winning the 3A portion of the event.
One week later, both La Pine and Harrisburg were undefeated at the Bay City Duals heading into the Saturday evening finals. La Pine came into the finals having not lost a dual on the mat in two years and kept that streak doing. The Hawks started the final with 33 straight points, fueled by wins from Tyson Flack, Thadius Brown, Mason Webb, Landyn Philpott and Devon Kerr, and never looked back in the 51-18 win.
News and notes
Ontario junior Hannah Hernandez, who started wrestling just two years ago, is 27-4 on the season, with all four of her losses to tournament champions. Hernandez, the champion at the Lady Huskies Invitational in Washington, also plays soccer and golf for the Tigers…
Illinois Valley’s girls wrestling team placed second at the Rogue Valley Championships on Saturday, the first time in girls wrestling history at the school to have a team award. Sophomore Chiara Miller, one of six first-year wrestlers, won the 100-115 pound division.
Illinois Valley’s boys team had 16 placers, put eight in the finals and had six champions at the Howell invitational hosted by Monroe HS. One of the victors was freshman James Conn at 106 pounds.
Imbler sophomore Lucy Camacho won the Bank of Eastern Oregon Tournament on Saturday at 155 pounds and was selected as outstanding female wrestler. Camacho only began wrestling as a freshman and has fashioned a 2105 record this year with top three finishs at all six events this season.
North Valley sophomore Ryan Gaskin improved to 30-1 on the season by taking the title at 182 pounds at the Rumble on the Rogue two Saturdays ago. Gaskin has now won 28 straight matches. The Knights also got wins from junior Mason Core at 152 pounds and undefeated (12-0) sophomore Breanna Meek on the girls’ side.
Led by Meek, who will try to repeat at 235 pounds, North Valley is taking six girls to districts next week, four more than the Knights had on their girls team a year ago.
North Salem has been having a season of development with lots of new kids and a couple of returning stars. The boys’ squad is led by seniors Aundre Chacon and Imyas Aguilar. Chacon, who is 22-0 on the season, has ended the majority of his matches with pins. Aguilar is a leader by example. He avenged one his early season losses this past weekend in the finals at Sandy tournament and currently has a record of 19-4.
On the girls side, North Salem has not been quiet at all. Senior Icela Sanchez Rodriguez is a returning regional champion who placed fifth at last year’s state meet. She is currently 7-0 on the season and is so intimidating that opposing coaches forfeit the match rather than putting someone on the mat opposite her. Junior Mariko Sonis is another returning regional champion. She is having a great year and is currently 19-3 on the season and coming on strong of late. Sonis’ workout partner, junior Telsarina Walter, was a regional runner-up last year and is determined to bring home a gold medal this season.
Legends of the fall
In this section, we list wrestlers recording pins this season in under 20 seconds.
5 seconds
Eric Larwin, Soph., Bend, 132, Dec. 2
7 seconds
Wylie Johnson, Sr., Culver, 285, Dec. 2
8 seconds
Wylie Johnson, Sr., Culver, 285, Dec. 2
9 seconds
Jon Wiese, Sr., Newport, 182, Jan. 14
10 seconds
Brash Henderson, Soph., Silverton, 220, Dec. 3
Tagge Fry, Sr., Grants Pass, 145, Jan. 28
11 seconds
Victor Perez, Soph., Newport, 113, Jan. 7
12 seconds
Jon Wiese, Sr., Newport, 182, Jan. 7
13 seconds
Breanna Meek, Soph., North Valley, 235, Dec. 3
16 seconds
Lilliyan Jaramillo, Jr., Rogue River, 235, Dec. 3
17 seconds
Quinton Foster, Sr., Oregon City, 170, Dec. 3
19 seconds
Kaci Anderson, Sr., Baker / Powder Valley, 145
Mason Thynes, Soph., Redmond, 126, Dec. 3
20 seconds
Landyn Philpott, Soph., La Pine, 132, Dec. 2
Krystal Zamora, Soph. Thurston, 145, Dec. 10
Undefeateds
In this recurring category, we list wrestlers with 12 or more wins who are currently undefeated on the season.
30-0 – Sadie Hall, Soph., North Medford, 6A/5A (125)
22-0 – Aundre Chacon, Sr., North Salem, 6A, 113
21-0 – Estella Gutches, Sr., North Medford, 6A/5A (135)
17-0 -- Jonavin Keller, Soph., Oakridge, 2A/1A (113)
16-0 – Kali Williams. Fr., Oakridge, 4A/3A/2A/1A (120)
15-0 -- Logan Clayburn, Jr., Myrtle Point, 2A/1A (220)
Pin to the end
In this section, we list wrestlers who pinned their way through an even with four or more wins.
Haley Vann, Sr., Cleveland, 135, War of the Roses, Dec. 10, Average pin: 42 seconds
Marwan Aman, Beaverton, 152, Tyrone Woods Memorial, Dec. 3, Average pin: 43 seconds
Mason Buss, Sr., Siuslaw, 195, North Bend Coast Classic, Dec. 9-10, Average pin: 44 seconds
Derek Torres, Sr., Culver, 138, Adrian Irwin Memorial, Dec. 2-3, Average pin: 44 seconds
Gregory Wallace, Jr., Hillsboro, 195, Southridge Invitational, Jan. 14, Average pin: 48 seconds
Logan Clayburn, Jr., Myrtle Point, 220, Eagle Point Invitational, Jan. 7, Average pin: 48 seconds
Jaden Echevarria, Sr., Hillsboro, 285, Southridge Invitational, Jan. 14, Average pin: 55 seconds
Wylie Johnson, Sr., Culver, 285, Adrian Irwin Memorial, Dec. 2-3, Average pin: 57 seconds
Sebastian Echevarria, Sr., Hillsboro, 225, Southridge Invitational, Jan. 14, Average pin: 1:22
Cole Steketee, Sr., Sprague, 285, Tyrone Woods Memorial, Dec. 3, Average pin: 1:24
Corbin Roe, Jr. Knappa, Phil White Classic, Dec. 29. Average pin: 1:27
Parker Jarvis, Sr., Grants Pass, 285, Tualatin Invitational, Jan. 28, Average pin: 1:37
Brody Lybarger, Soph., Mountainside, 113, Tyrone Woods Memorial, Dec. 3, Average pin: 1:40
Noah Morris, Sr., Mountainside, 170, Tyrone Woods Memorial, Dec. 3, Average pin: 1:41
Tagge Fry, Sr., Grants Pass, 145, Tualatin Invitational, Jan. 28, Average pin: 1:42
Ryan Gaskin, Soph., North Valley, 182, Dan Vidlak Invitational, Dec. 3, Average pin: 1:43
Cael White, Sr., Madras, 160, Cottahe Grove Invitational, Jan. 28, Average pin: 1:49
Gage Singleton, Jr., Roseburg, 113, North Bend Coast Classic, Dec. 9-10, Average pin: 1:51
Logan Clayburn, Jr., Myrtle Point, 220, North Bend Coast Classic, Dec. 9-10, Average pin: 1:55
Krystal Zamora, Soph. Thurston, 145, War of the Roses, Dec. 10, Average pin: 2:04
Preston Echevarria, Jr., Hillsboro, 182, Southridge Invitational, Jan. 14, Average pin: 2:05
Ryan Gaskin, Soph., North Valley, 182, Rumble on the Rogue, Jan. 21, Average pin: 2:50
Madi Randels, Jr., Tualatin, 155, War of the Roses, Dec. 10, Average pin: 3:06
100 % COMMITTED!
In this section, we identify those wrestlers who have made commitments to wrestle in college.
Hudson Davis, Sr., Newberg, 197 -- Wyoming
Riley Davis, Sr., Sprague, 174 -- Wyoming
DJ Gillett, Sr., Crescent Valley, 133 – Oregon State
Vaun Halstead, Sr., Thurston, 197 – Oregon State
Daschle Lamer, Sr., Crescent Valley, 174 – Cal Poly San Luis Obispo
Justin Rademacher, Sr., West Linn, 174 – Oregon State
Destiny Rodriguez, Sr., West Linn, 152 – McKendree University
Hayden Walters, Sr., Crater, 197 – Michigan
Andrew Worthington, Sr., Mountain View, 133 – Minot State
If you are a high school varsity head coach and want to know how you can contribute to future Notebooks, contact John Tawa at [email protected]
johnt@osaa.org
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