Thurston's girls in an Oregon Classic winning pose

Classic duals in Redmond

Bad weather around the state shrunk the field at the Oregon Wrestling Classic last weekend, but the tournament still identified many of the best teams in the state in this dual meet format.

In boys’ 6A, only seven teams made it to Redmond. Among the missing was reigning champion West Linn, which was barred from traveling by its school district.

The championship bout nevertheless pitted powerhouse teams Newberg and Roseburg. Roseburg won the first three bouts, including a pin by Drew Dawson and Gage Singleton victory by technical fall, to lead 17-0. Newberg responded by winning the next eight matches to take control, including pins in less than 20 seconds from Zach Keinonen and Brandon Smith. Tyler Rietmann won at 192 for Roseburg, but Zadek Bowlby and Austin Phillips closed the dual with Newberg pins to give the Tigers their final 56-22 margin of victory.

“We were very solid and did all of the things that it takes to win dual meets - we found bonus points and falls and we did not give them up,” said Newberg coach Neil Russo. “The Oregon Classic is always a priority in our program and our wrestling community knows that...our kids know it as well.”

“Isaac Hampton, Zach Keinonen, Gavin Rangel, Jacob Smith, Brandon Smith, Gus Amerson, Dillon Le, Trae Frederick and Austin Phillips led us all weekend. We had some other kids in and out of the line-up that did an outstanding job as well.” 

:"Weather conditions made it tough for everyone and the weather there was less than ideal,” Russo added. “But our kids stayed focused and we wrestled and competed very well.” 

 “We are excited about winning the event and are ready to focus on the second half of our season now. The weather continues to be an issue but we are not allowing that to distract from what we are trying to accomplish as a program. We are going to handle the things that we can control and let the other things go. We have some line-up decisions to make as we go forward but we are really liking what we have in our leadership and our younger kids are starting to figure some things out.”

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In the 5A tournament, Redmond won the Classic for the first time in school history. The Panthers were 7-0 in duals and edged Dallas, 33-32, in the final dual.

Five 5A teams dropped out (21 total teams ended up dropping) but the top six 5A seeds were present, which made for some exciting matches.

Redmond was led by Billy Jackson (122), Joey Downing (146), Jared Ake (152) and Orinn Hubbard (192), all of whom went undefeated on the weekend. 

In the final, Redmond seized control when 167-pounder Alan Segoviano, who was down by four in his match, turned things around to pin his opponent. Those six points put Redmond ahead for good, 24-23. Cole Langford’s win by fall at 217 pulled Dallas within 33-29 with one bout remaining. Kyron Dodds of Dallas won the final match, 4-0, but Ashton Fields’ fight for Redmond held Dallas to just three points and preserved Redmond’s team win.

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Sweet Home overcame Crook County, 40-21, to win 4A, which had 11 teams make the trip. The Huskies, who finished second in the state last year, defeated defending champion La Grande, 45-22, in a semifinal dual.

“This is a tournament that we always look forward to,” said Sweet Home coach Steve Thorpe. “I was very proud of our kids and how they competed. This tournament gives us an idea of what our state tournament will look at as far as what weights Guys will be wrestling at. The 4A division this year is exceptionally tough.” 

Sweet Home won five straight bouts in the middle weights to pull ahead of Crook County for good in the championship dual.

Dillan Davis, Kyle Sieminski, Luke Rosa, Ashton Swanson, Lynkin Royer and Colton Bennett all went unbeaten on the weekend.

***

Burns defeated La Pine in the semifinals and then edged Harrisburg, 37-36, to win the 3A tournament. Joe Weil’s decision at 217 gave the Hilanders the margin they needed to get by Harrisburg for the title, but the big win came at 159 pounds, where Cannon Kemper pinned Nephi Heakin in the second period. Weil went undefeated for the weekend.

***

Willamina took the 2A/1A title over Illinois Valley, 37-35. Five of the 16 teams in this division dropped, but the top six seeds all attended.

On Day 1, Willamina battled to a 42-all draw with Toledo, but got the win due to criteria (less forfeits given).

On Day 2, Willamina had dominating wins over Nestucca and Culver, the defending state champion; to put the Bulldogs in the championship dual opposite Illinois Valley, which downed Toledo, 46-30, in a semifinal.

Illinois Valley led, 30-15, after nine bouts in the final, but Willamina got a big win from Fin Clemans at 167 to start the comeback. The Bulldogs won three of the final four matches to complete the rally. Rhyne Nelson at 287 needed to pin his opponent to secure the win and got it 1:13 into the first round.

“I was impressed with the teams this year; the competition in 2A was solid,” said Willamina coach Ariah Fasana. “Our team had a great experience and seemed to bond a little more while on the trip. It was good for them to wrestle back-to-back days as a full team, even though there were some soreness and owies heading into Day 2. Dual competition is a lot of fun for both fans and the team.”

***

Thurston defeated La Grande to win the girls championship at the Oregon Classic. Rubie Winterburn, Kristal Zamora, Elly Asher and Katelyn Dow led the Colts.

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North Valley placed fifth in boys 3A. Mason Core was undefeated, including a 13-second pin. Seth Gallego, Aiden Espinoza and Ryan Gaskin combined to go 8-3.

North Valley’s girls did not place. The team had only seven girls in Redmond, but they wrestled well, led by Sarah Gonzales, who remains undefeated on the year. Breanna Meek and Delanie Burton also did well, combining to go 6-3. Meek is now 12-1 on the year; Burton is 12-5.

***

Camas Valley filled eight weight class at the Oregon Classic. With a majority of wrestlers winning most head-to-head, the Hornets placed fifth in 2A/1A.

Lane Hill and Owen Koegler went undefeated at 8-0, while Noah Duncan went 7-1. The other five wrestlers combined to go 21-16, with Seth Lamell, Kaden Williams and Kaden Thompson each losing just twice.

News and notes

Crescent Valley has a new head coach in D. Jackson Gillett and is in rebuilding mode, without a single state participant and only one varsity starter back from last year’s squad.

The Raiders have been led this year by two talented freshmen; Jacoby Jones at 120 and Colton Hankey at 126. Each won his bracket at the Lebanon Burton Invite on Friday.

Hankey is now 23-2 and has not suffered a loss since the Perry Burlison Invite at Cascade to open the year. Hankey also took home the championship at the Grants Pass Winter Kickoff, the Philomath Warrior Classic, and the Benton County Championships. That’s nothing to sneeze at!

Jones is now 20-6 and fast improving. The Burton Invite was his first title but he has top-three finishes at three other events.

***

Siuslaw won the Nick Lutz Girls Invitational. Macali Lade and Jane LaCouture were the Vikings’ individual champions. Lade won her three matches by fall. LaCouture pinned her two opponents.

Lakeview, which placed second, got wins from Riley Stubbs and Quincey Ludwig. Ludwig handed Ontario’s Hannah Hernandez her first loss of the season.

Undefeateds

In this recurring category, we list wrestlers with 10 or more wins who are currently undefeated on the season.

25-0 – Macali Lade, Jr., Siuslaw, 4A/3A/2A/1A (115)

14-0 – Sarah Gonzales, Jr., North Valley, 4A/3A/2A/1A (105)

Legends of the fall

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

11 seconds

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

13 seconds

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

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

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

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

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

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]