Oregon (OSAA) 2A/1A wrestling state championships preview: 3 teams set to duke it out for top honors
The Oregon 2A/1A high school wrestling state championships take place Thursday and Friday at Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Portland. Here's a look at what to expect.
Photo by Leon Neuschwander
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Schedule
Thursday, Noon-7:30 p.m.: Round 1 and Quarterfinals
Friday, 2:30 p.m.: Semifinals
Friday, 7:15 p.m.: Parade of Champions and Finals
Top seeds (returning champions in italics)
106 James Conn, Illinois Valley, Soph.
113 Mike Miller, Illinois Valley, Sr.
120 Harley Hardison, Lowell, Jr.
126 Taylor Parsons, Grant Union/Prairie City, Soph.
132 Zak Chatelain, Nestucca, Jr.
138 Trevor Wolf, Vernonia, Sr.
144 Christian Retherford, Toledo, Sr.
150 Ryan Griffin, Illinois Valley, Sr.
157 Kayden Tiller, Oakridge, Jr.
165 Owen Koegler, Camas Valley, Sr.
175 Ty McLaughlin, Elgin, Sr.
190 Ash Blomstrom, Toledo, Sr.
215 Cody Vance, Toledo, Sr.
285 Kolby Coxen, Toledo, Jr.
Other returning champions
120 Micah Martinho, Illinois Valley, Jr.
132 Logan Gerding, Toledo, Sr.
215 Thomas Bischoff, Regis, Sr.
285 Logan Clayburn, Myrtle Point, Sr.
Most state qualifiers
1, Willamina 13. 2, Illinois Valley 10. 3, Irrigon 8. 4, (tie) Camas Valley and Toledo 7.
What to watch
Illinois Valley’s title defense will need to stave off Willamina, Toledo
Illinois Valley has three defending champions and three No. 1 seeds to lead its defense of the state title it won for the first time last winter.
The Cougars should face a stiff challenge from Willamina, which last won a championship in 2018, when the Bulldogs were in 3A and earned trophies every year from 2016-21.
Willamina has a meet-high 13 wrestlers coming to Memorial Coliseum, including three — senior Rhyne Nelson at 285 pounds and sophomores Kisor Savage (120) and Adoniyah Stanton (126) — who helped the program finish fifth after dropping to 2A last season. Toledo, with four top seeds and two returning champions, looks to improve upon its program-best third-place finish of a year ago.
“Willamina is bringing lots of numbers,” Illinois Valley coach Eugene Griffin III said. “We’re strong from 157 down, and Toledo is strong from 157 up. So, between the (three) of us, the boys are going to have to show up, do what we’ve been grinding and training for all summer, all season, and rise to the occasion.”
Three state champions looking up at top seeds in their bracket
In an interesting quirk, three returning state champions didn’t earn No. 1 seeds despite qualifying in brackets that didn’t have a state champion.
Bischoff lost in the district final to Vance — the rubber match between the two this season — yet only dropped to a No. 2 seed at 215. Clayburn moved up from 220 to 285 and won a district title, yet still ended up seeded behind Coxen, who placed second at 285 last year but beat Clayburn at the season-opening Willie Wilkinson Memorial Tournament in early December.
The most interesting seeding was Gerding at 132, where he ended up unseeded after losing in the district final to Chatelain — this despite owning wins against Chatelain and No. 2 Cole Rahl of Culver during the regular season. Gerding opens his state tournament against No. 3 seed Joel Rodriguez of Bonanza/Lost River on Thursday afternoon.
120 final a potential matchup of returning state champions
The fourth returning champion who didn’t receive a No. 1 seed is Martinho, who took a medical forfeit in the district final against Hardison to give himself “a little more healing time,” as Griffin explained. Martinho received a No. 2 seed in the bracket, setting up a potential final between 2023 champions Friday night.
“We’ll have to see how he does tomorrow,” Griffin said of the junior, who is going for his third state title. “He’s had injuries all year, but nobody’s 100% this time of year.”
