Another state title for Crook County's MaKenna Duran: Oregon wrestling 132/120 small-school roundup
A year ago, MaKenna Duran made history by becoming the first Crook County girl to win a wrestling state championship.
Friday, the Cowgirls senior not only won a second title at the OSAA Class 4A/3A/2A/1A Girls state tournament, but she also helped her team take home its first trophy from Portland’s Veterans Memorial Coliseum with a third-place finish.
“It feels awesome. It feels unreal,” Duran said. “I didn’t think I’d ever be here. It’s been awesome, and I’m so sad that I have to go now. This year has been such a good year.”
Duran won the 120-pound final over Sweet Home’s Riley Watkins by pinning the senior in 45 seconds. It was the shortest of Duran’s three matches at the tournament, as she spent a cumulative 211 seconds in becoming a two-time champion.
“The earlier matches are more for savoring,” Duran said. “There was a lot of prepping that I did for this specific match, so it just felt great that I could use that.”
2A/1A: Like Duran, Toledo senior Logan Gerding arrived at the Coliseum as a returning champion. While she was a No. 1 seed, Gerding was somehow unseeded for the second year in a row after losing in the 132-pound district final.
No matter, though — Gerding again romped through the field and avenged that district loss with a 4-2 decision against top seed Zak Chatelain of Nestucca to help the Boomers win their first team title.
“I did it last year (unseeded), and I was like, ‘You know, why can’t I do it this year?’ I’ll just do it again,” Gerding said. “(That loss) didn’t show me that much, but I looked back at it and was like, ‘I just wanted to do better than that.’”
4A: La Grande senior Kai Carson won his third state title with a 2-1 decision against Crook County’s Alberto Flores. Carson has signed with Eastern Oregon University, where he’ll join older brother and fellow three-time champion Braden.
3A: Banks sophomore Owen Turner beat senior teammate Jack Vandehey 1-0 to help their team improve upon its finish of a year ago by placing third.
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