Unseeded freshman to state champion for Harrisburg's Andrei Donayri: Oregon wrestling 106/100 small-school roundup
Harrisburg freshman Andrei Donayri opened the OSAA Class 3A wrestling state championships at Portland’s Veterans Memorial Coliseum by pulling the stunner of the day — knocking off top seed Kempton Richardson of Burns in the first round of the 106-pound bracket.
It would have been nothing more than a nice footnote, though, if Donayri hadn’t backed up that victory with something more.
That something more turned into a state title for Donayri, who came up with some late dramatics in Friday night’s final against Jefferson’s Andres Mendoza.
Donayri trailed by one point with the clock ticking down, but he snapped Mendoza down from a clinch for the decisive takedown with two seconds left for a 5-4 victory.
“I knew I’ve just got to score and stay calm and make sure I’m not overwhelmed with what’s going on,” Donayri said. “I just had to focus on getting the angle to score.”
Donayri entered the meet unseeded after losing to Mendoza in the district final two weeks earlier and said he felt “a lot of pressure being a freshman and taking out the No. 1 seed here. But I got it done.”
4A: Sweet Home freshman Jesse Landtroop started the night on the right foot for the eventual team champions by knocking off top seed Bragen Anderson of La Grande 6-2.
2A/1A: Illinois Valley sophomore James Conn, who lost in the final last year to teammate Mike Miller, came back this year and closed the deal with a 6-5 decision over Elgin’s Landyn Fincher.
4A/3A/2A/1A Girls: Willamina junior Zoe Brewer finished the season 39-1 with an 11-2 major decision against Knappa’s Kiya Roe in the 100 final.
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