With late grandma on her mind, Mallory Lusco of Grant Union/Prairie City secures title No. 3: Oregon wrestling 285/235 small-school roundup
Something had to give Friday night in the finale of the OSAA wrestling state championships at Portland’s Veterans Memorial Coliseum.
In one corner of the Class 4A/3A/2A/1A Girls 235-pound final stood defending champion Breanna Meek of North Valley.
In the other stood two-time champion Mallory Lusco of Grant Union/Prairie City, a junior who moved up from 190 this season.
The two had met twice already this season — Lusco pinning Meek at the Oregon Classic in mid-January, and Meek returning the favor by pinning Lusco a week earlier in the district final.
“I couldn’t let that happen again,” Lusco said. “I decided to take things into my own hands.”
After a scoreless first period, Meek scored an escape point to hold a narrow lead heading to the third round.
Lusco started the third in the down position and struggled to escape. Finally, with 42 seconds left, she not only escaped — she got the reversal to take the lead. Then, she ran an armbar and flipped Meek on her back, pinning her with 11 seconds left for her third consecutive title — with all 10 matches during her run ending by fall.
“It feels amazing,” Lusco said as she fought back tears. “I lost my grandma (Marilyn) before the season, and I promised myself I have to do it for her. That was really a driving factor. I knew I couldn’t give it up.”
Lusco now has bragging rights over her brother, Drew, who won two state titles for the Prospectors in 2018 and 2020, and she’ll shoot to become the program’s first four-time state champion next year.
“People are always saying, 'Are you going for three? Are you going for four?'” she said. “I’m going for four. Because if you can do it for one, you can do it for two. You can do it for three. And I know I can do it for four.”
4A: Astoria senior Matthew Evans closed his career by winning a second consecutive title, pinning La Grande’s Kenai Huff midway through the third period of their 285-pound final.
3A: For the second year in a row, Elmira senior Brett Highburger and Corbett sophomore Carl Orchard met in the final — and the result was the same, with Highburger repeating with a second-round pin.
2A/1A: Yet another repeat champion was crowned, with Myrtle Point senior Logan Clayburn needing 42 seconds to pin Lowell’s David Finch, who knocked off top seed Kolby Coxen of Toledo in sudden-victory overtime in the semifinals.
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