‘It doesn’t feel real yet.’ Gabe Whisenhunt of Crescent Valley reflects on championship No. 4: Oregon (OSAA) wrestling 126-pounds roundup

By René Ferrán

Gabe Whisenhunt didn’t feel any nerves as the Crescent Valley senior closed in on his fourth state championship. 

“I’ve always been fairly confident,” he said. “I put in a lot of work, trained hard, and I knew I just had to wrestle my best and do what I’d been trained to do.” 

Instead, he reflected upon the path he’d traveled this season, one that included titles at the Reno Tournament of Champions, Doc Buchanan and Reser’s TOC, and how those were only stops along the road to “what we’re always looking forward to every year. State is what you look forward to.”

And when that journey concluded with Whisenhunt becoming one of 44 boys to win four Oregon state titles, having pinned Scappoose’s Anthony Comer in 3:29 in their 126-pound final at Saturday’s Class 5A state wrestling meet at Ridgeview High School in Redmond, he knew it might take time for the moment to sink in. 

“It doesn’t feel real yet,” he said. “It’s just the end of high school.”

It was an end to a 143-8 career, with only one loss in four years to an in-state opponent — Roseburg senior Nash Singleton in the Reno TOC semifinals when both were sophomores. Both will now be teammates at Oregon State starting next fall.

4A: Sweet Home junior Jacob Sieminski made it two state titles in two years for the family, following younger brother Kyle’s victory at 106 with his second championship. Jacob, the No. 5 seed despite being a returning champion after getting upset in the district final, pinned top seed Cohen Schleich of Estacada in the semifinals. He then avenged his district loss to No. 2 Blake Niemann of Philomath by technical fall in the final. 

3A: Burns senior Oliver Barnes, a 2020 champion, made it back atop the podium with a 13-0 major decision over top seed Curtis Talmadge of Harrisburg in the final. 

2A/1A: Top seed Garrett Burns of Imbler didn’t need to go the distance in any of his four matches until the final, where he defeated unseeded John Otley of Crane 7-2 to win his second title.

6A: Newberg sophomore Zachary Keinonen rides momentum to second career wrestling title