‘You just wrestle who’s in front of you.’ Tucker Bonner beats Crook County teammate for 1st state title: Oregon (OSAA) wrestling 120-pounds roundup
By René Ferrán
Crook County senior Tucker Bonner had been a talisman of sorts for other wrestlers facing him at the state meet over the past three years.
Each year, whoever he lost to in the bracket ultimately won a state championship — his freshman year to Crescent Valley’s Gabe Whisenhunt in the semifinals, the past two years to Crescent Valley’s D.J. Gillett in the final.
Finally, Bonner got to claim a title for himself, overcoming a dislocated knee that caused him to miss some time at midseason to defeat classmate Mitch Warren 10-3 in the 120-pound final at Saturday’s Class 5A state wrestling meet at Ridgeview High School in Redmond.
“I’ve had some adversity through my career, some injuries, so this is a pretty big accomplishment,” said Bonner, who also tore ligaments in his knee as a junior. “It’s been a goal I’ve been after for all four years.”
Despite wrestling a teammate in the final, Bonner wasn’t about to take it easy on Warren with his goal in sight.
“Teammate or not, he was the next-toughest kid in the state,” the Eastern Oregon signee said. “I love Mitch. We’ve been wrestling partners for as long as I can remember, and he’s like a brother to me. But on the mat, you just wrestle who’s in front of you. There’s nothing more to it.”
4A: Sophomore Kai Carson of La Grande followed his third-place finish at state in June by winning the title as the top seed, defeating Sweet Home’s Kyle Watkins 7-1 in the final.
3A: La Pine freshman Landyn Philpott gave the state champion Hawks their first title of the evening, defeating Burns senior Ethan Peasley 5-2 in the final. Peasley finished second at state for the second consecutive year.
2A/1A: Culver senior Noel Navarro pinned top seed Brandon DePue of Vernonia in 3:20 to win the title. Navarro won all four of his matches by fall, with only the final going past the first period. DePue was the 113 state titlist last year as a junior.
