Sprague’s Cole Steketee continues undefeated run against in-state opponents to win Reser’s TOC title (285 pounds)
By René Ferrán | Photos by Leon Neuschwander
Sprague senior Cole Steketee’s last defeat to an in-state rival came last January in the final of the Reser’s Tournament of Champions.
One year and one week later, Steketee returned to Liberty High School in Hillsboro and checked off another item from his bucket list, winning his first Reser’s TOC title Saturday evening in the 285-pound final by defeating Roseburg’s Grady Hamilton 1-0.
It was a rematch of last February’s OSAA 6A state final, in which Steketee pinned Hamilton 23 seconds into the second round. Despite Hamilton being unseeded in the bracket, their most recent meeting at the Oregon Classic (a 3-1 Steketee decision) and Saturday’s match showed how much the gap has closed between the two.
“Grady’s gotten a lot better in the last year,” said Steketee, whose only loss this season came in the Reno TOC semifinals. “But I was confident in my defense. I knew he wasn’t going to be able to score on me, and my top pressure was elite today. But it was a long match, I’ll say that much.”
Winning his first state title last winter and maintaining his unbeaten streak against in-state rivals (now up to 34 matches) has built the pressure that Steketee has felt throughout the season. And to win a second state championship in three weeks at Memorial Coliseum in Portland?
“It’d be absolutely amazing to me,” he said. “It’s a dream of mine, and if I can fulfill that, that’d be a good thing to take off the bucket list.”
More stories, photos from Reser's Tournament of Champions 2023
—
