Oregon (OSAA) 3A wrestling state championships preview: ‘Any of the teams can win on any given weekend’
By René Ferrán
The 3A Oregon high school wrestling state championships take place at Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Portland. Here's a look at what to expect.
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Top seeds (returning champions in italics)
106 Tyson Flack, La Pine, sr.
113 Luke Cheek, Harrisburg, soph.
120 Canon Winn, Burns, soph.
126 Kale Cornell, Burns, soph.
132 Landyn Philpott, La Pine, soph.
138 Devon Kerr, La Pine, soph.
145 Brayson Granger, Lakeview, sr.
152 Hunter Kemper, Burns, sr.
160 Sage Baker, Douglas, sr.
170 Easton Kemper, Burns, soph.
182 Daevon Vereen, Banks, sr.
195 Mason Buss, Siuslaw, sr.
220 Mishael Mauck, Banks, jr.
285 Maddox Griggs, Sutherlin, sr.
Other returning champions
220 Tommy Vigue, Coquille/Bandon, jr.
285 Jesse Aragon, Nyssa, sr.
Most state qualifiers
1, Harrisburg 14. 2, Yamhill-Carlton 13. 3, (tie) Banks, Burns and La Pine 12. 6, Pleasant Hill 7. 7, (tie) Elmira, Glide, North Valley, Nyssa and Santiam Christian 6.
What to watch
Harrisburg hopes to break eastside lock on top spot in team race
Harrisburg has been on the verge of something big over the past few years, and with a meet-high 14 qualifiers, the Eagles could soar to new heights this weekend.
Harrisburg has never posted a top-two finish at state. It matched its best finish by placing third at last year’s tournament in Central Oregon behind two-time champion La Pine and perennial power Burns, and all three should battle for the title this weekend.
“I believe any of the three teams can win on any given weekend,” said Harrisburg coach Desmond Bennett. “But the majority of this group have eyed this season for several years now. They’ve put in a good amount of time in the spring and summer with high expectations for themselves.”
It won’t be easy to pry the title from the Hawks’ talons. They have a couple of returning champions in Philpott and Kerr and a Reser’s TOC winner in Flack to lead their title defense.
“It all depends on how our kids wrestle,” coach Aaron Flack said. “There are three or four teams that I feel are battling for a championship. We will see what the next two days bring.”
The Hilanders look to add lucky No. 13 to their title collection with a meet-high four top seeds and three returning champions among their 12-wrestler contingent.
La Pine and Harrisburg competed at Reser’s TOC, and while the Eagles finished 20th out of 22 teams, Bennett believes the experience toughened his squad ahead of the state meet.
“We feel as though we have as good a chance as any team,” Bennett said. “The schedule that our kids have wrestled was put together to help them get battle-tested and be in as many uncomfortable situations as possible. We feel they have responded well and will be peaking at the right time.”
Coquille’s Vigue moves up from 2A/1A, ends up as No. 2 seed
Vigue was dominant in winning the 220-pound division at the 2A/1A state championships last winter, pinning his way to the title — with three of his victories in the first round. He owns victories this season over Griggs (moving up to 285 to take on the defending champion) and North Bend’s Neal Walter
Vigue ended up the No. 2 seed behind Mauck, who placed fifth at 4A 220 last year and enters the state meet 34-2 — including a second-round pin of Vigue at the Oregon Classic in their only head-to-head meeting.
Griggs’ path to a second state title will be complicated by Aragon moving up from 220 — where he knocked off the top seed in last year’s final — to grab the No. 2 seed at heavyweight.
Two top seeds drop from 4A hoping to secure first state title
Buss reached the 4A final at 160 pounds last season, falling to Junction City’s Carson Henderson. That was Buss’ last high school loss — he enters this weekend 29-0 and fresh off a 6-3 decision over Harrisburg’s Bryce Chilgren in the district final.
Buss isn’t the only top seed hoping to win a state title after reaching the finals last winter. Vereen — a two-time all-state defensive lineman — lost in the 4A 182 final, and Winn lost a 4-2 decision to Cheek in the 3A 106 final.
Then, there are three 2022 runners-up who face tough roads just to reach the final this year:
- Curtis Talmadge of Harrisburg returns at 126, where Cornell is the top seed after winning at 113 last year.
- Nephi Heakin of Harrisburg is in a loaded bracket that includes Granger, Burns senior Carter Lardy and Eagles teammate Brody Buzzard, who beat Heakin in the district final.
- La Pine senior Garrett Forbes is unseeded after losing to returning champion Hunter Kemper in the 152 district final and faces a potential quarterfinal with No. 2 seed Gavin Hoellrich of Pleasant Hill.
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