Oregon (OSAA) 5A wrestling state championships preview: ‘The team race is going to be intense’
By René Ferrán
The 5A Oregon high school wrestling state championships take place at Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Portland. Here's a look at what to expect.
Daschle Lamer (Crescent Valley) photo by Leon Neuschwander
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Top seeds (returning champions in italics)
106 Kanoe Kelly, Thurston, jr.
113 Elijah Bayne, Crater, soph.
120 Scout Santos, Mountain View, jr.
126 Colton Annis, Thurston, soph.
132 Drew Jones, Mountain View, sr.
138 DJ Gillett, Crescent Valley, sr.
145 Kolton Malone, Thurston, sr.
152 Ethan Dunigan, Central, sr.
160 Ethan Ensrud, Canby, sr.
170 Daschle Lamer, Crescent Valley, sr.
182 Liam Byrne, Mountain View, jr.
195 Vaun Halstead, Thurston, sr.
220 Hayden Walters, Crater, sr.
285 Jaden Echeverria, Hillsboro, sr.
Other returning champions
113 Everest Sutton, Crescent Valley, jr.
160 Dylan Lee, Ridgeview, sr.
Most state qualifiers
1, Mountain View 19. 2, (tie) Canby and Dallas 18. 4, (tie) Crater and Eagle Point 16. 6, Redmond 15. 7, Thurston 14. 8, Ridgeview 12. 9, Bend 10. 10, (tie) Centennial and West Albany 9.
What to watch
Contenders lining up to supplant Crescent Valley atop 5A ranks
Could this be the year Mountain View finally finds itself atop the podium when the team trophies are handed out at the OSAA wrestling state championships?
The Cougars have never posted a top-two finish at a state meet, placing fifth last season in 6A to end a streak of four podium finishes.
They cross Government Camp this week with a meet-high 19 qualifiers, giving them the slightest of edges in what figures to be a taut battle among several schools to dethrone four-time defending champion Crescent Valley.
“With us qualifying 19, that gives us a great opportunity to score points with all those athletes,” said Cougars coach Les Combs. “But Canby and Dallas are only one behind, so depth will play a huge factor in determining the top four.”
Combs points not only at depth, but also potential top-end points — Dallas (12), Redmond (11) and Crater (10) have the most seeded wrestlers, while Thurston has a meet-high four No. 1 seeds and three Nos. 2, which proved a winning recipe for Crescent Valley during its title run.
“What will determine the champion is how many points kids who are not placing can score — can they win two or three matches? Can they score bonus points?” Combs said. “The team race is going to be intense.”
While Dallas (2018) and Crater (2017) have won recent titles, it’s been 21 years since Thurston won its only championship. Redmond won its lone blue trophy in 1959.
“Our goal going in is to bring home first place, but we will definitely have work cut out for us,” said Colts coach Mike Simons. “All of these teams have brought as many or more wrestlers than we have qualified.”
Three three-time champions look to make leap to four-timer club
While Crescent Valley doesn’t look likely to add a ring for coach Chad Lamer’s thumb, the ninth-year coach still will have plenty to celebrate this weekend.
His youngest son, Daschle, is one of two Raiders poised to become a four-time state champion. He is ranked No. 4 in the nation at 170 pounds by FloWrestling and SBLive/Sports Illustrated, and the Cal Poly signee will be a heavy favorite to finish a four-time champion.
His teammate, DJ Gillett, an Oregon State commit, will go for his four-peat as the top seed at 138, a bracket that includes Thurston sophomore Holton Halstead, a state placer last year, and Mountain View senior Andrew Worthington, third at 6A state in 2021 but injured all last season.
A third wrestler with Crescent Valley ties — Crater senior Hayden Walters, who wrestled for the Raiders his first three seasons — also vies to become a four-timer this weekend. Walters, a Michigan commit ranked No. 4 at 220 pounds by FloWrestling (No. 7 by SBLive/Sports Illustrated), saw his bid become easier when defending 220 state champion Vaun Halstead (Oregon State) dropped to 195 for the postseason.
Seven second-place finishers from 2022 seek gold medals
Runners-up from last year’s state tournaments come from all directions this weekend.
Santos, the top seed at 120, lost to Newberg’s Isaac Hampton in the 6A 113 final last February. Byrne dropped a 3-1 decision to Newberg’s Price Pothier in the 160 final.
From the other end of the spectrum, Crater sophomore Joey Hutchins — the No. 2 seed to Santos at 120 — was the runner-up in the 3A 113 division wrestling for Cascade Christian last year.
There are four finalists returning from the 5A meet in Redmond looking to avenge their defeats — starting with Dunigan, who lost a 7-5 decision to Redmond’s Junior Downing at 145.
West Albany senior Derek Sossie will get the opportunity to reverse his fortunes against Malone, who beat him 9-2 in the 138 final. Malone, who has won 74 consecutive matches, and Sossie are seeded 1-2 at 145.
Redmond sophomore Billy Jackson at 120 and Hillsboro senior Sebastian Echeverria at 220 also reached the finals last year.
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