Meet the new stars of Oregon high school wrestling (Part 3)

We are highlighting many of the freshmen and sophomores who have emerged as current and future stars in the sport.

By René Ferrán

At the start of the season, we took a look at some of the top returning wrestlers in Oregon:

Class 6A | Class 5A | Class 4A | Class 3A | Class 2A/1A | Girls

This week, we are highlighting many of the freshmen and sophomores who have emerged as current and future stars in the sport.

Here is Part 3 of our list. (Part 1 | Part 2)

Records through Sunday, Jan. 16

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MacKenzie Shearon, Fr., Redmond

Shearon has set as her goal to become the first Redmond girl to place at state, and she’s off to a good start on her mission. The 140-pounder is 11-0, winning titles at Tyrone S. Woods, North Bend and Liberty. “She is focused on being at her best and is a positive teammate to the other girls on the team,” said Panthers coach Kris Davis. “She is already on the radar for many women’s college teams, so I know she will have many options when she graduates.” 

Madi Randels, So., Tualatin

Randels did not wrestle during the spring season but started this season 5-0, winning the 155 title at Liberty. 

Mariko Sonis, So., North Salem

Sonis qualified for state as a freshman with a fourth-place regional finish, but her sights are set on bigger things this winter. The 125-pounder has won titles at Battle for the Capital and North Bend and started the season 9-1. 

Mason Lacey, So., Crook County

Lacey went 10-9 in the spring and qualified for state, and the 113-pounder has won three titles this winter (Central Oregon Officials, Culver, Adrian Irwin) and is off to a 13-3 start. 

Mason Wolcott, So., La Grande

Wolcott has gone 24-8 for his career, finishing fourth at state as a freshman and wrestling at 106 again this winter, winning the title at Muilenburg and placing third at the Ranger Classic and fourth at Tri-State. 

Max Blanco, So., McNary

Blanco has followed a freshman season in which he went 14-4 and placed fifth at the Class 6A state meet by going 13-2 at 113, with his only losses in the final at North Bend and Liberty — he also won the Dayton title.

Mayte Pecheco, Fr., Riverside

Pecheco, like her teammate Katelyn Wiseman, started her career by winning a title at a boys tournament (the 106 division at the Enterprise Kickoff), then wrestled at the Culver Girls and placed third there.

Megan Peterson, So., Hidden Valley

Peterson missed a state berth by one round as a freshman, and she’s determined not to let that fate befall her again this winter. The 140-pounder started the season 12-1, with her only loss coming in the semifinals at North Bend. She finished third there to go with titles at Dan Vidlak, Grants Pass and Eagle Point. 

Micah Martinho, Fr., Illinois Valley

Martinho started wrestling in kindergarten and by age 8 his uncle Aaron took him to his first national tournament, which he won. That whetted his appetite further, and after being placed through foster care in his grandmother’s care, he had the support system he needed to flourish. This season, he started 21-1 at 113, his only loss coming in the semifinals at Culver, where he placed third. He’s also won titles at Battle at the Border, Grants Pass and Eagle Point. 

Namuondo O’Donnell, Fr., Hillsboro

While O’Donnell’s preference is performing in the school band, that hasn’t stopped her from becoming a force on the mat as a freshman. The 125-pounder is 7-2 to start her career, with a third-place finish at Battle for the Capital and a runner-up showing at Liberty. “Her athleticism and body awareness are superb,” said Spartans coach Ralph Medina. “She understands how to manipulate wrestlers to get them to where she wants. Once she really turns it on and trusts herself when it comes to her offense and wrestling abilities, she will be one of the top wrestlers in our room.”

Oscar Doces, Fr., Wells

Doces has started his career 9-2 at 126, with his only losses coming in the final at Rick Herrin and at the MHS Your Space Storage Invite, where he placed third. 

Owen Hull, Fr., Grants Pass

Hull recently added the 138 title at Eagle Point to third-place finishes at Battle at the Border and his home tournament, leading to a 17-3 start to his season. 

Paige Aponte, Fr., Ridgeview

Aponte opened her season with the 100 title at Adrian Irwin, and she has since gone 4-2 in her matches.

Polly Olliff, Fr., Dallas

Olliff has gone undefeated to start her high school career, including winning the 105 title at the Liberty tournament. 

Riley Flack, Fr., La Pine

You’d figure the son of Hawks coach Aaron Flack would get off to a strong start to his high school career, and Riley certainly has. He’s 21-8 wrestling at 113, taking second at the Central Oregon Officials and Culver tournaments and fourth at Adrian Irwin.

Ryan Griffin, So., Illinois Valley

Griffin wrestled only four varsity matches as a freshman (going 3-1), but he’s off to a 17-2 start this winter, winning at Grants Pass, taking third at Culver and placing fourth at Eagle Point after suffering an injury in the semifinals. As Griffin told his coach, Jesse Clark, “What motivates me is the feeling of my hand being raised and having the crowd cheer. For me, there’s no better part than knowing I had a tough match, but I came out on top as a winner.”

Ryker Hartsook, So., Sweet Home

Hartsook qualified for state as a freshman, when he went 10-4. The 152-pounder finished sixth at Rose City and recently won the title at the Pape Linn County Championships to improve to 24-11.

Sadie Hall, Fr., North Medford

The Black Tornado have had a strong girls program for several years, and Hall is the latest to come through the pipeline. The 105-pounder opened 8-1 with titles at Tyrone S. Woods and North Bend and a runner-up finish at Grants Pass. 

Santos Navarro, Fr., Culver

The Bulldogs, as always, are among the title contenders at 2A/1A, and they constantly churn out talented wrestlers like Navarro, who is 13-5 at 120 in his debut season, with a third-place finish at his home tournament and a runner-up finish at Jo-Hi. 

Scout Santos, So., Mountain View

Santos won a district title and took fourth at state as a freshman, when he went 20-4, so while his start to the winter season was delayed until Dec. 29, his 15-1 start (including a third-place finish at 113 at Rollie Lane) isn’t a huge surprise. 

Sharnel Gonzalez, So., McKay

Gonzalez reached the semifinals at the girls state tournament as a freshman but did not end up placing. She’ll be a title contender again at 100 this winter after starting the season 8-1 with a title at Battle for the Capital and a runner-up finish at Perry Burlison.

Ty McLaughlin, So., Elgin

McLaughlin went 8-4 as a freshman in the spring, then spent the fall playing quarterback for the Huskies’ playoff-qualifying football team. This winter, wrestling at 152, he’s gone 16-8, with podium finishes at Jo-Hi (second), Muilenburg (fourth), John Rysdam (third) and Rollin Schimmel (fourth).

Tyson Van Gastel, So., Mazama

Van Gastel did not wrestle as a freshman, but after quarterbacking the Vikings to a 4A state semifinal appearance in the fall, he took the mat this winter and started the season 16-3 at 195, winning titles at Dan Vidlak and High Desert and reaching the final at Culver and Grants Pass. 

Wyatt Smith, So., North Bend

Smith made the podium at district as a freshman (sixth) and started his sophomore season as the JV wrestler at 132. He moved up to varsity in late December and has placed fifth at Grants Pass and won at Eagle Point to improve to 9-3.