Where Are They Now? 4-time Oregon champion RJ Pena: ‘Once you wrestle, everything else in life is easy’

“The work ethic you need for wrestling translates over into life. I never go halfway. I always give it 100 percent.”

By Dave Ball 

Stepping onto the wrestling mat across from RJ Pena was like facing Michael Jordan in the NBA Finals or squaring off against Joe Montana in the Super Bowl. You had no chance. 

Pena, a standout at Sprague High in Salem, is one of a handful of big-school wrestlers to win state crowns in each of his four seasons (2006-09). 

“I was always a little nervous going onto the mat — I went into every match expecting it to be a tough one,” Pena said. “A lot of guys like to hand fight and read the situation in the first round; I always thought let’s go 110 percent. My goal was to get the pin in the first minute of every match.” 

There were no visible rookie jitters for Pena, who blew out the No. 4 seed by a 14-1 count in his first state tournament bout.

He pinned his next two foes.

That set up a showdown with top seed Prescott Garner of West Linn in the semifinals. The two were familiar with each other — both wrestled for the All-Phase Club.

“I knew he was going to be my toughest guy,” Pena said. “I was happy it was happening in the semifinals — it was a little less nerve-racking in that round.”

Pena claimed an 11-7 decision, which would prove to be his tightest victory on the tournament stage.

He picked up his first state title the next night with a 7-0 shutout against the bracket’s No. 2 seed.

“Coach (Kary Hadden) told me to go out there and have fun, and that stuck with me,” Pena said. “I was only 14, and I felt so accomplished. I still remember the crowd and getting my hand raised. I wish I could go back and relive that moment.” 

Pena moved up two weight classes his sophomore year. At state it was pin, pin, pin and a 14-3 major decision over the No. 2 seed in the final.

Pena jumped up three classes for his junior season. None of his first three opponents made it to the minute mark. He blanked his final opponent 10-0.

“Every year it just got easier and easier,” Pena said. “I was really focused on being tough on top, and I became known for pinning guys.”

His reputation was firmly intact by his senior year when he moved up one more class to wrestle at 145 pounds.

It turned out to be his quickest tournament yet. He pinned his first four opponents — all in the first period. Pena needed less than five minutes of mat time to reach the title bout.

That set up a showdown with fellow senior Clint Pebbles of Newberg — an opponent Pena flattened a few weeks earlier at the Reser’s Tournament of Champions.

“I had pinned everyone in the first round and wanted to do that for the whole tournament — I don’t think that had ever happened before,” Pena said.

He would not get the chance. His final high school bout was a simple walk to the center circle to have his hand raised — Pebbles was an injury default. 

“I was going for my fourth straight title, and I wanted to wrestle. I was bummed when it ended that way,” Pena said.

Pena finished his high school career with a state-record 147-bout win streak, going undefeated his final three seasons.

He credits much of his success to his dad, who instilled in him a strong work ethic. During the season, Pena’s daily routine would involve waking up early and getting in a road run or a weights workout in the garage before school, followed by the team’s daily practice in the wrestling room and then finishing with a nightly road run or a trip to the All-Phase Club for some more mat time.

“He kept my eyes on the prize, and I couldn’t have done it without him,” Pena said. “Once you wrestle, everything else in life is easy — the work ethic you need for wrestling translates over into life. I never go halfway. I always give it 100 percent.”

Pena was the nation’s top recruit for his weight class coming out of Sprague and wrestled four years at Oregon State, where he twice was a Pac-12 champion.

Now he works in his family’s business, Beaver State Insurance in Salem, which his father, Roger, started 25 years ago.

A trip to the office is a family get-together with RJ handling the company’s commercial accounts; his mother, Jenny, does the accounting; and his younger brother, Ryan, is in charge of Information and Technology. Roger keeps his hands involved in the personal insurance side of the business. 

“I’m a numbers guy, and I enjoy building connections, growing and getting better,” Pena said. “I get to talk with people all day long and learn of ways I can help them.”

Pena recently made a part-time return to the mat, serving as a volunteer assistant at Corban University, where his former high school coach, Kary Hadden, is running the program. He was quick to shake off the rust and teach the young fellas a thing or two.

“I’ve got the dad bod going now,” he said with a laugh­. “I could only go for about two minutes before I was done for the day. I got taken down a few times, but I still beat every guy I wrestled.” 

Pena lives in Salem with his wife, Katelyn, raising five kids ages 3 to 13 — Ruby, Levi, Noah, Ava and Grace.