Oregon 5A wrestling: Champions, takeaways from district meets

The 5A wrestling district meets took place over the weekend, with the OSAA state championships scheduled for Feb. 23-24 in Portland

The 5A wrestling district meets took place over the weekend, with the OSAA state championships scheduled for Feb. 23-24 at Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Portland.

Here’s a look at the champions and three takeaways from each of the four district meets. The top four finishers from each district meet advance to state. 

—

Northwest Oregon (at Wilsonville)

Team champion: Canby (478 points)

Most qualifiers: Canby (17), Centennial (12), Hillsboro (11)

Individual champions

106 Trey Smith, Fr., Canby

113 Jacob Young, Fr., Canby

120 Dean Williams, So., Canby

126 Craig Williams, Sr., Canby

132 Nico Yazzolino, Jr., Canby

138 Carlos Zavala, Sr., Hillsboro

144 Matthew Young, Jr., Canby

150 Skyler Salzman, Sr., Hillsboro

157 Elijah Sweet, Sr., Centennial

165 Arturo Echeverria, Fr., Hillsboro

175 James Keinonen, Jr., Canby

190 Preston Echeverria, Sr., Hillsboro

215 Jackson Doman, Jr., Canby

285 Paul Masingila, Jr., Canby

Canby takes home nine individual titles, claims third team crown

Canby made it three consecutive district titles — adding a second NWOC crown to the Three Rivers title it won in its final season as a 6A school — with a dominant performance, winning nine of 14 weight classes and qualifying 17 wrestlers at 12 weights to bid for the program’s first state team trophy since 2009.

The Cougars won each of the lightest five weight classes and three of the four heaviest, and they did it with fresh blood — only Craig Williams is a repeat champion.

Doman defeated teammate (and football friend) Tyler Konold 9-1 in the 215 final to improve to 41-0 this season, including a Reser’s Tournament of Champions title. Dean Williams won his first title by pinning a returning champion, Hood River Valley’s Conner Farlow, 33 seconds into the second round of the 120 final. 

Arturo latest Echeverria family member to win district title

The “Legacy Family” of Hillsboro wrestling welcomed its newest member, with Arturo joining his older brother (and returning 182 state champion) Preston atop the medals stand to help the Spartans to a second-place finish, 170 points behind the Cougars.

Arturo entered his first district meet as a No. 3 seed but knocked out returning champion Kenny Schroeder of Centennial in the semifinals, then defeated top seed Isaiah Parsons of Canby 5-2 in the final.

Centennial looks to shoot up standings after qualifying 12 to state

Centennial finished third, just 5½ points behind Hillsboro, and with 12 state qualifiers — including five district runners-up alongside Sweet, who moved up four weight classes after taking second at 132 last year — the Eagles will look to improve upon their 15th-place finish of a season ago.

—

Mid-Willamette (at Salem Armory)

Team champion: Dallas (500.5 points) 

Most qualifiers: Dallas (21), Lebanon (9), West Albany (7)

Individual champions

106 Garrett Koehler, Fr., West Albany

113 Carsen Atterbury, So., Dallas

120 Joseph Johnson, Jr., Dallas

126 Jose Romero, Sr., Dallas

132 Tyler Basey, Jr., Dallas

138 Blake Linton, So., West Albany

144 Blake Atterbury, Sr., Dallas

150 Seth Wynn, So., Lebanon

157 Bo Zurcher, Jr., Silverton

165 Henry Samoylich, Jr., West Albany

175 Josiah Wynn, Sr., Lebanon

190 Clifford Johnson, Sr., Dallas

215 Cole Langford, Sr., Dallas

285 Brash Henderson, Jr., Silverton

Dallas back to normal: dominating the MWC district meet

All is back to normal in the Mid-Willamette Conference. The dissolution of the Crescent Valley juggernaut has restored the previous order, which has Dallas firmly in place atop the heap. 

The Dragons won their third consecutive district title and sixth in the past eight seasons, once again combining top-end talent (seven district champions) and depth (21 state qualifiers across all 14 weight classes) to defeat runner-up West Albany by 220 points.

Now, it’s a matter of putting everything together to get back on the medals stand at the state meet, where it’s been five years since they took home a team trophy and six since they won their second title.

Leading the charge should be Carsen Atterbury, last year’s state runner-up at 106 who won a 12-2 major decision over West Albany’s Owen Hoyt in the district final.

Atterbury, Romero — the Reser’s Tournament of Champions winner who beat teammate Sully Hill 3-0 in the district final — and Reser’s runner-up Langford, who also won an all-Dragons final with a 5-1 decision over Reser’s JV champion Arik Brecht Crabtree, repeated as district champions.

Wynn brothers help Lebanon jump to second place

Lebanon improved in every category this year from last, winning two titles (after going 0-fer in 2023) and qualifying nine wrestlers (one more) to change spots with West Albany and finish second in the team standings.

Josiah Wynn missed out on a state berth last year, losing in the fourth-place match after battling through the consolation bracket, but he rebounded from that experience to join younger brother Seth atop the podium. Josiah pinned Dallas’ Asher Olliff in the second round of the 175 final, and Seth was a 6-0 winner against Dragons senior Thomas Talmadge.

Silverton duo set to make noise at state 

Silverton will send only six wrestlers to Memorial Coliseum, but two should be serious contenders to take home state titles. Henderson added a third district championship to the Reser’s TOC crown he won last month, improving to 20-0 with a 4-1 decision against Kyron Dodds of Dallas.

Zurcher moved to 30-1 with a second-round pin of Lebanon freshman Grady Cox in the final. Zurcher, who placed fourth at state at 132 last year, has lost only to Newberg’s Trae Frederick in the Reser’s semifinals. 

—

Midwestern (at Eagle Point)

Team champion: Thurston (468 points)

Most qualifiers: Thurston (22), Crater (16), Eagle Point (8)

Individual champions

106 Michael Salas Sanchez, Fr., Thurston

113 Jeremiah Oliva, Fr., Crater

120 Moses Kyne, Sr., Crater

126 Aidan Godley, Fr., Crater

132 Sean Regas, Jr., Thurston

138 Joey Hutchins, Jr., Crater

144 Colton Annis, Jr., Thurston

150 Kutter Christensen, So., Crater

157 Gavin Pogue, So., Eagle Point

165 Daemian Deen, Jr., Crater

175 Ezekiel Allison, Jr., Churchill

190 Travis Ege, So., Crater

215 Brian Cortez, Jr., Eagle Point

285 Garrett Matthews, Sr., Eagle Point

Another year, another close battle between Thurston, Crater

It was a close battle between Thurston and Crater for the district title, but despite the Comets enjoying a 7-3 edge in district titlists and winning five of six finals involving wrestlers from the two schools, it was the Colts’ overall depth that allowed them to hold off their MWL rival by 46½ points and secure their sixth district title in the past seven seasons. 

The Colts, whose second-place finish at state last year was their sixth consecutive top-four showing, won the district title despite senior Kanoe Kelly — the state champion at 106 a year ago — managing only a third-place finish at 113 to get back to Memorial Coliseum.

Annis repeated as a district champion with Thurston’s only win over a Crater wrestler in a final — an 8-7 decision over Crater’s Jaxon Godley — but junior Holton Holstead fell in a matchup against another returning champion as Hutchins pinned him in 3:09.

Without two standouts, Crater still remains competitive

The Comets are without two-time state champion Elijah Bayne, a junior who moved to New Jersey during the offseason, and sophomore Jaret Hickey (fourth at state last year but out with an injury sustained in early December) as they look to improve upon their third-place finish at state a year ago.

They’ll count upon a bevy of underclassmen who showed themselves on the Reser’s Tournament of Champions stage last month, where Oliva won a title and Christensen and the Godley brothers reached the finals. 

Christensen, Hutchins and sophomore Philip Alger (who lost to Kyne in the 120 district final) placed at the state meet last year.

Churchill’s Allison breaks stranglehold of district’s top trio

With the top three teams (Eagle Point scored 280 points) hogging the spotlight, it left very little for the four other teams in the district to scrap for.

Only one final — Allison’s 6-4 decision over Ashland’s Will Downs at 175 — didn’t feature a wrestler from the top three, who combined to snag 46 of the 56 available state berths for the second consecutive year. 

—

Intermountain (at Mountain View)

Team champion: Redmond (385.5 points)

Most qualifiers: Mountain View (16), Redmond (14), Bend (13) 

Individual champions

106 Aiden Nelmes, So., Mountain View

113 Kash Davis, Fr., Redmond

120 Ryder Lee, Jr., Redmond

126 Mason Thynes, Jr., Redmond

132 Scout Santos, Sr., Mountain View

138 Eric Larwin, Jr., Bend

144 Clayton Waldron, So., Mountain View

150 Joseph Downing, Sr., Redmond

157 Jared Ake, Sr., Redmond

165 Leif Larwin, Fr., Bend

175 Jackson Potts, Sr., Mountain View

190 Orinn Hubbard, Jr., Redmond

215 Rylen Castino, Sr., Ridgeview

285 Ashton Fields, Sr., Redmond

Redmond finally finds its way to top of district standings 

A year ago, Redmond sneaked up on its rivals at the 5A state meet to win the program’s first championship since 1959. But at the district level, the Panthers always seemed to butt heads with another eastside power — first Hermiston, then Crook County and, later, Mountain View.

Finally, the Panthers broke through this weekend to earn their first title since 2013, winning half the weight classes to hold off the Cougars by 15½ points.

Lee, Downing and Fields repeated as district champions, so despite not having junior Billy Jackson (last year’s state runner-up at 120 who’s been out since placing fourth at the Reser’s TOC last month), the Panthers will have Lee and Fields (both second at state last year) among six placers who’ll head back to Memorial Coliseum this week.

Mountain View still strong despite slippage to second place

Mountain View, which placed fourth at state last year in its first season back in 5A, will again contend for a trophy (if not the program’s first championship) after winning four titles and qualifying a district-best 16 wrestlers.

Santos and Potts, who won state titles at 120 and 160, respectively, a year ago and took home Reser’s TOC titles a month ago, claimed their third district crowns, joined by two-time winner Nelmes (sixth at state last year) and first-time winner Waldron, who defeated Caldera’s Denny Dean Jr. 13-3 in the 144 final. 

Larwin brothers give Bend chance to post best showing at state

Last year’s district tournament was almost a two-team affair, but this season, Bend crashed the party to make it a three-team show.

That's thanks to the emergence of the Larwin brothers — Eric moved up from runner-up at 126 last year to defeat Redmond’s Steven Cassell 12-6 in the 138 final, and Reser’s TOC champion Leif improved to 41-4 with a technical fall of junior teammate Keelan Dennis. 

The Lava Bears had four other wrestlers make a district final and will send 13 to Memorial Coliseum as they bid to make the podium for the first time — their best finish was an eighth-place showing in 1970. 

—

MORE WRESTLING