From major knee injury to repeat state champion in 2 months for West Linn's Charles Spinning: Oregon wrestling 165/145 big-school roundup

“I put my mind and my heart into it, and I’m pleased with the result”

As Charles Spinning wrestled to an eighth-place finish at the Reno Tournament of Champions in mid-December, the West Linn senior did so after sustaining tremendous damage to his right knee. 

He described it Saturday night at the OSAA state championships as a “freak injury” that happened when his ankle was wrenched the wrong way. 

“I damn-near tore everything to the right of my ACL,” he explained. 

The injury sidelined him for seven weeks — until “I just got to the point where I couldn’t stay off the mat. I was going crazy, losing my mind there.”

He returned for one Three Rivers League dual meet in early February, then tested the knee at the district meet, where he won the 165-pound title. 

Finally, Spinning came to Portland’s Veterans Memorial Coliseum and won his second consecutive Class 6A state title, defeating Newberg’s Luke Augustus 12-6 in a match that became heated at the end, with Augustus slamming Spinning’s knee to the mat several times in frustration.

“I put my mind and my heart into it, and I’m pleased with the result,” said Spinning, who finished the season 18-3.

Another reason Spinning rushed back on the mat was to help the Lions defend the state title they won for the first time last February.

While they ended up finishing second to Newberg in the team race, his contribution was appreciated by everyone in the room.

“We had nine placers this year, and I’ll take those nine guys in the room, working hard every day — I’ll take them over anyone in the country,” Spinning said. “That’s just the way it’s been since I got in the room as a freshman. We just have to keep doing what we’re doing and trust in the West Linn way.”

5A: Bend freshman Leif Larwin considered his title at last month’s Reser’s Tournament of Champions his coming-out party to a statewide audience. 

Anyone who didn’t know of Larwin before this weekend certainly knows about him now after he won a battle of freshmen in the state final, pinning Hillsboro’s Arturo Echeverria in 83 seconds.

Afterward, he said his primary motivation wasn’t to start down the road to becoming a potential four-time champion, but to win for his brother, Eric, a junior who fell in the 138 final earlier in the evening. 

“I was hoping my brother and I could get dual titles,” Leif said. “But he lost a couple of rounds before I did, so it was 100% my motivation in that match to be able to pin my guy as fast as I did. He’s my workout partner, my best friend, and I think it really just drove me to be able to compete at a super high level.” 

6A/5A Girls: West Salem senior Reese Lawson won her second consecutive title by pinning Ridgeview’s Kira Gregory 74 seconds into their 145-pound final. Gregory knocked off top seed Isabella Jaime of North Medford in the semifinals. 

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Meet the champions: Class 6A | Class 5A | Class 4A | Class 3A | Class 2A/1A | Class 6A/5A Girls | Class 4A/3A/2A/1A Girls

Vote for best wrestler: Class 6A | Class 5A | Class 4A | Class 3A | Class 2A/1A | Class 6A/5A Girls | Class 4A/3A/2A/1A Girls

Previewing the state meets: Class 6A | Class 5A | Class 4A | Class 3A | Class 2A/1A | Class 6A/5A Girls | Class 4A/3A/2A/1A Girls

Recapping the district meets: Class 6A | Class 5A | Class 4A | Class 3A | Class 2A/1A | Class 6A/5A Girls | Class 4A/3A/2A/1A Girls

COMPLETE COVERAGE OF 2024 OSAA WRESTLING CHAMPIONSHIPS

Photos by Taylor Balkom