Oregon high school wrestling state championships, Day 1 recap: ‘We are normal for the first time since 2020’

Sweet Home (4A), Harrisburg (3A), Willamina (2A/1A) and La Grande (4A/3A/2A/1A Girls) hold the overnight leads

Sweet Home wrestling coach Steve Thorpe stood on the floor at Portland's Memorial Coliseum on Thursday afternoon and swept his gaze at the surroundings. 

“This is normal,” he said, smiling. “We are normal for the first time since 2020.”

Since the 2020 OSAA wrestling championships, Thorpe and the rest of the state’s wrestling community endured a pandemic, summer state meets, championship tournaments being held at school sites, and then last February, a freak snowstorm that shut down the city of Portland and scrambled the event schedule. 

“So, this is just great that we’re here,” Thorpe said as his Huskies took the overnight lead in the Class 4A standings, looking to end La Grande’s two-year hold on the title and win the program’s first blue trophy since 2021, when the state tournament was run by the Oregon Wrestling Association.

Other Day 1 team leaders are Harrisburg (3A), seeking its first title after matching its best finish last year by placing third; Willamina (2A/1A), which last won a title in 2018 as a 3A school; and La Grande (4A/3A/2A/1A girls), which is looking to win the girls program’s first blue trophy.

Of the 56 top seeds to take the mat Thursday, only one failed to advance to the semifinals.

Harrisburg freshman Andrei Donayri knocked off Burns’ Kempton Richardson in the 3A 106-pound opening round, then followed that 11-4 decision with a 49-second pin of Warrenton’s Kyle Bond to reach the semifinals.

Class 4A

Team scores

1, Sweet Home 164 points (9 semifinalists/4 consolation)

2, Crook County 137.5 (5/5)

3, La Grande 95.5 (8/1)

4, Cascade 89.5 (6/2)

5, Mazama 59.5 (3/0)

tie Pendleton 59.5 (3/2)

7, Tillamook 56 (2/1)

8, Marshfield 53 (2/0)

9, Philomath 49.5 (4/2)

10, St. Helens 48 (1/3)

Recap

The Huskies and Crook County entered the tournament tied for the most entries, each qualifying 18 wrestlers, so it’s not a surprise that they are 1-2 in the team standings after the first day.

Sweet Home, which last left Memorial Coliseum as champion in 2017, holds a 26.5-point lead over the Cowboys on the strength of a meet-high nine semifinalists and 13 wrestlers who will walk in Friday night’s Parade of Champions as medalists.

“I’m happy with the guys, how we’re competing,” Thorpe said.

Crook County, which has finished in the top two at nine of the past 10 OSAA state meets, has 10 wrestlers going Friday, including five in the semifinals.

Defending champion La Grande sits third with 95.5 points, but with eight semifinalists, the Tigers still have an opportunity to move up the standings if things break right on the final day. Cascade is six points back of La Grande in fourth and has six semifinalists.

Class 3A

Team scores

1, Harrisburg 140 (10 semifinalists/5 consolation)

2, Banks 77.5 (5/2)

3, Burns 68 (4/3)

4, La Pine 63.5 (6/0)

5, Pleasant Hill 40 (3/1)

6, Sutherlin 38 (1/2)

7, Nyssa 35 (3/0)

8, Yamhill-Carlton 34 (2/1)

9, Glide 33 (3/0)

10, Warrenton 32 (2/0)

Recap

Donayri’s victory in the first match of the tournament set the tone for Harrisburg’s banner day, which saw the Eagles advance 10 of their 17 qualifiers to the semifinals and put five more on the medals podium to grab a commanding 66.5-point lead over Banks.

Donayri already owned a victory over Richardson at the Oregon Wrestling Classic, so he wasn’t fazed about having to face a top seed in his first state tournament match.

“It was a close match (a 6-3 decision), so we knew it was a toss-up,” Eagles coach Desmond Bennett said. “Dre’s a kid who’s wrestled for a while but hadn’t really had a lot of success until late last year. Then, we got him in the room, and he’s coachable. And he loves this atmosphere. That was a big one, and it kind of got us rolling.”

The Eagles pulled another surprise in the 120 quarterfinals, where senior PJ Machacek won an 8-4 decision against No. 3 seed Henry Barnes of Burns, and saw all but one of their seeded wrestlers reach the semifinals.

“Those were big for the guys to see,” Bennett said. “Everybody else was just wrestling to their true potential, having fun and enjoying this tournament, not thinking about the pressure or team points, but just about their performance and having fun.”

Burns and two-time defending champion La Pine also set themselves up to battle with Banks, which ended a 19-year trophy drought last year with its fourth-place finish.

Class 2A/1A

Team scores

1, Willamina 65.5 points (9 semifinalists / 1 consolation)

2, Illinois Valley 42 (4/3)

3, Toledo 40 (6/1)

4, Camas Valley 36 (4/2)

5. Culver 25 (3/1)

6, Grant Union/Prairie City 24.5 (2/2)

7. Enterprise/Wallowa 22.5 (1/1)

8, Heppner 22 (3/0)

9, Lowell 21 (2/1)

10, Oakridge 18 (2/1)

Recap

Willamina coach Ariah Fasana knows what it takes to win a state title, having done so in 2018 at Class 3A, so he took nothing for granted entering Day 1 of this year’s tournament.

“Everyone got here on time. Everybody made weight,” Fasana said. “The kids have been scrambling, wrestling pretty hard today. That’s all we’re asking.”

The Bulldogs are in the pole position to win the program’s sixth title, leading defending champion Illinois Valley by 23.5 points and advancing the most semifinalists (nine).

The Cougars’ chances to repeat took a hit when junior Micah Martinho, a two-time champion, had to medically forfeit his matches because of a knee injury that he suffered midseason and worsened to the point he gutted through his district semifinal on one leg before defaulting the final.

Toledo, in third place just two points behind Illinois Valley, showed off its strength in the upper weights and with six semifinalists could pose the biggest challenge to Willamina’s title push.

Class 4A/3A/2A/1A Girls

Team scores

1, La Grande 50 (8 semifinalists / 1 consolation)

2, Nyssa 29 (1/2)

3, Harrisburg 24 (4/0)

4, Crook County 23 (3/1)

tie Oakridge 23 (3/0)

6, Sutherlin 21 (1/2)

tie Sweet Home 21 (2/1)

8, St. Helens 20 (2/1)

9, Siuslaw 20 (2/2)

10, Grant Union 18 (2/1)

tie Vale 18 (3/0)

tie Willamina 18 (2/1)

Recap

La Grande had a couple of hiccups in the consolation bracket, but the Tigers still have nine of their 13 qualifiers alive entering Day 2 — including eight semifinalists who should help them build upon their 21-point overnight lead over Nyssa as they look to win the girls program’s first title.

“I’d say it’s going pretty well,” coach Krystal Fabricante said. “We got eight into the semifinals, so that’s pretty awesome. We’re looking pretty strong.”

Behind the Tigers, it’s a tight race between 11 teams all within 11 points of each other for the other three podium finishes. Harrisburg, with four semifinalists, and Crook County, Vale and Oakridge with three apiece could get some separation with strong showings in Friday afternoon’s semifinals.

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MORE LINKS

Oregon wrestling state championships: Meet the 12 ‘unbeatable’ wrestlers

4-time Oregon high school wrestling state champions: 3 seniors hope to join exclusive club

Oregon wrestling state championships: 10 finals we’d love to see

District recaps: Class 6A | Class 5A | Class 4A | Class 3A | Class 2A/1A | Class 6A/5A Girls | Class 4A/3A/2A/1A Girls

Complete coverage of OSAA state wrestling