Crater ends long Reser's Tournament of Champions title drought on night of surprises

Comets win for first time since 2006 at 26th edition of Oregon's premier wrestling invitational

The Crater Comets won the 2025 Reser's TOC title. / Photo by Taylor Balkom

SHERWOOD — Crater wrestling coach Greg Haga lugged the Reser’s Tournament of Champions championship trophy for a couple of seconds before finding a chair to put it down.

Nineteen years had passed since the Comets won the second of back-to-back team titles from the state’s premier invitational, contested for the first time in its 26-year history at Sherwood High School following a lengthy run at Hillsboro’s Liberty High.

“And the last time we won, they didn’t give away trophies this big,” Haga quipped. “It’s been long enough that some of our kids that are on this team were like 1 year old when it happened.”

Crater took home a couple of individual titles and had a tournament-best seven medalists to amass 186.5 points, ending Newberg’s three-year reign atop the standings.

“We were expecting to make some damage throughout the way,” said Crater sophomore Jeremiah Oliva, who won his second gold eagle trophy with a 17-2 technical fall over Redmond’s Ryder Lee in the 126-pound final.

“We’ve got a solid team right now. We’re making big jumps this year. Our team’s just pushing through, having a big buildup this season. Just a bunch of hard work is put into it.”

Senior Joey Hutchins kept his undefeated season going, following Oliva on the mat in the 132 final and pinning Dallas’ Sully Hall in the second round.

“Most of my pins this year have been cradles,” said Hutchins, who improved to 33-0 by pinning all four of his opponents over the course of two days, giving him 29 falls this season. “I feel like I’m in a really good position to take a state title, and I think our team’s in a really good spot right now.”

Newberg finished third with 154.5 points, a half-point ahead of Sweet Home and 12.5 behind runner-up Canby.

The Cougars also had two champions, with senior Jackson Doman’s 68-second pin of Sherwood’s Walter Dahme to repeat at 215 not a surprise.

Their other titlist, however, was a major shock. Senior Nico Yazzolino, whose previous career highlight was a third-place finish at last year’s 5A state tournament, erased a 4-0 deficit against three-time 3A state champion and reigning Sierra Nevada Classic winner Devon Kerr of La Pine, pinning Kerr with 30 seconds left in their 138 final.

Yazzolino said he felt no nerves about going up against Kerr, who had 141 career victories under his belt.

“That’s all just stats,” Yazzolino said. “That’s for spectators. All my matches here, I’ve just been attack, attack, attack, and no one’s been able to really stop it.”

Bend was the third school to leave Sherwood’s gym with two champions, with brothers Eric and Leif Larwin winning the 150 and 175 titles, respectively.

Leif, a sophomore, won his second TOC title by pinning Canby’s James Keinonen 56 seconds in the second period, and older brother Eric — a three-time state placer who took fifth at Reser’s last year — opened the championship round with a 12-4 major decision over Canby’s Matthew Young.

“It’s all coming together for me this year,” Eric said. “I feel like when I’m wrestling at my best, nobody in the state of Oregon can beat me. That’s how I’m feeling. I was just excited to be here.”

Following Eric’s win came one of the feature matches of the night showcasing two returning TOC champions, with La Grande junior Tommy Belding (144) facing Newberg senior Gus Amerson (150) in the 157 final.

Belding came out on top, surviving a flurry from Amerson in the final 30 seconds for a 7-4 decision that ended his Fargo Nationals training partner’s 36-match win streak to start the season.

“I knew it was going to be a tight match,” Belding said. “But I believe that I can win anything, and  tough matches like that, I like to clutch out for the fans here.”

Amerson was one of five 2024 state champions to fall in Saturday night’s finals. Thurston sophomore Michael Salas Sanchez remained unbeaten this season by downing last year’s TOC and 6A 106 titlist Drew Dawson of Roseburg 5-4 in the 113 final, and Forest Grove sophomore Jorge De La Rosa pinned reigning 5A 106 champion Aiden Nelmes of Mountain View with seven seconds left in the 120 final.

West Linn senior Oscar Doces repeated as a TOC champion, moving up from 138 to 144 this year and defeating Crater's Aidan Godley, a reigning 5A state champion. Newberg junior Kiah Worthington (106), Silverton senior Bo Zurcher (165), Harrisburg junior Brody Buzzard (190) and Lebanon senior Isaac Jordan (285) won their first gold eagles.

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