Six Central Oregon wrestlers claim titles at Class 5A state championships

Published 7:47 am Sunday, February 25, 2024

PORTLAND — Six Central Oregon wrestlers claimed titles at the Class 5A state wrestling championships Saturday night at Memorial Coliseum. Four of them won for the first time, while two repeated as champions.

Mountain View finished with three state champions in sophomore Aiden Nelmes (106-pound weight class), senior Scout Santos (132) and senior Jackson Potts (175). Redmond had two champions in senior Joey Downing (150) and senior Jared Ake (157), while Leif Larwin (160) was a champion for Bend High.

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Santos and Potts closed out their high school careers as two-time champions, having both won titles a year ago. Both pinned three of their four opponents en route to their titles.

“Being here before and being in the finals before helped with the whole thing,” Potts said. “It feels awesome. It’s a great way to top off and end my (high school) career.”

Larwin capped off a stellar freshman season in which he won the Reser’s Tournament of Champions and is now also a state champion. He had three pins in his four matches, including a pin at 1:23 in the final match to become Bend High’s first state champion since Nathan Denney in 2020.

Redmond’s Downing and Ake waited their entire high school careers to finally be the last men standing in their weight classes. Downing won the 150-pound weight class, taking his final match 7-0. In the very next match, Ake followed in his wrestling partner’s footsteps by winning his final match 7-4.

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“This was the moment I’ve trained for my whole life,” Downing said. “I have so many amazing people in my life that have gotten me through this sport. I was blessed to have my family, my friends and my teammates here to watch me.”

Nelmes clinched his first state title by getting two technical falls and one pin before winning a 9-7 decision over Thurston’s Michael Salas Sanchez, whom he had wrestled multiple times during the season.

“That was only my second time beating him,” Nelmes said. “The last match against him I won 2-1, so I went in ready.”

Redmond, last year’s 5A champions, finished third with 190.5 points behind Dallas (219.5) and Thurston (202.5). Mountain View finished sixth with 140.5 points and Bend finished eighth with 89 points.

Redmond finished third in the 6A/5A girls field with 102 points, led by a second-place finish by Mia Pedersen in the 120-pound weight class. The Panthers finished behind Thurston (140.5) and Dallas (106).

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