PORTLAND — More than a year ago, Luke Larwin called his shot for his son who had not yet wrestled in a high school match.

The Bend High wrestling coach sent a photo to his then eighth-grade son of the 165-pound trophy given to the winner of the Reser’s Tournament of Champions, often described as the toughest wrestling tournament in Oregon.

The message was a simple one: “If you train hard enough, you will win this next year.”

A year later, Leif Larwin won the prestigious TOC title as a freshman.

And if you can win at the TOC, where all the state’s best wrestlers from all classifications compete, then your odds of winning a state title increase exponentially.

And that is exactly what Leif Larwin did a month later at Saturday’s Class 5A state wrestling championships at the Veterans Memorial Coliseum. Larwin pinned three of his four opponents, including a first-round pin in his final match to cap off a remarkable freshman season and become Bend High’s first state champion since Nathan Denney (2020).

“Every single circle that I wrestle on is the same size,” Larwin said. “It’s been the exact same arena from when I was 5 years old when I was wrestling to now being in high school. The mat is the exact same size. The ankle bands are the same. And it is all just one match at a time.”

Larwin has a ‘love of the process’

No matter how bright the lights got in his first high school season, Larwin rose to the occasion and proved to be one of the state’s current and future stars in the sport by clearing the first step to joining the rare and exclusive four-time state champion club.

“He lifts, he stays in shape, he finds other people to workout with and train with the best people,” Luke Larwin said. “His love of the process is what is helping him potentially be one of the best wrestlers that the state has seen in its history.”

Larwin started off with a first-round pin of North Eugene’s Gavin Gambill in the first round, then pinned Centennial’s Kenny Schroeder in the second round before a major decision win in the semifinals over Canby’s Isaiah Parsons.

If winning a state title alone wasn’t enough motivation going into the final match against Hillsboro’s Arturo Echeverria, Leif Larwin had all the more reason to win. Four matches earlier, his older brother and training partner Eric Larwin lost a heartbreaker in the 138-pound title match.

Leif Larwin pinned his opponent in 83 seconds to claim the 165-pound title.

“That (match) was all for my brother,” Larwin said. “That just got me going and fueled me up to probably the quickest pin in the tournament.”

Report from the finals

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

Joey Downing, Jared Ake end on high notes

Some wrestlers win titles early in their high school careers. Others have to wait. That was the case for Redmond’s Joey Downing and Jared Ake, who ended their high school wrestling careers by finally capturing that elusive state title.

The scene — huge, teary-eyed hugs from coaches, teammates, family and friends — following Downing’s 7-0 win in the 150-pound finals over Crater’s Kutter Christensen showed just what being the final man standing means to a wrestler.

“This was the moment I’ve trained for my whole life,” said a choked-up Downing. “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. Being here, being able to achieve a goal of a lifetime is just incredible.”

The very next match, Ake, Downing’s wrestling partner, made it back-to-back winners for Redmond when he beat Mountain View’s Brady Johns 7-4 for the 157-pound title.

Ake and Johns had wrestled each other four times this season, but the three-point decision in the finals was the closest of the four matches.

“It’s a great way to end a long career of wrestling,” said Ake, who finished third at last year’s state tournament. “This is all you work for. The state meet is where you want to be. It makes me feel really good about myself to finally get it done.”

Mountain View’s Aiden Nelmes grabs first title

Mountain View sophomore Aiden Nelmes also won his first title and is now on track to be a three-time state winner after claiming the 106-pound title.

Nelmes clinched his first state title by getting two technical falls and one pin before winning a 9-7 decision in the finals 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.”

Scout Santos, Jackson Potts are repeat champs

Two Mountain View seniors, Scout Santos and Jackson Potts, closed out their high school careers as repeat champions, having both captured their first titles a year ago.

Santos, the TOC champion, wanted to go out with a bang and pin all of his opponents, and outside of a major decision win in the semifinals, he did. Santos capped off his high school career with a second-round pin over Thurston’s Sean Regas to claim the 132-pound title.

“The first one (last year) will always mean more to me but this one feels great too,” Santos said. “You have to stay calm, don’t listen to the crowd, stay in your own head and do what you do best.”

Staying calm was also a key for success for Potts, also a TOC champion.

Potts pinned his way — all in the first round — to the 175-pound title match, where he beat Canby’s James Keinonen.

“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.”

Team results

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.

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