SPORTS
A10 — THE OBSERVER
Abigail Dollins/Salem Statesman Journal
La Grande’s Braden Carson hooks his arms around Baker’s Gavin Stone in the 145-pound weight class
at the OSAA Class 4A state wrestling championship at Cascade High School in Turner on Saturday,
Feb. 26, 2022.
TEAM
Continued from Page A9
performance, not surren-
dering a point during the
tournament.
“I have a lot of people to
thank for the title, and a lot
of people that pushed me
in practice every day,” said
the senior, who will wrestle
at Eastern Oregon Univer-
sity next season. “It is a big
deal for me because I have
worked my whole life for
this and I am happy about
it. I wanted to dominate and
not leave anything behind.”
Kai Carson claimed the
crown at 120 in dominating
fashion. He pinned his way
to the fi nals in a combined
time of 3 minutes, 32 sec-
onds. The sophomore, who
concluded his season with
a 39-3 mark, beat Sweet
Home’s Kyle Watkins 7-1 in
the championship match.
Joshua Collins followed
a similar path to his title at
138, recording three pins to
reach the fi nals before han-
dling Stayton’s Eli Howard
11-4. The title came after
runner-up fi nishes the past
two seasons.
“I have been dreaming
about winning ever since I
was a freshman,” said the
junior. “I was looking at the
team scores before I went
out and wrestled, so I wres-
tled for myself but also my
team.”
Coach Carson said the
three champions set a tone
for the team.
“Those kids were
favored to win the tourna-
ment, but they stepped up
and really wrestled well,” he
said. “They were stepping
up and getting bonus points
where they could, and there
was a round where it just
seemed we were pinning on
just about every mat.”
The groundwork for the
impressive showing Sat-
urday night was laid months
before.
“We had a lot of kids
put in the time over the
summer, and several
of them went with me
to Europe for a culture
exchange and they wres-
tled freestyle there,” coach
Carson said.
Sophomore Mason Wol-
cott fi nished as the state
runner-up at 106, falling
to Sweet Home’s Kyle Sie-
minski by pin in 3:28.
Senior Brody MacMillan
had a pair of pins and a
major decision to reach the
title match at 195, but came
up on the wrong end of a
9-5 decision to Marshfi eld’s
Miguel Velazquez.
Wyatt Livingston
responded from a semifi nal
loss to pin teammate and
fellow junior Cole Shafer
in 4:20 to take third at 170
as the Tigers put two in the
top four.
“It is always hard to
wrestle teammates, but I
always tell them that iron
sharpens iron,” coach
Carson said. “They are
both tremendous wrestlers
and they make each other
better.”
Ridge Kehr took fourth
place at 152, dropping a
hard fought 10-8 decision to
Sweet Home’s Kaden Zajic
in the third-place match.
Tavian Kehr fi nished fourth
at 126, falling to Estacada’s
Cohen Schleich 8-2 in third-
place match.
Jarett Armstrong closed
out his season with a 14-8
victory over Tilamook’s
Johnathan Gingerich to
take fi fth at 182. Brysen
Penaloza pinned Sweet
Home’s Christian Gregory
in 3:03 to fi nish fi fth at 132.
Landon Perry took sixth
at 120 as he rebounded
from a fi rst-round loss to
win three straight matches.
Jaxson Leonard took the
same route to fi nishing
sixth at 126. Dominick Car-
ratello also took sixth at
138, scoring bonus points in
three straight wins after a
quarterfi nal loss.
The end result was the
culmination of an idea
planted early this season.
“At the beginning of the
year, we sat down and made
it our goal to beat Sweet
Home and it was a good
motivator,” Braden Carson
said. “Our team was really
wrestling for each other
when we went out on the
mat. It is fun when wres-
tling becomes a team sport.”
TUESDAY, MARCH 1, 2022
Ronald Osterloh/Contributed Photo
Imbler’s Garrett Burns raises his hand in victory following
a 7-2 decision over Crane’s John Otley in the fi nals of the
126-pound weight class at the OSAA Class 2A/1A State Wrestling
Championship on Saturday, Feb. 26, 2022. Burns became Union
County’s fi rst three-time state champion, joined later in the night
by La Grande’s Braden Carson in Class 4A.
1A STATE
Continued from Page A9
denied Lathrop the title
with a 7-4 victory.
Elgin’s Reece
McConnell took sixth
at 145, recording a pair
of pins after dropping
his quarterfi nal match
in sudden victory. Ty
McLaughlin also took
sixth at 152.
David Creech, the lone
qualifi er for Union/Cove,
took sixth place at 182,
falling in the fi fth-place
match to Heppner/Ione’s
Conor Brosnan by pin.
Culver continued its
dominance of the state
meet, winning the team
title with 182 points. Illi-
nois Valley was second
with 101.5 points and
Vernonia came in third
with 80 points.
The win marks the
13th state championship
for Culver, all of which
have come over the past
15 seasons dating back
to 2007. In that time,
Reedsport Charter won
the title in 2020 and
Lowell won in 2013, and
Culver was the runner-up
both times.
Elgin placed 14th with
36 points, while Imbler
posted a top-20 fi nish,
scoring 25 points to
place 18th.
OSAA CLASS 4A
BOYS BRACKET
First round
Friday, March 4
(16) Molalla at (1) Junction City, TBD
(9) Baker at (8) Gladstone, 6 p.m.
(12) North Marion at (5) Philomath,
TBD
(13) Woodburn at (4) Seaside, 7 p.m.
(14) Corbett at (3) Marshfi eld, 8:30 p.m.
(11) Banks at (6) La Grande, 5 p.m.
(10) Stayton at (7) Henley, TBD
(15) Marist Catholic at (2) Cascade, TBD
OSAA CLASS 4A
GIRLS BRACKET
First round
Saturday, March 5
(16) Henley at (1) Philomath, TBD
(9) Stayton at (8) Mazama, 3 p.m.
(12) Marist Catholic at (5) Gladstone,
7 p.m.
(13) Hidden Valley at (4) Junction City,
TBD
(14) Marshfi eld at (3) Baker, 4 p.m.
(11) Corbett at (6) Banks, 6 p.m.
(10 Astoria at (7) Madras, TBD
(15) La Grande at (2) Cascade, TBD
Sale
ends March
May 8, 9, 2020
Sale Ends
2022
BRACKETS
Continued from Page A9
Bell led all scorers with 23
points in the rout.
Both teams faced
Molalla during the reg-
ular season. The Braves
thumped the Indians 64-30
on Jan. 6 in Banks, while
the Tigers went on the road
and posted a 53-22 rout on
Dec. 10.
The Braves (18-6) enter
the tournament after a
68-52 win over Phoenix
in a state play-in game on
Feb. 26. Banks split reg-
ular season road contests
against a couple of GOL
teams, crushing Ontario
69-21 on Dec. 3, before
falling the following night
85-81 at Baker.
The Braves fi nished
second in the Cowapa
League behind No.
4-seeded Seaside. Both
posted identical 7-1 league
marks.
Baker, the Greater
Oregon League runner-up,
is seeded No. 9 and will
travel to face Gladstone on
March 4.
LA GRANDE
BAKER CITY
ENTERPRISE
ON THE SLATE
111 Elm Street
La Grande, OR 97850
2021 Washington Ave.
Baker City, OR 97814
Wednesday, March 2
541-605-2109
541-239-3782
113-1/2 Front E. Main St.
Enterprise, OR 97828
PREP BOYS BASKETBALL
Powder Valley vs. Nixyaawii,
Baker High School, 8:15 p.m.
Thursday, March 3
COLLEGE TRACK AND FIELD
Eastern Oregon at NAIA Indoor
Championships, Brookings,
South Dakota, TBA
541-239-3877
20AprOffer
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