Sweet Home’s boys battled adversity all the way to a second-place finish at the 4A Division state wrestling championships last weekend, with four Huskies bringing home individual state titles.
Sweet Home finished with 284.5 points, behind Crook County (319) and ahead of La Grande (156), Pendleton (149) and Cascade (129). A total of 30 4A Division boys teams were represented in the tournament.
“We knew it was going to be us and Crook County,” said Head Coach Steve Thorpe, who lost a returning state champion when 190-pounder Ashton Swanson was disqualified in the district championship tournament the previous week.
“We knew we were going to be fighting uphill after losing Swanson in the regional tournament, but the way our kids responded – we earned second and that’s the trophy we’re going to take home and I’m going to be proud of what we accomplished.”
In the 4A/3A/2A/1A girls championship, held concurrently with the boys, Sweet Home finished in a tie with Baker/Powder Valley for 18th. La Grande, which qualified 11 girls for the tournament, won with 98 points, ahead of Oakridge (92.5), Harrisburg (73), Crook County (65) and Nyssa (52.5).
Junior Bailey Chafin, who was aiming for her third straight state title, was the only Husky to place out of the four Sweet Home qualifiers, taking second after injuring her right knee in the 125-pound final against Nyssa’s Abigail Mardock and having to withdraw.
Sweet Home’s boys closed the gap on Crook County in the finals, winning state titles in four straight weight divisions.
Sophomore 113-pounder Riley Vaughan led things off with a 5-2 overtime win over top-ranked Alejandro Vargas of Crook County, taking Vargas down as time ran out in the first extra period.
“I just remembered one thing Thorpe told me and I have let it go from last year when I lost in the blood round,” said Vaughan, who finished 48-8. “He told me not to forget that feeling and that just pushed me to do more and more.”
Vaughan said he started thinking about the possibility of winning a state title when he cut down to 113 pounds and started seeing results. He lost 4-2 to Vargas at the Oregon Classic, then beat the Cowboy at Reser’s.
The title match left him with “one of the best feelings you could ever have,” he said.
Sophomore Jesse Landtroop followed Vaughan’s win with his second straight state title, beating La Grande’s Bragen Anderson 9-2 to win at 120 pounds.
This year’s final was a rematch for Landtroop and Anderson, who faced off at 106 last year with Landtroop taking a 6-2 win in that one.
“I think I’ve improved a lot more than he did,” said Landtroop, who finished the season 46-4. “The score was a lot different. It felt really good.”
Thorpe, who at times just stayed in his coach’s chair in the corner of the mat, waiting for his next wrestler to come out, noted that this is the first time the Huskies have dominated the lower weight divisions like they did this year.
“We put five in the finals and then went back to back to back to back, four matches in a row, leading with Riley Vaughan’s overtime win against the top-ranked kid in the state, and then, right after that, we go with Jesse, who gets his second title in the row,” he said. “Jesse’s put in so much work in the off-season that it’s obvious he’s just better.”
Junior Tytus Hardee was next, winning at 126 pounds with an 11-4 decision over Tillamook’s Jak Hopkes.
Hardee, 43-9 on the season, said his toughest match was against Cascade’s Conrad Baxter in the 126-pound quarterfinals, in which he trailed by “like, five points” before coming back to win 11-8.
“Tytus Hardee, after he won, he said, ‘This is my year,’” Thorpe said. “That’s the truth. He absolutely earned that. That’s a kid who pinned him earlier in the year that he beat in the finals. He handled him.”
Hardee was followed by junior Dillan Davis at 132 pounds, beating Crook County’s Chance Yancey 7-0 in a masterful performance.
“I was just sticking with the plan,” Davis said, adding that he came into the match having scored two wins over Yancey earlier this year. “My mindset was different this year. I knew I was gonna win it and I had that in my head, just replaying.”
He said he came into this season with a plan to win the title.
“It felt amazing,” said Davis, who finished 40-14. “Finally got it done.”
Thorpe said Davis deserved to be named Outstanding Wrestler of the tournament.
“The most improved person in our entire program has to be Dillan Davis. To see what Dillan Davis did – to come into this tournament and dominate the weight class was incredible.”
Plus, Thorpe took pains to note, Davis is the first African-American Sweet Home wrestler to place at the state tournament, let alone win it.
“That is a cool thing and it gives his family something to be proud of.”
At 157 pounds, sophomore Kyle Zajic faced La Grande junior Tommy Belding, a returning state titlist whom Thorpe described as “the best 157-pound wrestler in the state.” Belding rocketed out to a big lead, but Zajic (47-12) battled back and slowed him down before losing by a technical fall, 19-4.
“Kyle Zajic was wrestling against one of the top kids in the country, not just the state of Oregon. And he got beat, but he absolutely wrestled his tail off. He went after him the entire time.”
Placing third for Sweet Home were sophomore Keegan Jefferson at 106 pounds; junior Luke Rosa at 175, and junior Jeremiah Steagall at 190.
Senior Dylan Sharp was fourth at 215.
Finishing fifth were senior Jacob Landtroop (165), freshman Eli Cruz (175) and senior Colton Bennett (285).
Rounding out the placewinners was senior Russell Dickerman, sixth at 138.
“I was proud of those four seniors who are leaving us, that they placed in that tournament,” Thorpe said.
The Huskies were rolling as they entered the championship semifinals Friday afternoon, with 12 of their 18 wrestlers still alive. They rolled through the lower weights, with Vaughn, Jesse Landtroop, Hardee, Davis and Zajic all winning handily to advance to the finals. Then they hit some snags when Jacob Landtroop got caught by Crook County’s Jayden Lopez and got pinned, followed by Rosa, who also got pinned, ending the Huskies’ chances for more finalists. Meanwhile, Crook County had qualified seven finalists, including both in the 106-pound division.
“We had a few disappointments in this tournament, where we were hoping to win matches and didn’t,” Thorpe said. “But that’s OK. To watch guys come back and battle through the back door to place was awesome. We placed 13 kids, five in the finals.”
Cruz’s finish in the 175-pound division was a notable achievement, the coach said.
“My biggest surprise of the tournament has to be Eli Cruz. He placed fifth and that’s a grown man’s weight when you’re 14 years old.”
Steagall, he said, was another who deserved mention.
“Jeremiah hasn’t finished a season his freshman or sophomore year, because of bad choices. I have to tell you, he’s one of the most improved persons that I’ve taught. For him to get third coming into this tournament, he took advantage of an opportunity and you’ve got to be proud of that.”
Thorpe noted that the Huskies battled through “incredible adversity” at the end of the season – of freshman Ryder Carr losing his mother in an accident and the loss of Swanson in the lineup.
“The kids rallied and stepped up and they didn’t stop when it got hard, because it wasn’t going their way.
“I’m incredibly proud of them and I’m incredibly proud of this coaching staff and the world and the effort they put in. They’re unselfish.
“We wanted a state title and it wasn’t a state title. We worked for a state title, but tonight we’re going to be given a second-place trophy and I’m going to be very, very proud of it.”
Jesse Landtroop said that while the Huskies missed on a second straight team title, the adversity left them “definitely motivated.”
“I think we fell short from our goal, but that’s all right. We can come back next year.”
4A Division State Wrestling Championship Placewinner Matches
