Oregon
Championship rewind: Sights and stories from Oregon’s wrestling state tournament
The OSAA wrestling state championships were from Thursday through Saturday at Veterans Memorial Coliseum. In those final days, champions were crowned in seven classifications between boys and girls, and team titles were hoisted.
Here’s a look at the action this weekend from The Oregonian/OregonLive:
Newberg’s Dillon Le celebrates after winning a state championship on Saturday night. Tim Healy for The Oregonian/OregonLive
Newberg returns to the top of the state at Oregon’s wrestling championships
The Tigers had to stomach being the runner-up in 2023, breaking a three year streak of state tournament wins. This year, they were back. Read about it HERE.
Roseburg’s Drew Dawson celebrates after winning the Class 6A 106-pound title. Tim Healy for The Oregonian/OregonLive
From 3A to 6A: Drew Dawson ends transfer to Roseburg with a wrestling state championship
Drew Dawson went from competing in Class 3A as a member of Glide last season, to winning a Class 6A title with Roseburg this year. Read about it HERE.
Wrestlers from around the state compete in the OSAA Class 6A wrestling state championships on Saturday, Feb 24, 2024 at Veterans Memorial Coliseum.Tim Healy for The Oregonian/OregonLive
Back on top: After upset losses, Roseburg’s Gage Singleton ends his prep career a state champion
After an upset loss in the state tournament last year and an upset loss in Reser’s this year, Roseburg’s Gage Singleton needed to end his high school career on top. Read about it HERE.
West Linn’s Charles Spinning celebrates after winning the 165-pound state championship in Class 6A. Tim Healy for The Oregonian/OregonLive
Charles Spinning comes back from serious knee injury, leads three Lion two-timers at wrestling state championships
A knee injury threatened to derail Charles Spinning’s title defense this year. But he was able to come back and be a part of three West Linn wrestlers who repeated as state champions. Read about it HERE.
Newberg’s Isaac Hampton gets his hand raised after winning the 126-pound Class 6A wrestling state title. Tim Healy for The Oregonian/OregonLive
Match breakdown: Newberg’s Isaac Hampton beats Clackamas’ Jeremiah Wachsmuth in dream showdown of former wrestling champions
A match between two former state champions. A match over 10 years in the making with the title on the line. Read about it HERE.
Dallas’ Joe Johnson, right wrestles against Crescent Valley’s Colton Hankey in the Class 5A 126-pound finals. Howard Lao for The Oregonian/OregonLive
Dallas boys come out ahead in competitive Class 5A boys wrestling field
The Class 5A team title came down to the finals on Saturday night. How did Dallas come out with the win? Read about it HERE.
Bend’s Lief Larwin, celebrates at the 2024 OSAA State Wrestling Championships on Saturday, Feb. 24, 2024 in Portland, Ore.
Howard Lao for The Oregonian/OregonLive
Bend’s Leif Larwin introduces himself as a new force in Oregon’s Class 5A wrestling with title win as a freshman
Freshman Leif Larwin’s first year of high school wrestling included a Reser’s title and a state title. Read about it HERE.
Silverton’s Brash Henderson celebrates after winning the Class 5A state championship at 285 pounds.Howard Lao for The Oregonian/OregonLive
After facing against some of Oregon’s best in past years, Silverton’s Brash Henderson finally gets his wrestling gold
Brash Henderson’s state title this year was one at the end of a rocky road. With the competition he’s had over the years, it was rocky than perhaps anyone has ever seen. Read about it HERE.
Thurston’s Izabella Castleberry, top, wrestles Tigard’s Natalie Wilhoit in the girls 155-pound finals. Ali Gradischer for The Oregonian/OregonLive
Thurston girls, after back-to-back runner-up finishes, finally take the top spot in Class 6A/5A girls wrestling
The Colts have watched teams win the title each of the past two years as they ended with silver. Read about it HERE.
Dallas’ Polly Olliff, left, wrestles in the state championship match. Ali Gradischer for The Oregonian/OregonLive
Dallas’ Polly Olliff navigates the tough 110-pound weight class, repeats as Class 6A/5A girls wrestling champion
Navigating the 110-pound weight class was not an easy challenge, but Olliff was able to successfully complete it for her second state title. Read about it HERE.
Cleveland’s Isabel Herring gets her hand raised after winning the girls 170-pound state championship. Ali Gradischer for The Oregonian/OregonLive
Cleveland’s Isabel Herring beats Wilsonville’s reigning champion Jasmine Brown for 170-pound Class 6A/5A girls wrestling crown
Herring needed to face a reigning state champion to get her first title. She was able to look dominant in her finals match. Read about it HERE.
Wells’ Zorina Johnson gets her hand raised after winning the 125-pound state championship. Ali Gradischer for The Oregonian/OregonLive
Wells’ Zorina Johnson wins battle of 2023 runner-ups, finally gets her Class 6A/5A girls wrestling state title
A runner-up last year, Johnson’s finals win was about more than winning a match. It was the culmination of hard work and forging new relationships in wrestling. Read about it HERE.
Kyle Sieminski makes it to the four-timers club, Sweet Home brings home the team gold at Oregon’s Class 4A wrestling state tournament
Oregon now has had 50 four-time state champions, with Kyle Sieminski being the latest while helping the Huskies to team gold as well. Read about it HERE.
La Grande’s Kai Carson brings home third state title, matching his brother’s mark
The Tigers have been dominant for years in Class 4A, and a big part of that has been the Carson brotherrs leading the way. Read about it HERE.
La Grande wins first girls team gold at Oregon wrestling state championships
The La Grande boys are one of Class 4A’s best over the past few years. Now the girls are getting in on the fun. Read about it HERE.
Crook County’s MaKenna Duran warms up for her finals match. Ali Gradischer for The Oregonian/Oregon Live
MaKenna Duran makes it back-to-back golds, leading a surging Crook County girls wrestling squad at Oregon’s state championships
Crook County’s first girls wrestling state champion just set the bar a little higher. Read about it HERE.
Sweet Home’s Bailey Chafin celebrates after winning her second state championship. Ali Gradischer for The Oregonian/Oregon Live
Sweet Home’s Bailey Chafin wins second state title, sets her sights on four
There are currently two girls in Class 4A/3A/2A/1A on pace for four state titles, and Bailey Chafin on Sweet Home is ready for the moment. Read about it HERE.
Vale’s Ava Collins gets her hand raised after winning a second state championship. Ali Gradischer for The Oregonian/Oregon Live
Ava Collins has to get through training partner Hannah Hernandez to match Vale record 2 girls wrestling state titles
Winning a second state title wasn’t going to be easy for Ava Collins, especially since she had to get through a wrestler she faces all the time in the practice room. Read about it HERE.
Harrisburg and Toledo win their school’s first team titles at Oregon wrestling state championships
The Class 3A and Class 2A/1A state championships both went to teams that have never won it before. Read about it HERE.
Illinois Valley’s Mike Miller celebrates after winning a fourth state championship. Linus Brush-Mindell for The Oregonian/OregonLive
‘Be like Mike’: Illinois Valley’s Mike Miller becomes the 49th to win four Oregon wrestling state championships
The first four-time state champion of the year won in Class 2A/1A. Read about it HERE.
— Nik Streng, nstreng@oregonian.com, @NikStreng
The Oregon Supreme Court has overturned the conviction of a Lane County man who once photographed child beauty queen JonBenét Ramsey and was convicted in 2021 on several child pornography charges.
Randall DeWitt Simons, 73, of Oakridge, was charged in 2019 with 15 counts of first-degree encouraging child sex abuse. He was later convicted on every count and sentenced to 10 years in prison.
Simons was first arrested after authorities began investigating a report from a restaurant in Oakridge that someone had been using the restaurant’s Wi-Fi to download inappropriate and concerning images.
Law enforcement officers directed the business to track, log, and report all of the user’s internet activity to the investigating officer for more than a year, without a warrant.
Police tracked the computer’s IP address from the restaurant’s Wi-Fi system, which led officers to a man who lived near the restaurant and had given Simons a computer, according to a probable cause affidavit filed in Lane County Circuit Court. Investigators obtained a warrant to search the laptop in Simon’s home, relying on information they had collected over time. He was subsequently arrested.
On March 26, the court ruled warrantless internet surveillance on public Wi-Fi violates privacy.
In an opinion written by Justice Bronson D. James, the court held that the Oregon Constitution recognizes people have a right to privacy in their internet browsing activities and the right is not extinguished when they use a publicly accessible wireless network. It’s even true in cases where that access is conditioned on a person accepting a terms-of-service agreement that says a provider may monitor activity and cooperate with law enforcement, James wrote.
During criminal proceedings in the Lane County Circuit Court, Simons moved to controvert the warrant and suppress the evidence obtained by police, arguing the business was a “state actor for purposes of Article I, section 9, and that its year-long warrantless surveillance was an unconstitutional, warrantless search attributable to the state,” the Supreme Court opinion said.
The Circuit Court denied Simon’s motion. The Oregon Court of Appeals affirmed the trial court’s decision in part and stated Simons had no cognizable privacy interest in his internet activities performed on a third-party network.
The Oregon Supreme Court rejected the state’s argument.
“The mere fact that a person accesses the internet through a public network does not eliminate their Article I, section 9, right to privacy in their online activities,” according to James. “Even when access is expressly conditioned on a user’s acceptance of terms-of-service provisions purporting to alert the user that the provider may monitor activity and cooperate with law enforcement.”
Justice K. Bushong suggested in a partial dissent the Court should reconsider its approach in a future case to what constitutes a “search” under the Oregon Constitution. The court’s decision reverses the Court of Appeals and sends the case back to the Lane County Circuit Court for further proceedings.
Simons has maintained his innocence since he was arrested in 2019.
Simons had been a photographer for 6-year-old Colorado beauty queen JonBenét Ramsey a few months before her still-unsolved 1996 murder, the Associated Press reported in 1998.
In October 1998, Simons was arrested on a charge of indecent exposure in Lincoln County, Colorado. According to the book “Perfect Murder, Perfect Town” by Lawrence Schiller, Simons was arrested in 1998 for allegedly walking nude down a residential street in the small town of Genoa, Colorado. Simons allegedly offered to the arresting deputy unprovoked, “I didn’t kill JonBenét.”
Haleigh Kochanski is a breaking news and public safety reporter for The Register-Guard. You may reach her at HKochanski@gannett.com.
Umatilla, Morrow counties establish Young Republicans of Oregon chapter
Published 8:00 pm Wednesday, March 25, 2026
IRRIGON — Young Republicans living in Umatilla and Morrow counties now can join a local chapter of the statewide Young Republicans of Oregon organization.
The Umatilla Morrow Young Republicans will advance Republican values and leadership in young residents through political training, networking opportunities and connection to Republican leaders. The group is focused on young adults, generally attracting college-aged people, though it includes people aged 18 to 40.
The five Young Republicans of Oregon members living in Umatilla and Morrow counties elected three officers to lead their new chapter. Irrigon’s Evan Purves was elected chair, with Connor Roberts of Hermiston as his vice chair and Kaelyn Moore of Milton-Freewater serving as secretary.
“I am super grateful for this opportunity to lead my neighbors,” Purves said. “It’s going to be really fun. We have some good events planned.”
Purves, 19, is a student at Blue Mountain Community College who eventually hopes to pursue a four-year degree in public administration. He initially became interested in the Young Republicans during an internship with Oregon state Rep. Greg Smith, of Heppner. He said it was an experience that showed him how the legislature works.
The internship also inspired him to step into a leadership role with the Young Republicans and help establish a local chapter of the organization. The newest chapter of the Young Republicans of Oregon, which was announced Monday, March 23, has been in the works since November 2025.
The Young Republicans of Oregon State Chair, Tanner Elliott, said the new chapter — the fourth chapter statewide — indicates momentum for conservative values.
“In less than a year, we’ve continued expanding because young conservatives are stepping up and getting involved in their communities,” Elliott said. “I want to congratulate the chapter’s leadership team on their election and especially commend their new chair Evan Purves for taking on this role. I’m confident this group will make a meaningful impact in Eastern Oregon and help drive our organization forward.”
Future plans in Umatilla, Morrow counties
The leadership team of UMYR already is making efforts to effect change.
In early May, Purves said, Umatilla Morrow Young Republicans will host a door knocking campaign in support of Smith’s reelection campaign. There also will be an official kickoff event the same weekend celebrating the new chapter and outlining priorities for the future.
“If there’s anything that we might struggle with is membership,” he said. “The recruiting part is us going out there and hosting events and socials, having opportunities for people to come out and do something fun that anybody’s invited to.”
Regarding other priorities, voter engagement is important to Purves,
“Even though we live in a big conservative area, there’s not a lot of politically engaged people, especially in my generation,” he said. “We want to get them involved.”
He said one of his concerns is businesses leaving the state due to policies that aren’t friendly to corporations, a common issue raised by Republican lawmakers. The decisions being made impact every community, he said, and he wants to have a say in what the leaders are doing.
“These bills affect all of us,” he said. “It’s just important to get people involved and get people to vote and be a part of it.”
People interested in updates on the efforts of the Umatilla Morrow Young Republicans can follow the group on Facebook or Instagram or become a member at yro.gop.
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