Oregon

Oregon 4A wrestling: Champions, takeaways from district meets

Published

4 months ago

February 16, 2026

Oregon 4A wrestling: Champions, takeaways from district meets

The 4A wrestling district meets took place over the weekend, with the OSAA state championships scheduled for Feb. 26-27 at Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Portland.

Here’s a look at the champions and three takeaways from each of the four district meets. The top four finishers from each district advance to state.

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Special District 1 (at Molalla)

Team champion: Tillamook (376.5 points)

Most automatic qualifiers: Tillamook (15), Molalla (11), Estacada (10)

Individual champions

106 Liam Pyle, jr., Tillamook

113 Braiden Grochowsky, sr., Estacada

120 Cole Stafford, fr., Molalla

126 Kipton Allen, soph., Tillamook

132 Leroy Mixon, jr., Estacada

138 Beau Sandberg, sr., Molalla

144 Beau Smith, jr., Astoria

150 Logan Riga, jr., Estacada

157 Brayden Cooley, jr., Seaside

165 Tyler Kenton, jr., Molalla

175 Turner Jackson, jr., Estacada

190 Charlie Becker, jr., Gladstone

215 Melesio Brito, soph., Astoria

285 Adrian Balli, sr., Astoria

3 notes

Tillamook earns eighth consecutive district title

The Cheesemakers romped to another championship, putting six wrestlers in the finals and advancing 15 to state to outscore runner-up Estacada by 105 points and set themselves up for a run at improving upon back-to-back sixth-place finishes at state. Pyle repeated as 106-pound champion, pinning teammate Javier Vazquez in 74 seconds in the final.

Three-time champions hope to make mark in two weeks

Two wrestlers won their third consecutive district titles, with Sandberg pinning Scappoose’s Lawson Komp 41 seconds into the second round and Cooley earning a 4-0 decision over Tillamook’s Dillon Bennet. Now, each looks to improve upon his 2025 state finish — Sandberg placed fifth at 132 and Cooley sixth at 150.

Estacada’s Grochowsky avenges loss in district final

Grochowsky won a district title as a freshman but lost 12-11 to Seaside’s Henry Rollins in the 113 final last year. This weekend, he got the better of Rollins when the Seagulls junior had to retire because of injury after the second round. Grochowsky’s teammate, Mixon, also won a second title, as did Astoria’s Balli.

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Special District 2 (at Newport)

Team champion: Sweet Home (507 points)

Most qualifiers: Sweet Home (20), Cascade (14), Cottage Grove (7), Philomath (7)

Individual champions

106 Cody Sieminski, fr., Sweet Home

113 Keegan Jefferson, jr., Sweet Home

120 Riley Vaughan, jr., Sweet Home

126 Jesse Landtroop, jr., Sweet Home

132 Jeffery Conklin, jr., Cottage Grove

138 Henry Bankhead, jr., North Marion

144 Leonardo Michel, sr., Stayton

150 Riley Barrett, sr., Philomath

157 Porter Compton, sr., Philomath

165 Hans Kamm, jr., Cascade

175 Luke Rosa, sr., Sweet Home

190 Lake Mulberry, sr., Philomath

215 Matthew Hinkle, sr., Cascade

285 Lynkin Royer, sr., Sweet Home

3 notes

Sweet Home poised to reclaim state championship

A 12th consecutive district championship trophy is nice, but with 2025 champion Crook County now in 5A, the Huskies put themselves in fine position to reclaim the state title in two weeks — they won in 2017 and 2024 and have five runner-up finishes in the past decade. They owned the lower weights, winning every title from 106 to 126 pounds, and Jefferson, Vaughan, Landtroop and Rosa repeated as district champions.

Conklin ends six-year title drought for Cottage Grove

Conklin improved to 46-0 (improving his win streak to 48 after placing third at state as a sophomore) when two-time district champion Tytus Hardee of Sweet Home sustained an injury in the final. Cottage Grove had not had a district finalist since 2023, and Conklin became the program’s first champion since 2020, when Jacob Dunn, Drew Swenson and Cobie Simpson took home titles.

Philomath state champion shrugging off early-season injury

Barrett suffered an ankle injury at Philomath’s season-opening tournament and has been brought back gradually to prevent a recurrence as he tries to become the program’s first three-time state champion. He improved to 18-0 with a 14-0 major decision over Sweet Home’s James Hearick in the district final.

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Special District 3 (at Hidden Valley)

Team champion: Marshfield (299 points)

Most qualifiers: Marshfield (14), Hidden Valley (9), North Bend (9), Mazama (9)

Individual champions

106 Rhoan Rambo, fr., Hidden Valley

113 Garron Castro, sr., Marshfield

120 Ryker Pruett, fr., North Bend

126 Acen Clark, soph., Henley

132 Nicholas Campbell, sr., North Bend

138 Nicco Kovacic, soph., Klamath Union

144 Jackson Swanson, sr., North Bend

150 Levi Padoshek, jr., Mazama

157 John Willett, sr., North Bend

165 Walter Collier, sr., Henley

175 Jyles Peterson, jr., Hidden Valley

190 Brent Kolkow, sr., Hidden Valley

215 Dylan Swanson, sr., North Bend

285 Mitchell Quist, sr., Hidden Valley

3 notes

Depth key to Marshfield’s second consecutive district title

A year ago, Marshfield won eight individual championships en route to its first team title since 2018. This year, the Pirates won only one weight class when Castro took home his third district crown with a third-period technical fall, but their depth (state qualifiers at 12 of 14 weight classes) was enough to stave off Hidden Valley (and the Mustangs’ four district titlists) by 39 points.

Returning champions square off in 285 final

The 285 final featured returning district champions Quist moving up from 215 to challenge Marshfield’s Skyler Folau. Quist, whose only loss this season came in the High Desert Classic final to Burns’ Joe Weil, defeated Folau for the second time this season with a 4-1 decision. It was a closer match than in mid-December, when Quist (third at state a year ago) won an 11-3 major decision in the North Bend Coast Classic quarterfinals.

North Bend’s Swanson, Henley’s Collier also repeat

Two other wrestlers repeated as district champions, with Swanson moving down from 150 (where a possible final against two-time state titlist Riley Barrett awaited) to beat Phoenix’s Caden Cunningham by second-period fall, and Collier moved up from 157 to 165 and earned a second-round pin over Mazama’s Isaac Stacey.

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Special District 4 (at Madras)

Team champion: La Grande (396 points)

Most qualifiers: Pendleton (18), La Grande (16), Madras (9)

Individual champions

106 Darren Gulzow, jr., La Grande

113 Hank Roy, soph., Pendleton

120 Aiden Cox, fr., Pendleton

126 Deegan Nelson, soph., La Grande

132 Bragen Anderson, sr., La Grande

138 Colton Livingston, sr., La Grande

144 Bryler Anderson, soph., La Grande

150 Cole Roy, sr., Pendleton

157 Tommy Belding, sr., La Grande

165 Kainen Zimmerman, sr., Pendleton

175 Vance Nelson, sr., Pendleton

190 Aidan Perkins, sr., Pendleton

215 Dex Dunlap, jr., La Grande

285 Gage Valencia, sr., Ontario

3 notes

La Grande edges Pendleton for first district title since 2022

The departure of three-time reigning champion Crook County to 5A created a wide-open district tournament, where Pendleton enjoyed a 3-2 edge over La Grande in district finals matching the schools’ wrestlers and an 18-16 edge in state qualifiers but still saw the Tigers eke out a 1.5-point victory for their first title since 2022 — the year before the Cowboys dropped to 4A. Belding and Bragen Anderson each won a third district title to lead the charge, and Dunlap repeated as 215 champion.

Two No. 2 seeds help Buckaroos push for team title

The Buckaroos had six district champions, one fewer than La Grande, with Nelson needing just 31 seconds to pin Madras’ Colton Gillespie to earn his third individual crown. They also got wins at 120, where Cox earned a 5-3 decision over La Grande’s top seed Kallen Blakely, and 165, where Zimmerman posted a 14-5 major decision over top seed Noah Collins of La Grande.

Ontario heavyweight denies La Grande-Pendleton title sweep

Ontario will have only four wrestlers make the 375-mile trip from the eastern tip of the state to Memorial Coliseum, but one of them is Valencia, who was the only wrestler not from La Grande or Pendleton to win a title — he earned a second-period technical fall over La Grande’s Darryn Richardson to improve to 31-4.

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For complete coverage of Oregon high school sports, visit OregonLive’s high school sports section throughout the year.

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Oregon

Texas man wanted for child sex crimes, theft arrested in SW Oregon

Published

7 hours ago

June 23, 2026

Press Room

Texas man wanted for child sex crimes, theft arrested in SW Oregon

CURRY COUNTY, Ore. (KPTV) – A Texas man wanted for child sex crimes was arrested in Curry County on Tuesday afternoon.

The Curry County Sheriff’s Office says Kenneth Leatherwood of Bastrop, Texas, was arrested with the help of Oregon State Police and U.S. Marshals just after 12:30 p.m.

Kenneth Leatherwood(Curry County Sheriff’s Office)

Leatherwood, who is accused of sex-related crimes involving a child in Texas, was reportedly found camping in a heavy wooded area near Lucas Lodge in Agness.

Investigators say Leatherwood has been on the run from Curry County law enforcement since June 16 after reports that he had been seen with a stolen car in the Agness area.

Leatherwood was also believed to have stolen weapons with him.

His dog was also found and returned to the suspect’s family in good shape, according to the sheriff’s office.

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Oregon

Fireworks on sale in Oregon until July 6

Published

17 hours ago

June 23, 2026

Press Room

Fireworks on sale in Oregon until July 6

PORTLAND Ore. (KPTV) – Fireworks are on sale in Oregon until July 6, but state and local rules limit where they can be used and what types are allowed.

In Portland, fireworks use and sales are banned year-round.

Fireworks are also banned on beaches and in state and national parks.

Statewide, fireworks that fly into the air, explode, act unpredictably or move more than 12 feet horizontally are illegal. Banned fireworks include sky lanterns, missiles, rockets, Roman candles, firecrackers, cherry bombs and M-80s.

Fountains, sparklers, ground spinners and smoke devices are among the fireworks allowed under state rules.

Officials said people should not call 911 to report illegal fireworks. They said reports should go to the non-emergency line for the area.

First responders said there were 263 fires across Portland during last year’s fireworks season, and 27 were caused by fireworks.

For more details about fireworks regulation in Oregon, click here.

In Washington, fireworks sales legally begin Sunday and run through July 4.

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Oregon

Gray whale carcass washes ashore in Gearhart on Oregon coast

Published

1 day ago

June 23, 2026

Press Room

Gray whale carcass washes ashore in Gearhart on Oregon coast

GEARHART, Ore. (KATU) — Another gray whale washed up on the Oregon coast last week, this time in Gearhart, according to Seaside Aquarium.

The 41-foot-long male had been dead for months before washing up on the beach, Seaside Aquarium general manager Keith Chandler said.

He noted that there have been 19 total whale strandings or carcasses washing up on beaches just this year on the Oregon coast region.

The Cascadia Research Collective is reporting at least 30 on Washington coastline alone. | TIMELINE

Of those deaths, more than half were at least partially attributed to malnutrition. That could have been the cause in more strandings, however, necropsies were not performed in roughly a dozen of the 30 strandings.

Chandler said strong wind from the west this year has been contributing to why coastal towns are seeing a lot of whales and other things washing up on shore. However he also noted that many of the Grey whales washed ashore were emaciated with necropsies showing signs of malnourishment.

“The food sources have been compromised. The warmer water means the nutrients that they’re getting aren’t as good, so the whole food chain is kind of not as healthy,” Chandler said.

He pointed to the warming waters with climate change as the main reason noting that warm water plankton–Grey Whale’s main food source–is thinner and has fewer nutrients than plankton in cooler waters.

Chandler says this whale will not have a necropsy done because of its level of decomposition.

“The fresher ones, the team from Portland State [University] will come down and they’ll go in and do measurements, take samples and stuff, measurements of the internal organs. But on one this decayed, you won’t gain anything from it scientifically. And it’s just kind of a mess to do when they’re this rotten,” he said.