Seniors, from left to right, Christeen DeHart, Natalia Solorio Campos, Kyra Mitchell, Josslyn Blue and Isabel Taylor were recognized during HRV's dual meet versus Hillsboro on Jan. 30.
Seniors, from left to right, Christeen DeHart, Natalia Solorio Campos, Kyra Mitchell, Josslyn Blue and Isabel Taylor were recognized during HRV's dual meet versus Hillsboro on Jan. 30.
Noah Noteboom photo
Froylan Jr. Mendez won the 144-pound bracket at the Hood River Memorial Tournament on Feb. 1.
Contributed photo
From left to right, seniors Sam Blosser, Jack McLaughlin, Connor Farlow, Jesus
Ortega-Lara, Omar Sedano-Perales, Jacob Smith, Abelardo Gomes-Gordian, Romeo Castillo and Jayden Medina-Larios.
HOOD RIVER — The competition was keen at the annual Hood River Memorial Tournament on Feb. 1, and the host Eagle boys wrestling squad was up to the challenge.
Hood River finished fifth as a team in the 13-team tourney and had one champion in Froylan Jr. Mendez. He won all four of his matches at 144 pounds and beat John Browning of Redmond in the championship match by fall at 5:38. Mendez beat 30-win wrestler Gavin Aguero of McKay High in the semifinals and Thor Toso of Summit in the quarterfinals.
Wrestlers had to be on their A-game, especially after advancing a round or two. In doing so, there was a good chance they would be facing off with at least one state tourney wrestler at some point.
Eagle senior Connor Farlow, who finished second at 120 pounds, wrestled three grapplers with state experience in his bracket. Farlow lost in the final to last season’s Class 6A OSAA (Oregon School Activites Association) state tourney runner-up, Jorge De La Rosa from Forest Grove. The HRV wrestler advanced to the final with a 7-1 win over McKay High’s Yair Suarez, who was fourth in the 2024 5A tourney at 113 pounds. He beat another returning (4A) state tourney wrestler, Mike Young of Madras, in the quarterfinals.
The 120-bracket also included Dallas High’s Joseph Maxfield, who wrestled at state a season ago and finished fourth at Hood River; and the sixth-place finisher, Leon Richard, who represented Barlow High in the 2024 6A state tourney.
HRV also had two third-place finishers in Leyton Adams at 138 pounds and Jesus Ortega-Lara at 132. Adams’ lone loss was in the semifinals to eventual champion Warren Cook of Forest Grove. Cook was the sixth-place finisher at the 2024 6A state tourney at 126 pounds; he beat Redmond’s Mason Thynes, last season’s 5A, 126-pound runner-up. Adams pinned Daniel Rosales of Barlow for third place.
Ortega-Lara won his third-place match at 132 over Daniel Jackson of Madras, 17-2. The Hood River wrestler won his opener and quarterfinal matches before losing to Jace Spencer of Dallas in the semifinals.
Marcus Patrick won three of his five matches and placed sixth at 113 pounds. Omar Deponte, a 6A state tourney wrestler from Southridge High, beat Patrick in the first round, but the Hood River wrestler won three straight consolation matches.
At 285 pounds, HRV had two wrestlers win three matches apiece in Omar Sedano-Perales and Aiden Marquez. Sedano-Perales won his first two matches before losing in the quarterfinals to Keoni Lam Tiang of Barlow.
Winning at least one match in the tourney for Hood River were: Cohen Wagner (at 106), Romeo Castillo (113), Copeland Louis (two wins at 120), Octavio Calin (126), Ethan Clough (126), Joshua McLaughlin (two wins 132), Gabriel Vargas (132), Camp Parker (132), Jacob Dehart (138), Abelardo Gomes-Gordian (144), Issac Marshall (150), Jack McLaughlin (157), Samuel Blosser (165), Owen Waits (two wins 165) and Aaron Smith (two wins 190).
Eagle girls fourth at Jack Berger Invite
Hood River Valley’s girls wrestling team placed fourth at the 16-team Jack Berger Girls Invitational on Jan. 31 at Silverton High School.
The Eagles scored 122 points, behind the scoring of seven wrestlers, including champion Natalia Solorio at 190 pounds. She scored 30 team points with four wins by fall in her four matches. She topped Juliana Solano of Hillsboro in the first round, pinned Gia Peters of Tualatin in the quarterfinals, and Kaylin Dickerson of McMinnville in the semifinals. Solorio beat Ida Wilson of Sunset High in 13 seconds of their title match.
HRV had two second-place finishers in Ayleen Marquez at 105 pounds and Kyra Mitchell at 130. Marquez had a first-round bye and then advanced to the final with two wins by fall. Her semifinal victory was over Destiny Beaton of Sunset. Grant High’s Niazeal Orduna Torres, a 2024 state tournament wrestler, won by technical fall over Marquez in the championship.
Mitchell won her first two matches by fall and then edged Sayler Graham of host Silverton in the semifinal in a sudden victory. That put her in the final against Amerie Medina of Hillsboro, who won by fall at 2:29 of her match.
Placing third at 145 pounds was HRV’s Xiomara Gordian Gomez, who won four of her five matches. Her lone loss came in the semifinal to Oregon City’s Georgie Ellicott by a 15-9 decision. Gordian Gomez won her next two matches by fall, including the third-place match over Melani Monckton of Hillsboro.
Hood River’s other placer was Mia Barajas at 130. She won twice before losing to Hillsboro’s Medina in the semifinal. Barajas won her third match — in the consolation semifinals — but lost the third-place match to Silverton’s Graham.
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