Stars are ready to shine
Here’s a look at the top wrestling talent in town
BILL POEHLER
Statesman Journal
With more than 1,000 wrestlers competing in the OSAA state wrestling championships this weekend at the Oregon State Fairground, these are ones to keep your eyes on:
– Roseburg junior Mitchell Lofstedt. A former state champion who’s seeded No. 1 at 112 pounds for the Indians.
– Sprague sophomore R.J. Peña. A defending state champion, he’s ranked No. 1 in the nation at 125 pounds for a good reason.
– Redmond senior Austin Enoch. He goes for his third state championship this weekend and is seeded No. 1 in Class 6A at 140 pounds.
– Sprague senior Mark Cinquini. A two-time state semifinalist, he placed second as a sophomore, but was injured in the semifinals last year. He’s seeded No. 1 at 160 pounds.
– Newberg sophomore Alex Ortiz. As a freshman at Willamina, he won the state championship at 171 pounds. Ortiz is back down to 145 pounds and is the No. 1 seed in 6A.
– Crater sophomore Brock Gutches. The latest in the long line of standouts from the Gutches family, he placed second in 4A last year. He is seeded No. 2 in 5A at 130 pounds.
# Cascade senior Tyler Phillips. Phillips goes for his third state championship this weekend and is seeded No. 1 at 130 pounds in Class 4A.
– Estacada senior Josh Stalcup. He also goes for his third state championship, this time as the No. 1 seed in Class 4A at 152 pounds.
– Willamina’s Denny Linton and Alan Dickey. The sophomore (Linton) and senior (Dickey) are defending state champions. Linton is the No. 1 seed at 112 pounds and Dickey is No. 1 at 152 at the 3A level.
– Burns senior Tyler Swartzlender. He goes for his third state championship, and this time is the No. 1 seed in Class 3A at 140 pounds.
– Dayton senior Chad Hanke. He’s been overshadowed in recent years by multiple-time state champion teammates, but he’s won two of his own and is going for a third, this time at 189 pounds in Class 3A.
– Culver junior Miguel Baltazar. He has two state championships and is one of six Culver wrestlers seeded No. 1 at the Class 2A/1A level.
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