Culver, La Pine and Ridgeview were selected to host the state wrestling tournament this year.
With the boys tournaments this weekend, athletic directors, coaches and athletes are gearing up for big competition.
A vaccine requirement forced the change of venues for the Oregon high school state wrestling competition.
The tournament will not be held at the Memorial Coliseum in Portland as it has in the past.
▶️ 3 Central Oregon high schools to host state wrestling tournament
Central Oregon is hosting the majority of site locations for this years state wrestling tournament.
Culver is hosting the girls.
“Tickets are sold out, our capacity is 1,050 for our main building,” said wrestling coach J.D. Alley.
Packed house for the girls tournament, doors open 8 a.m. Thursday morning
The Bulldogs are also hosting the 1A/2A state tournament Saturday.
Attendees are encouraged to buy tickets in advance and it is digital ticketing only.
“Don’t drive six hours to Culver and expect to buy a ticket at the door or any location,” Alley said
If you are tired of sitting in the Bleachers but still want to watch wrestling, Alley has a solution for that too.
“In Culver we are going to stream them from a couple restaurants in town, if you get tired of the facility, you can go into town grab a burger and beverage and watch some wrestling,” he added.
The Bulldogs won their 2A district tournament over the weekend and qualified 15 wrestlers for state.
“It was exciting to hear that my last state tournament is going to be at home,” said Culver senior district champion Isaiah Toomey. “It just makes me want to go that much harder and do that much more because I want to end up on a good note and show up because I have been improving every year and this is my last year to give it my all and I want to it in front of the home crowd especially.”
La Pine is hosting the 3A state tournament.
“We have the facility for it. It is going to be a little tight, especially if we get 1,000 people in there, which is kind of what we are expecting,” said La Pine athletic director and wrestling coach Aaron Flack. “That is our max capacity in the high school, but I think everything will go well, we are excited to have it.”
The Hawks also won their district tournament over the weekend, at the 3A level.
They qualified 14 wrestlers for state.
“We’re going to have a heck of a show for finals so anybody coming to watch, it’s going to be a great finally for our final show,” Flack said.
Alley and Flack say they are ready to showcase the tournament to the rest of the state.
“We have over 50 people going to be involved in the process from parking, shuttling, concession, food trucks, table help, man gates, everyone has a job, weigh-ins, you name it.”
Ridgeview High School is the site for the 5A state tournament and doors open at 8 a.m. for all tournaments.
You can find more wrestling information and ticket prices here: https://www.osaa.org/activities/wre
