State readies for wrestling showcase

The annual pilgrimmage to Portland for the state wrestling championships might got a little more challenging Thursday morning when a snowstorm hit most of the state, but that's not likely to keep the defending champions away from Memorial Coliseum.

And Henley, too.

Roseburg, at Class 6A, Hermiston at Class 5A, Burns at Class 3A and Culver at 2A are poised to repeat as team champions, but the Class 4A race appears very competitive as the start of the OSAA.U.S. Bank/Les Schwab Tires meet approaches Friday morning.

At Class 3A, Burns is the clear favorite to win its 10th-straight title as it has four seniors ranked No. 1 at their weights.

Hermiston and Culver will be chasing their fifth straight titles.

At Class 4A, Henley enters ranked No. 1 in the Oregon Wrestling Forum rankings despite never having won a title. In fact, Henley has only claimed one trophy - second in 1967 throughout the history of the tournament, which began in 1948. The Hornets enter with just one wrestler seeded as high as second: senior Justyn Headley at 189 pounds; but have 16 wrestlers entered at the 14 weights, including two each at five different weights.

At Class 2A, Lowell appears as a strong contender to upend Culver in what could be a very competitive team race. Both schools have four wrestlers seeded No. 1. Lowell, which finished second last year, has two second seeds, while Culver has just one. Culver, though has 10 entrants, while Lowell has just nine.

Lowell is the overall leader in state titles with 13, but it hasn't won since 1991.

The meet champions will be crowned Saturday night when finals begin at 6 p.m.