PORTLAND — Trailing 7-0 after the first period Friday in the third-place match at the Class 4A tournament, the situation looked pretty challenging for Philomath High wrestler Derick Kohn.
Participating at state for the first time in his high school career, the Warriors senior wanted to go out with a victory in front of the crowd at Veterans Memorial Coliseum. The deficit against Sweet Home sophomore Elijah Cruz in the 215-pound finale disappeared quickly with a three-point takedown early in the second period. Kohn dominated the rest of the way and ended up winning on a pin.
Gallery: PHS wrestling at state championships (Feb. 27, 2026)
A collection of photos from Philomath’s appearance at the 4A boys championships and 4A/3A/2A/1A girls championships on Friday.
Philomath’s Barrett caps wrestling career with third straight state title
PORTLAND — Riley Barrett became the first three-time state wrestling champion in Philomath High’s history on Friday, but the path to that milestone was anything but smooth. The senior captured his third consecutive title at the Class 4A championships at Veterans Memorial Coliseum, surviving a tense 150-pound semifinal before closing out the tournament in the…
Philomath freshman breaks new ground at state wrestling
PORTLAND — Makinzey Harrington walked out of Veterans Memorial Coliseum on Friday night after the fifth-place medal match with disappointment written across her face. The Philomath freshman had lost to Molalla’s Alvina Ruiz — someone she had pinned a week earlier at the district tournament. Despite the loss and sixth-place finish at 135 pounds, Harrington…
Afterward just off the mat, Kohn embraced his dad, assistant coach James Kohn, in a touching moment between father and son.
“I was happy I got third at state, I was excited,” Kohn said. “My brother also placed so that made me extra happy.”
Connar Kohn, his older brother, placed fourth in 2020 and was the state champion at a “culminating event” in 2021 (the Oregon School Activities Association did not hold the state championships that season because of the pandemic).
Elsewhere for the Warriors, senior Riley Barrett at 150 pounds won his third straight state title, senior Porter Compton finished strong with a third-place medal at 157, senior Lake Mulberry placed fourth at 190 and senior Lukas Hernandez finished sixth at 138 to give the Warriors five medalists. The team finished seventh overall in the 4A standings with 93 points.
Kohn had definitely wrapped up his mat career with the Warriors in top form.
“He is never out of it … Derick fights through off his back and if he doesn’t get pinned, he has a shot; he’s a gamer,” Woosley said.
Said Kohn, “I was putting in the work where I needed to improve and my teammates and coaches helped out a lot with that.”
Kohn pulled off a significant victory in the third round of consolations with a major decision over North Marion senior Jesus Tarula.
“Against Tarula of North Marion, that was his first ever after maybe six matches over his high school career,” Woosley said. “He had never beaten that kid and he beat him 13-3. I mean, he was just on a roll.”
Kohn had to fight back after a 5-2 loss to North Bend senior Dylan Swanson, who entered the tournament seeded fourth. Kohn won five straight matches, including the third-place match against Cruz, who had advanced to the third-place match after beating Swanson in the consolation semis.
“He just battled and he was so beat up — he had a black eye, he had a mat burn, he had scratches,” Woosley said. “It’s wrestling and there’s not a kid in that tournament that’s not banged up somehow.”
Kohn also pinned Cruz in a Senior Night dual against the Huskies.
Woosley mentioned that Kohn executes leg rides exceptionally well to control opponents from the top position, limiting their movement and setting up turns.
“His style is different for a bigger guy with the leg rides and he’s got incredible length, so his leverage when he puts legs in, it surprises you,” Woosley said. “He’s really good with those weird hips, the way he does his leg ride and it’s very, very effective.”
Kohn said the experience was fun “getting to be here with my teammates, coaches and family” and added that he was able to “prove that I belonged here.”
Compton ended an impressive four-year run for the Warriors with the third-place finish at 157. Compton holds school wrestling records for most career matches and victories.
“Porter’s been the most consistent kid we’ve ever had,” Woosley said. “He’s had a few injuries and he fights through them and he’s never out of the practice room.”
Compton placed in the top three all four years of high school with third as a freshman and runner-up to end his sophomore and junior seasons.
“It sucks that I lost in the semis — it really sucks actually — but I came back to place third,” he said.
Compton reached the semifinals after back-to-back victories on technical falls in the first two rounds over Scappoose freshman Zachary Thompson and Pendleton junior Jack DeGrofft. Seaside junior Brayden Cooley took a 4-2 decision in the semis, however, on the strength of a three-point takedown midway through the third period.
Compton regrouped for a 7-0 victory over Pendleton senior Adam Urbina in the consolation semifinals and an 11-4 win over Tillamook senior Dillon Bennet in the third-place match.
“He’s a true warrior to fight back and take third when you know his dream and goal was to be the best,” Woosley said.
The coach said about 70% of wrestling comes down to the mental side of the sport. Compton had to dig deep after the loss.
“It’s especially (tough) to lose and then you’ve got 30 minutes or so to get your mind together and then go wrestle again,” Compton said. “You just have to get your mind back in place and if you don’t, you’re just going to keep losing.”
Compton’s reaction after his final match served as an illustration of how much wrestling has meant to him.
“I’ve done it for 11 or 12 years and it’s the only sport I’ve pretty much done my whole life,” Compton said. “It’s meant a lot to me.”
Mulberry entered state with hopes of repeating as state champion but he stumbled in his second match at 190 pounds on Thursday by losing 10-8 against Estacada senior Harrison Spens, who later placed sixth overall.
“He just had one of those in his quarterfinal match against a kid on paper that we should have beaten,” Woosley said. “He was really, really upset and I’m just tickled to death that he came back from it. … He was a trooper coming back because I know he had aspirations of being a two-time champion.”
Mulberry posted victories over opponents from Cascade, Hidden Valley and Gladstone to reach the third-place match. Facing a familiar opponent in Sweet Home senior Jeremiah Steagall, Mulberry dropped a 12-6 decision and had to settle for fourth.
“I think Lake and Steagall were the best two kids in the bracket, it just didn’t work out that way,” Woosley said.
Hernandez placed sixth at 138 pounds. Woosley was pleased to see a first-round matchup Thursday against an unknown opponent.
“We knew he would get a regional champ and we were just hoping we’d get the one kid we did get mainly because they had never seen Lukas wrestle,” Woosley said. “If you haven’t seen Lukas before, there’s a good chance you’re going to get beat because his style is off the charts and different from anyone I’ve ever coached.”
Hernandez dominated the first match and was leading 18-8 on points when he pinned Klamath Union’s Nicco Kovacic in the third period.
In the quarterfinals, Hernandez trailed 8-2 on points when he pinned The Dalles senior Harley Scott.
“He’s never out of it — he won two matches this year when he was down 14-0 and 15 is a tech fall,” Woosley said.
In the third period, coaches urged Hernandez to start on top.
“But Lukas said, ‘no, let me go down’ because he puts his leg in a certain spot and his arm and hand in a certain spot and ‘I’m going to pin him in a cradle,’” Woosley said. “Twenty seconds later, he was pinning him in the cradle. He just figures out exactly what a kid’s positioning and body is and he always has a funky way of getting into it.”
Hernandez lost in the semifinals against North Marion junior Henry Bankhead, in the consolation semis against Cascade junior Jonas Camillo and in the medal-round match to Tillamook senior Richard King on a close 2-0 decision.
Two other seniors qualified for PHS — Braydon Williams at 126 and Liam Bennett at 165.
Williams lost in the first round to St. Helens senior Carter Stewart but rebounded with a dominant 16-0 technical fall over Cascade’s Cruz Ramirez. He was eliminated on a close 11-8 decision to Baker sophomore Wyatt Valentine in overtime.
Bennett lost a tough one in the opening round on a 12-8 decision against Henley senior Walter Collier. Bennett trailed 9-0 after the first period but battled back with two four-point nearfalls to make it close. He was eliminated in the consolation round with a loss to Estacada senior Alan Lohmeier.
Sweet Home won the state title with 283 points, followed by Pendleton (202), La Grande (197) and Cascade (149.5).
Class 4A Boys Wrestling Championships
Thursday-Friday, Feb. 26-27, at Veterans Memorial Coliseum, Portland
Team scoring — 1, Sweet Home 283; 2, Pendleton 202; 3, La Grande 197; 4, Cascade 149.5; 5, Hidden Valley 103; 6, Molalla 98; 7, Philomath 93; 8, Estacada 80.5; 9, Tillamook 78; 10, North Bend 74.5; 11, Marshfield 72; 12, Seaside 61; 13, Madras 41.5; 14, Cottage Grove 39.5; 15, Phoenix 32.5; 16, Stayton 28; 17, Henley 25.5; 18, Astoria 25; 19, North Marion 24; 20, St. Helens 23.5; 21, Scappoose 22; 22, Ontario 21; 23, Gladstone 14.5; 24, Baker 14; 25, Newport 12; 26, The Dalles 9; 27, Mazama 5; 28, Junction City 3; 28, Klamath Union 3.
PHS Results
126 — Braydon Williams (1-2): Pinned by Carter Stewart, St. Helens, 3:45; tech. fall over Cruz Ramirez, Cascade, 16-0 (3:00); lost by dec. (sudden victory) to Wyatt Valentine, Baker, 11-8.
138 — Lukas Hernandez (2-3, 6th): Pinned Nicco Kovacic, Klamath Union, 5:20; pinned Harley Scott, The Dalles, 4:54; lost by dec. to Henry Bankhead, North Marion, 16-11; lost by tech. fall to Jonas Camillo, Cascade, 16-1 (1:21); lost dec. to Richard King, Tillamook, 2-0.
150 — Riley Barrett (4-0, 1st): Tech. fall over Brooks Lister, Molalla, 15-0 (2:32); maj. dec. over Roman Zickgraf, Baker, 12-3; dec. over Earl Oliver, Madras, 11-10; dec. over Cole Roy, Pendleton, 5-0.157 — Porter Compton (4-1, 3rd): Tech. fall over Zachary Thompson, Scappoose, 18-2 (5:40); tech. fall over Jack DeGrofft, Pendleton, 15-0 (5:14); lost dec. to Brayden Cooley, Seaside, 4-2; dec. over Adam Urbina, Pendleton, 7-0; dec. over Dillon Bennet, Tillamook, 11-4.
165 — Liam Bennett (0-2): Lost dec. to Walter Collier, Henley, 12-8; pinned by Alan Lohmeier, Estacada, 4:10.
190 — Lake Mulberry (4-2, 4th): Maj. dec. over Trgg Zemke, Madras, 10-1; lost dec. to Harrison Spens, Estacada, 10-8; pinned Gage Hampton, Cascade, 1:46; pinned Brent Kolkow, Hidden Valley, 3:47; dec. over Charlie Becker, Gladstone, 12-9; lost dec. to Jeremiah Steagall, Sweet Home, 12-6.
215 — Derick Kohn (5-1, 3rd): Lost dec. to Dylan Swanson, North Bend, 5-2; pinned Kaedyn Linker, The Dalles, 3:56; pinned Jaxson Hopkes, Tillamook, 2:50; maj. dec. over Jesus Tarula, North Marion, 13-3; maj. dec. over Malique Gardiner, Scappoose, 16-2; pinned Elijah Cruz, Sweet Home, 4:28.