A month ago in the Reser’s Tournament of Champions, Philomath High’s Riley Barrett suffered an ankle injury 45 seconds into a semifinal match that threw the rest of his season in doubt. So, the junior who won a state championship with the Warriors a year ago put his head down and got to work.
Late in the week leading up to districts, Barrett huddled with his family, team and medical professionals to make a final decision on whether or not he would compete Saturday in Philomath.
Gallery: PHS wrestling at Special District 2 tournament (Feb. 22, 2025)
A collection of photos from Philomath High’s appearance in the 4A Special District 2 tournament on Saturday.
“It was just a last-minute thing to decide to show out for districts,” Barrett said. “We were talking to the coaching staff, the doctors, the trainer, my parents and we all came to a collective decision that it was the right thing.”
Barrett not only made an appearance in the 4A Special District 2 tournament but he stood atop the medal stand afterward as the 150-pound champion. He’ll now move on to this week’s state tournament where he hopes to pick up another first-place medal.
“When you put so much into the sport that you love and enjoy so much, you put just blood, sweat and tears into it,” Barrett said. “You’ve got to find a little bit of grit and really dig deep to try to push through.”
In another PHS highlight, junior Lake Mulberry won the 190-pound division to give the Warriors two district champions. Mulberry pulled out an ultimate tiebreaker victory over mat rival Solomon Sandoval, a senior out of Cascade.
Barrett and Mulberry were two of seven Philomath wrestlers who qualified for state. Senior River Sandstrom, junior Porter Compton, junior Liam Bennett, sophomore Odin Compton and junior Lukas Hernandez also advance to state, which will run Thursday and Friday at Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Portland.
Barrett forced to change style on mat
Barrett said that while the decision on whether to compete or not was in limbo, he was working out the best that he could to get his weight down to 150. Make no mistake, he is competing with pain.
“There’s a lot of stuff going on with it — just a whole mess of stuff,” Barrett said after an ice treatment in the training room following his final win. “But it’s OK, we’re pushing through it and taping it up.”
Barrett showed no visible signs of being hampered by injury and in fact, he dominated his four opponents with pins in 25 and 44 seconds followed by back-to-back technical falls. In the 150-pound championship match, he defeated Sweet Home junior James Hearick, 17-0, in a match that was stopped in the second period.
During the postmatch award presentations, Barrett was announced as the recipient of the Most Outstanding Wrestler honor for those in the higher weight divisions.
“His will to compete is off the charts,” PHS coach Troy Woosely said. “He gets a hold of you and it’s usually over.”
What makes the accomplishment even more impressive is that Barrett needed to alter his typical plan of attack on the mat with the inability to push off.
“I can’t even really shoot … I mean, I can, but it’s just not good,” he said. “So I’ve been working a lot on the upper body stuff — a lot of the stuff that I don’t ever have to use and never really have drilled since maybe three or four years ago when I was trying to come into my own wrestling style.”
Barrett will most certainly be the No. 1 seed for this week’s state tournament.
“He will have a target but he always has a target on his back so he’ll be fine,” Woosley said.
Barrett likes his chances.
“I think this was a showcase of what I’m going to do at state,” Barrett said. “I mean, I’ve had a few hiccups in the tournament, a few losses (two years ago during his freshman season) but it’s all part of it, you know? I’ve just got to have the grit to keep on moving forward. That’s what it’s all about.”
Mulberry defeats rival in OT for 1st
The 190-pound weight division had an unexpected situation develop when Sweet Home senior Ashton Swanson was disqualified for an incident with an opponent on the mat. Swanson was the top seed and a state champion a year ago.
“It feels good to win but it sucks that Ashton Swanson got disqualified,” Mulberry said. “He’s a good wrestler and he probably would have won it again. It’s better for me … it gets me higher up in the ranks to maybe win it.”
Mulberry advanced to finals with a pin in 28 seconds in the quarterfinals and on a 10-6 decision in the semifinals. The matchup between Mulberry and Sandoval was the fourth time they’ve met on the mat — and all four went to overtime.
“I knew it was going to be a match,” Mulberry said. “He does more defense than offense so it’s hard to get in and get a good shot on him to get the job done and score.”
Overtime periods are not fun. It’s a situation that Mulberry knows all too well. Although this was his first overtime match this season, he had multiple ones last year.
“I beat him at districts last year for the first time in overtime (3-2 on an ultimate tiebreaker), then I lost to him in districts (on a 3-2 decision) for third and fourth,” Mulberry said about his battles against Sandoval, both of them competing at the time at 215. “Then I beat him at state when it needed to be done in overtime (7-1 in a tiebreaker match).”
In this latest battle, Mulberry went up 1-0 on an escape after opening the second period in the down position. In the third period, Sandoval did the same and regulation ended tied 1-1. The score remained tied at 2-2 after the OT periods to set up an ultimate tiebreaker situation.
In an ultimate tiebreaker, the top wrestler can win if he turns the bottom wrestler and earns nearfall points. Or, the bottom wrestler can win with an escape or reverse. Mulberry started on the bottom and escaped 15 seconds in to get the victory.
Mulberry competed at 215 last season at state and made a commitment about a week and a half before this year’s district tournament to drop down to 190.
“We said if he drops, I think he has a shot at being top three at 190,” Woosley said about what led up to the decision. “Well, that happened 10-fold today with the No. 1 seed getting kicked out of the tournament. So, he will go in as a top-four seed for sure and I just love our chances.”
Sandstrom, Porter Compton finish runner-up
Sandstrom rolled into the championship match at 120 with a pin in the quarters and a major decision in the semis. But in the finale, he went up against Sweet Home sophomore Jesse Landtroop, who will likely be favored to win state. Landtroop beat Sandstrom on a technical fall.
“That’s the best kid in the state that River wrestled (in finals),” Woosley said. “I like our chances because we’ll be on the opposite side of him (in the state tournament bracket).”
Sandstrom has been peaking on the mat at the right time.
“He’s confident right now on his feet and he’s just been really excited about wrestling,” Woosley said. “Maybe it’s because it’s the end of his career, I don’t know, but he’s been really focused up and great in practice.”
Compton’s runner-up performance at 144 included a pin and technical fall in his first two matches and then a 6-0 decision over Cottage Grove senior Carter Bengston in the semifinals. That put him in the championship match against Cascade sophomore Hans Kamm, who scored three points 30 seconds in and then held on for the 3-0 decision.
“Porter lost the battle on his feet — that’s all it was is a takedown,” Woosley said. “We knew if we could take the kid down and make him do something he doesn’t normally do, we’d have a shot.”
Kamm and Compton are among the top wrestlers in the state at 144.
“I think we’re going to end up being on the opposite side of the bracket and Porter will be ready,” Woosley said.
Bennett, Odin Compton, Hernandez qualify
Junior Liam Bennett placed third at 165 to punch his ticket to Portland. Bennett pulled out a 9-7 win in the third-place match over Cottage Grove senior Luke Fery, an opponent that he had lost to in his first match on a 9-3 decision.
“Liam had a terrible start but finished strong,” Woosley said. “He just had a refuse-to-die mentality today. He actually didn’t wrestle the best for him but he still had enough gumption to pull it out and qualify.”
In the consolation bracket, Bennett beat Junction City junior Jose Hernandez on a first-period pin and Cottage Grove senior Lincoln Krasinski on a 14-9 decision to reach the medal match.
Sophomore Odin Compton placed fourth and qualified at 126. After opening with wins on a technical fall and 8-3 decision, Compton lost via pin to the eventual champion, Sweet Home junior Tytus Hardee. But he regrouped for a pin in the consolation semis before losing a close 4-3 decision in the third-place match against Stayton sophomore Luke Sorensen.
A wrestle-back was not needed to decide the final state qualifier at the weight because it would’ve matched him up against the opponent he had already defeated in the quarterfinals.
“He had a really good tournament,” Woosley said, adding that the sophomore hadn’t been on the mat much over the past couple of weeks with an injury. “He was very aggressive, especially with his legs — his length is a problem for some people — so I’m just tickled that he made it to state.”
At 138, junior Lukas Hernandez also qualified with a fourth-place finish. Hernandez opened with a 19-6 major decision and then dropped a 7-2 decision in the semifinals to go into the consolation bracket. In the consolation semis, he was in danger of losing against Cottage Grove junior Ben Miller when he was nearly pinned early on and trailed on points. But he quickly regrouped, took over control of the match and ended up winning on a pin in 4:59.
“It’s almost like he has to give up points to get points and sometimes that doesn’t add up,” said Woosley, who referred to Hernandez as a gamer. “But I’m really excited for him to make it to state. He’s been there so maybe it’s something where he can win a match or two at least.”
Hernandez in the third-place match lost on a technical fall and officially finished fourth with no wrestle-back required — he would’ve faced a Cascade opponent that he had beaten in the quarterfinals.
The most painful outcome of the day for Philomath involved senior JJ Lewis and his fifth-place finish at 165. Lewis headed into this season with high hopes after placing sixth at 175 in last year’s tournament. But in Saturday’s meet, he lost two very close decisions to Cottage Grove wrestlers that sealed his fate — 14-13 in the quarterfinals against Krasinski and 11-8 in the consolation semifinals against Fery.
Lewis won his first two matches in consolations on a technical fall and pin and after losing to Fery, came back in the fifth-place match and pinned Krasinski in 2:42. But a possible wrestle-back opportunity didn’t happen.
Junior Derick Kohn also came close to qualifying but had to settle for fifth place. Kohn lost in the quarterfinals but then bounced back with a couple of wins in the consolation bracket. He met Sweet Home senior Dylan Sharp in the consolation semis and lost on a second-period pin. In the fifth-place match, Kohn won on a pin in 3:43 but a wrestle-back opportunity didn’t materialize with the opponent being someone he had already lost to earlier on.
In the team standings, Philomath finished behind Sweet Home and Cascade. The Warriors with 169.5 points were in a tight race for third place with North Marion (166) and Cottage Grove (165.5) right behind.
“It was about what I expected with what we have,” Woosley said. “It was a little closer than I thought … but with 13 kids, it is what it is.”
The 4A boys state tournament is scheduled to run from noon-9 p.m. Thursday and 2:45-10:30 p.m. Friday at Veterans Memorial Coliseum.
