PORTLAND — Even without a title repeat, the North Medford girls wrestling team still got to add to its growing Hall of Fame, so to speak, at the Class 6A/5A state championships.

That’s Hall, as in sisters Skyler and Sadie Hall, and fame for the reputation the duo is gathering for continued success on the wrestling mat.

The Black Tornado sisters each secured individual state titles Saturday night at Memorial Coliseum to help soothe any bad feelings after North Medford was unable to defend its 6A/5A team title and wound up just outside of trophy position.

The two championship matches had striking similarities for the sisters that seemed like a written script, with both beating opponents that had bested them earlier in the year by matching 4-3 decisions.

First up, Skyler Hall — the returning 100-pound champion — squared off with Newberg’s Paisley Conway at 105 pounds. The two met in the finals of the Oregon Classic in January, where Conway prevailed with a pin.

But with Saturday’s match tied 2-all going into the final period, the sophomore Hall showed her finesse and IQ by getting two points with a near fall on Conway before strategically triggering a stalling violation to pull out the win.

“With wrestling, it’s not just about strength, it’s also a lot about strategy,” said Skyler Hall. “If I hadn’t stalled, I probably would have gotten reversed or she could have escaped and then it would have been even harder to win.”

The calculated gamble paid off to allow the younger Hall to join four-time winner Kyleigh Lopez (2016-19) as the only multiple state champions in program history.

And with Skyler Hall’s goal of joining Lopez in the four-time champion distinction, North Medford coach Tony Champion believes that she can do it, especially after recording three first-round pins leading up to the finals.

“I’m really super proud of her big performance all the way through the tournament,” said Champion. “She’s gonna be one of the greatest ever. The tournament is much stronger than it used to be, she overcame a lot today.”

Not much later in the tournament, Sadie Hall (130) came through with another clutch win to join her sister, Lopez and Estella Gutches (2023) on the short list of Black Tornado champions.

The elder Hall faced off against Kailea Takahashi of Forest Grove, who won by a 4-1 decision earlier this season at the Lady Dragon Invitational. But, when it mattered most, the junior pulled a reversal with 45 seconds left in the bout to secure a 4-3 decision and beat the reigning 125-pound champion.

That victory also remedied a problem that has lingered since last year, after she was the runner-up in a 4-1 decision to North Salem’s Mariko Sonis at 120 pounds.

“I had a lot of pressure,” said Sadie Hall. “I came up short of my goal last year, because my sister and I wanted it really badly.”

“I was down at the end of the match and I just found a way to push through,” she added. “I saw my coaches and they’ve known how hard I’ve worked for it, so I had to put in my part of the deal and I just found a way to gut it out and I was able to pull it off.”

Once the whistle was blown, it was obvious to see how special the moment was, as the Hall sisters could be seen taking photos with family, friends and teammates long after their matches.

That moment of ending the season together as champions validated the work that they have put in for the past year to make it happen.

“Her and I have been putting in more work than anyone,” said Skyler Hall. “I think we got what we deserved.”

Seeing that special sister bond intertwined with hard work is something that coach Champion said he has enjoyed being part of over the last two years. Before the finals, he drove the pair from the hotel back to the venue and encouraged them to live up to the moment.

“I told them both, ‘You both deserve to win, nobody works harder than the two of you,’” he said. “I told them that they would win and they did, they both had tough opponents and had to wrestle their best matches.”

Despite state titles from the Hall sisters, the Black Tornado finished just one spot shy of the podium in fifth place with 79 points.

Thurston had one individual champion and two second-place finishers to score 140.5 team points and secure the 6A/5A girls wrestling championship.

North Medford also had Isabella Jaime (145) finish in third place after she pinned Beaverton’s Gracie Boer in 2 minutes, 34 seconds.

The senior had a strong start on Friday, but fell in the semifinals to Ridgeview’s Kira Gregory in an 8-4 decision before she pinned Thurston’s Emily Zerr at 4:10 in the consolation semifinals.

Crater junior Katelyn Klinger (235) placed second after she was pinned by Bianca Miranda of Liberty in the final match of the night.

Klinger scored 22 points in the tournament and finished 26th in team standings.

Eagle Point junior Alixia Hernandez (190) suffered her first loss of the season in the championship finals to McNary’s Ali Martinez with a pin at 5:07.

Hernandez also won via a 5-2 decision over David Douglas’ McKenzie Mills in the semifinals to place the Eagles in a tie for 31st with David Douglas and South Salem at 31 points.

South Medford’s Leilarose Calva (155) finished fifth to become the first-ever girls wrestler to place at state in school history.

The sophomore won in the fifth-place match with a pin in 1:45 over Woodburn’s Emily Grassham after she suffered two consecutive pins by Tigard’s Natalie Wilhoit at 4:58 in the semifinals and then in the consolation semifinals to South Salem’s Eilis Decrozuc at 4:57.

CLASS 6A/5A GIRLS WRESTLING

TEAM SCORES (Top 10): Thurston 140.5, Dallas 106, Redmond 102, North Salem 85, North Medford 79, Forest Grove 72.5, Liberty 66, McNary 66, Mountainside 65, Cleveland 39.

Other Local Results

26, Crater, 22; T31, Eagle Point, 20; 37, South Medford 15.

CHAMPIONSHIP FINALS

100 — Sarahi Chavez, McKay, pinned Rubie Winterburn, Thurston, 1:04; 105 — Skyler Hall, North Medford, dec. Paisley Conway, Newberg, 4-3; 110 — Polly Olliff, Dallas, dec. Jennifer Russell, Corvallis, 5-2; 115 — Layla Morris, Mountainside, pinned Ivy McIntosh, Dallas, 5:18; 120 — Mariko Sonis, North Salem, dec. Mia Pedersen, Redmond, 6-1.

125 — Zorina Johnson, Ida B Wells, dec. Renae Cook, Forest Grove, 9-3; 130 — Sadie Hall, North Medford, dec. Kailea Takahashi, Forest Grove, 4-3; 135 — Gracee Grenfell, Liberty, pinned Paige Carrier, Westview, 3:02; 140 — Kennedy Blanton, Forest Grove, dec. Kristal Zamora, Thurston, 7-4.

145 — Reese Lawson, West Salem, pinned Kira Gregory, Ridgeview, 1:14; 155 — Izabella Castlebery, Thurston, tech. fall Natalie Wilhoit, Tigard, 17-2; 170 — Isabel Herring, Cleveland, pinned Jasmine Brown, Wilsonville, 4:00; 190 — Ali Martinez, McNary, pinned Alixia Hernandez, Eagle Point, 5:07; 235 — Bianca Miranda, Liberty, pinned Katelyn Klinger, Crater, 1:52.

THIRD-PLACE FINALS

100 — Telsarina Walter, North Salem, pinned Marissa McGinnis, Dallas, 3:10; 105 — Ah Pymm McDaniel, Dallas, pinned Kaydence Jeffreys, West Albany, 1:30; 110 — Marlina Martinez, McNary, pinned Gemma DeLance, Redmond, :36; 115 — Emilia Ensrud, Canby, pinned Melani Correa Artiaga, Century, 4:51; 120 — Abbeline Richard, Barlow, pinned Archer McLain, Aloha, 1:23.

125 — Jazlin Tavares, North Salem, pinned Kate Morgan, Mountainside, 3:06; 130 — Addison Burleigh, Mountainside, pinned JaydaRae Nance, Redmond, 2:56; 135 — Reina Barnes-Rubio, Redmond, injury default over McKenna Unger, McNary, 2:22; 140 — Jessie McIver, Bend, pinned Karina Yoder, Clackamas, :36.

145 — Isabella Jaime, North Medford, pinned Gracie Boer, Beaverton, 2:34; 155 — MacKenzie Shearon, Redmond, pinned Eilis Decrozuc, South Salem, 2:39; 170 — Olivia Froehlich, North Eugene, pinned Audrey Norton, Southridge, 1:23; 190 — McKenzie Mills, David Douglas, pinned Hannah Gonzalez, South Albany, 2:52; 235 — Reagan Alvernaz, South Albany, pinned Jennifer Trujillo, North Salem, 1:32.