Black Tornado’s Hall sisters and Hernandez plus Crater’s Klingler retain hopes for return trip to state finals

Every state tournament is filled with its share of anxious moments, but there’s nothing like that fear of being a shade over your weight class limit with the clock ticking down for weigh-ins prior to Day 1.

Such was the situation Friday morning for North Medford junior Alixia Hernandez, who was the state runner-up at 190 pounds during the Class 6A/5A girls wrestling state championships last year.

“We had a slight scare with Alixia because we didn’t know if she was going to make weight this morning,” said Black Tornado head coach Tony Champion, who was able to chuckle about it after that fact.

“She was (six-tenths of a pound) over with about 20 minutes to go before weigh-ins,” he added, “but she put the pedal to the metal and made it, literally right on the dot.”

On the mat, everything went smoothly for Hernandez and most of her Southern Oregon cohorts during the opening day of the two-day event at Memorial Coliseum in Portland.

Hernandez was one of eight local girls to advance into Saturday’s semifinal round, with North Medford sisters Skyler Hall and Sadie Hall accomplishing the feat as well as South Medford’s Jamie Baldwin and Mia Nicasio, Crater’s Audrey Robinson and Katelyn Klingler and Eagle Point’s Emily Fitzgerald.

Skyler Hall, a junior in pursuit of her third straight state title, got the ball rolling for the local contingent at 105 pounds with a pair of pins, and senior reigning champion Sadie Hall followed suit with a technical fall and a first-period pin at 130 pounds.

Hernandez, who competed for Eagle Point last year, collected a pair of first-period pins to make North Medford a perfect 3-for-3 in qualifiers to reach the semifinals.

“We’re actually doing pretty good for as many kids that we brought,” said Champion, whose Tornado stands fifth in the team standings. “I don’t think we’re going to be in any type of team race, but we’re definitely shooting for three girls titles.”

South Medford is nurturing lofty hopes as well, with Friday marking the first time that two Panthers were able to reach the semifinals in the same year.

Last year, Leilarose Calva became the first South Medford to reach the semis and was the program’s first state-placer after she finished fifth overall. Calva remains in contention at 170 to become a two-time state placer, but her run in the championship bracket was cut short in the quarterfinals with a loss to top-seeded Ryann Sharp of Corvallis.

Baldwin and Nicasio, however, were able to build off their resume as South Medford’s first district champions to control their respective Day 1 matches.

Baldwin landed two first-round falls to reach the semifinals at 110, while fellow sophomore Nicasio went 4 minutes, 21 seconds before netting her first pin and then made quick work of Southridge’s Selena Cortez for a pin in 1:14.

“I think they came in a little nervous,” said South Medford girls wrestling coach Kailey Fowlkes. “It’s a big place to perform your best at the state tournament, but I think the girls performed well. With Mia and Jamie being in the semifinals, it’s a huge deal. They’re just kind of living up to that expectation and staying hungry.

“We’re building our girls program up and I think having more girls on the team and recruiting more has helped these girls be a little bit more passionate about the sport and wanting to prove themselves, just like the boys have the past couple years.”

Klingler, a senior, was a state runner-up a year ago for Crater and gutted out a pair of tough victories Friday, scoring a fall in 5:57 over Mahala Collins of Dallas in the opening round and then a pin in 5:03 over Addyson Gibson of Reynolds in the quarterfinals.

Robinson showed no signs of being overwhelmed by the moment in her state tournament debut, with the freshman posting a 54-second pin of Grant’s Valentina Bright in her first match and then a 15-0 technical fall win over No. 2-seeded Reina Barnes-Rubio of Redmond in the quarterfinals.

Of the Comets’ six state qualifiers, four remain in contention entering the final day after  sophomores Amari Meilicke (140) and Erica Lease (145) each won consolation bracket matches.

Fitzgerald posted a 13-7 win over Thurston’s Emily Zerr in a rematch of the district finals to earn her spot in the semifinals at 155. The fourth-seeded junior opened the tournament with a third-period pin.

Sophomore Emma Lee fell into the consolation bracket at 130 for the Eagles after suffering a first-round fall against third-seeded Renae Cook of Forest Grove in the quarterfinals. Eagle Point freshman Bella McFall scored an upset over No. 3-seeded Lincoln senior Micah Muir at 120 with a 9-3 decision in her opening match, but couldn’t maintain that momentum and lost in the quarterfinals to Silverton senior McKayla Bonham.

Ashland’s Sage Thatcher won by fall in her opening match at 170, but the fourth-seeded junior was caught in the quarterfinals by fifth-seeded senior Natalie Wilhoit of Tigard for a fall in 45 seconds to fall into the consolation bracket.

In the Class 4A/3A/2A/1A girls championships, Rogue River’s Delilah Jaramillo advanced to the semifinals before having to settle for sixth place at 155.

6A/5A GIRLS WRESTLING STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS

TEAM SCORES (Top 10): Dallas 57.5, Redmond 55, Thurston 52.5, Forest Grove 38.5, North Medford 32.5, McKay 30.5, David Douglas 28, McNary 28, Crater 27.5, Aloha 26, Barlow 26, Corvallis 26.

Other Local Scores

T14, South Medford, 24; T23, Eagle Point, 15; T42, Grants Pass, 8; T50, Ashland, 4

Reach sports editor Kris Henry at khenry@rv-times.com or 458-488-2035