North Medford’s Hall, Crater’s Robinson win 6A/5A girls championships

Published 5:31 pm Sunday, March 2, 2025

By KRIS HENRY / Rogue Valley Times

Black Tornado use 1-2-3 performances to place sixth in team standings; Comets finish 10th overall

North Medford and Crater each crowned a state champion to go with one runner-up apiece to lead the local effort at the Class 6A/5A girls wrestling state championships Saturday at Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Portland.

North Medford junior Skyler Hall secured a second straight championship at 105 pounds and third overall, while senior sister Sadie Hall placed second at 130 and senior Alixia Hernandez wound up third at 190.

Crater freshman Audrey Robinson (135) took the tournament by storm to secure her first state championship and the first in program history, and senior Katelyn Klingler (235) finished in second place for the second straight season.

South Medford also produced two state placers for the first time from a single tournament in program history, with sophomores Jamie Baldwin (110) and Mia Nicasio (235) each placing fifth after rebounding from semifinal losses earlier Saturday.

Crater freshman Audrey Robinson, top, turns Mountain View’s Alana Troullier for a pin in the 135-pound final at the Class 6A/5A girls wrestling state championships Saturday in Portland. (Kim Samitore / for the Rogue Valley Times)

Eagle Point junior Emily Fitzgerald, who also previously reached the semifinals at 155 pounds, placed fifth, and Ashland junior Sage Thatcher battled through the consolation bracket to also place fifth at 170.

The Black Tornado went 3-for-3 in turning state qualifiers into state placers, along the way finishing sixth overall in the team standings with 74 points scored by the trio.

“That’s pretty good for three girls on our team,” said North Medford head coach Tony Champion.

Thurston won the team title with 124 points, followed by Redmond (114.5), Dallas (113), Forest Grove (95) and McKay (85.5).

Crater finished 10th overall with 57.5 points, and South Medford tied for 21st (32).

Even though Skyler Hall entered her finals match against Newberg’s Paisley Conway as the reigning champion, that didn’t lessen the tension — at least for Champion and assistant coach Jason Gutches.

“Coach Gutches and I both, our stomach butterflies were unbelievable going into this year’s finals,” said Champion. “That was a repeat of last year’s final, and it was a really close match. It came down to a takedown at the end of the match (for Hall to win 4-3).”

Skyler Hall was injured when she went into the Lady Dragon Invitational earlier this season, and wound up being pinned by Conway in the semifinals and ultimately placed fourth at the prestigious girls tourney.

That left her conceivably as the underdog entering the finals, but a healthy Hall left no doubt this time by securing a fall in 1 minute, 45 seconds over the previously unbeaten Conway.

“She went out there and completely took control of the match from the start,” said Champion. “She was controlling the ties, she got a good shot and took her down and rode her out for a good minute before they broke it.”

Shortly after the restart, Hall locked up Conway and put the match to rest.

“As soon as we saw her lock up the cradle, we knew it was over,” said Champion. “She went right over and pinned her in the first round. That was an unbelievable match, and that was a good way to start the night off.”

North Medford senior Sadie Hall, right, goes head-to-head with Zorina Johnson of Ida B. Wells in the 130-pound final at the Class 6A/5A girls wrestling state championships Saturday in Portland. (Angie Walters / for the Rogue Valley Times)

Reigning state champion Sadie Hall was unable to make it two in a row at 130, with Zorina Johnson of Ida B. Wells scoring a 22-4 technical fall to complete an undefeated season at 29-0. Johnson, who was seeded second to Hall, won a state title at 125 last year before moving up a weight class.

“Sadie’s opponent was a returning state champ also, and she definitely got the best of Sadie tonight,” Champion said after the match. “It was not Sadie’s best performance, but I’m not going to take anything away from her opponent, that girl was tough, there’s no doubt about it. You don’t just tech fall Sadie Hall, even if she’s having a bad night. That girl was tough.”

Hernandez bounced back from a pin by McKenzie Mills of David Douglas in the 190 semis to score two consolation falls, including a 2:16 effort in the third-place match against West Salem’s Sophia Zuniga.

Hernandez placed second a year ago while competing for Eagle Point.

“We were hoping to get Alixia in the finals,” said Champion. “The girl she lost to in the semifinals she had beaten before, but it just wasn’t her day. But she bounced back and won two consolation matches to bring home third place for us.”

For Crater, Robinson was able to steamroll her competition at 135 as sort of a redemption after placing third at the regional tournament.

Robinson pinned Lebanon’s Lita Haworth in 1:36 during the morning semifinal round, then made even shorter work of Mountain View’s Alana Troullier in the finals with a pin in 51 seconds.

“Audrey looked incredible,” said Crater head coach Greg Haga. “She was on fire up here. I don’t think anybody scored on her. She just went out and just tore everybody up. She definitely was very aggressive, and they couldn’t stay with her.”

Crater senior Katelyn Klingler, left, tangles with North Salem’s Jennifer Soto in the 235-pound final at the Class 6A/5A girls wrestling state championships Saturday in Portland. (Kim Samitore / for the Rogue Valley Times)

Klingler finished second in the regionals to Nicasio, but was able to net a 7-2 decision over Brooklyn Jackson of David Douglas in the semifinals to reach her second straight championship final.

In the last match, however, North Salem’s Jennifer Soto was able to catch Klingler for a takedown in the second period that led to a fall in 3:23.

“She’s a three-time state placer and ends up beating a conference champion to get into the finals,” said Haga of the senior. “I think she did a great job all year and finished off strong for us.”

Soto had previously pinned Nicasio to bump her into the consolation bracket, and Nicasio went on to receive a medical forfeit by Jackson in the fifth-place final.

Baldwin was pinned by McNary’s Marlina Martinez in the semifinals, and regrouped to pin Forest Grove’s Crystal Gonzalez Mendoza in 48 seconds during the fifth-place final.

Fitzgerald sustained a rough start to her Saturday after a 17-second pin by Cleveland’s Isabel Herring, but she went on to pin Gabriella Dyer of Dallas in 3:07 to finish fifth.

Thatcher faced a tough road to the podium after losing in the quarterfinals Friday, but she answered with a pair of consolation wins to reach the placing rounds. Thatcher pinned Ryann Sharp of Corvallis in 3:02 in the fifth-place final.

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

 

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