The 23rd edition of the Oregon Wrestling Classic, a two-day dual-meet tournament, is set for Friday and Saturday.

Eighty boys teams and 24 girls teams from Oregon will make their way to the Deschutes County Fair & Expo Center in Redmond. The tournament that is broken up into the five classifications is considered the unofficial dual-meet state championship.

Redmond High broke through a year ago, winning the tournament in its backyard for the first time in program history, claiming each of its seven matches over the two days. But repeating as 5A Classic champions will be a challenge for the 2023 5A state champions.

“It’s going to be a tough battle, 5A is a tough bracket this year,” said Redmond coach Kris Davis. “I think Crater has established itself as the top-dog so far and everyone is chasing them. We are always in the mix somehow so we are going to have to wrestle our best to make the finals. Our kids are in place, they are ready to go, we just have to wrestle well.”

How the Panthers ended up winning the tournament last year proved just how unique a dual-meet tournament format is compared to other tournaments like the Reser’s Tournament of Champions and the state tournament.

Going into the final match of the championship dual, Redmond held a four-point lead over Dallas. All 287-pounder Ashton Fields had to do was not get pinned or lose by technical fall (more than 15 points). A major decision loss (eight to 14) would have resulted in the two teams finishing with 33 points.

Despite Fields losing the match, he did exactly what was needed for the Panthers to capture their first Oregon Classic title by avoiding being pinned, losing by technical fall or a major decision.

“Every point counts in the team-score race,” Davis said. “There is some immediate gratification. You can see the team points, see what you have to do for your team and there is a lot of excitement around that.

“You have to make sure your lineup is set. In individual tournaments, I might be putting kids in different weight classes than I would at this tournament. You are trying to fill your lineup with the best possible scenarios and matchups to score the most points. You wrestle kids in weight classes they wouldn’t normally be in. That’s what makes it fun, that is why you coach.”

Although Redmond was the only Central Oregon team to claim a Classic title a year ago, local teams have had a lot of success at the Oregon Classic in recent years.

In 2023, 2A Culver won its 19th team title (and its 17th consecutive) while Mountain View won its first by being the last 5A team standing. In 2022, La Pine won the 3A title. Crook County (4A) is always a threat, as the Cowboys have advanced to the championship round in each of the last four tournaments but have finished second each time. In 2020, the Bend High girls won an Oregon Classic title.

Friday’s matches are a round-robin pool play. The top two teams in each pool will advance to Saturday’s eight-team championship bracket. The championship bracket quarterfinal matches are to begin at 1 p.m. on Saturday (girls tournament starts at 11:50 a.m.). The semifinals start at 2:10 p.m. and the championship rounds are scheduled for 6:15 p.m.

For more information, visit oregonwrestlingclassic.com.