When the Oregon Wrestling Classic reaches the championship rounds and Culver is there, history has shown that the championship dual will likely go to the Bulldogs.

Culver has won 20 of the previous 23 Oregon Classics in which it reached the finals of the dual-meet tournament at the Deschutes County Fair & Expo Center.

“We’ve stubbed our toes a a few times,” said Culver coach JD Alley. “I told the kids, if we get to the finals, we are going to win this thing.”

And the Bulldogs did just that. For the 20th time, Culver reached the finals of the Oregon Wrestling Classic, and for the 20th time, Culver emerged as champions on Saturday.

The 55-21 win over Grant Union in the 2A/1A finals got Culver back to its winning ways after seeing its 17-year winning streak at the Classic end last season.

“Last year was pretty rough as a team,” said Culver freshman 165-pounder Leland Minson, who won all six of his matches in the tournament. “But we have been working hard all season to come back and reclaim the title.”

It was a dominant two days at the First Interstate Bank Center for Culver. Friday it won all three of its matches in pool play, defeating Camas Valley, Adrian and Colton by an average score of 75-6.

On Saturday, it was more of the same. The Bulldogs made quick work of Crane in the quarterfinals (66-15) and Lowell in the semifinals (55-21) before ultimately taking down Grant Union in the championship match.

The Bulldogs finished third at the Classic last year, but were 12th at the 2A state meet. It was just the second time since 2002 that Culver did not finish in first or second place at state.

“All of us put in the work and worked our butts off in practice,” said freshman Max Dickson. “It feels really good to come back from finishing 12th in the state to winning this.”

Crook County second in 4A, Redmond third in 5A

For the fifth straight year, Crook County came up just short of winning at the Classic, finishing second to Sweet Home in the 4A finals.

The Cowboys won each of their first five matches of the tournament, taking down Baker (72-6), Philomath (51-25) and Scappoose (78-6) on Friday. On Saturday, Crook County blew by Marshfield (72-12) in the quarterfinals and La Grande (51-21) in the semifinals.

In the championship round, the Cowboys won five of the first seven matches, including four by pin. But then the Huskies won the final seven matches to beat Crook County 48-26 to repeat as champions.

Redmond, last year’s 5A winner at the Classic, finished third in the Class 5A field. The Panthers beat North Eugene (72-6), McKay (52-26) and lost 42-29 to Eagle Point in pool play on Friday.

Like it did in last year’s championship round, Redmond won narrowly (39-36) against Dallas in the quarterfinals, before falling 62-19 to Crater in the semifinals. In the third-place match, a rematch against Eagle Point, the Panthers picked up a narrow 39-38 victory. Senior Orinn Hubbard’s first-round pin in the 215-pound weight class sealed the win for the Panthers.

Mountain View, the 2023 Classic winner in 5A, also won two matches on Friday, beating Silverton (58-24) and Ridgeview (52-30) before falling to Crater (71-3). On Saturday the Cougars lost to Thurston (63-12) in the quarterfinals, beat Bend High (40-39) in the consolation semifinals, then lost to Dallas (66-9) to finish sixth.

Crook County finished fifth in the girls tournament with wins over Mountainside (57-18), Tillamook (59-24) and Illinois Valley (77-6). In the quarterfinals, the Cowgirls fell to Thurston (42-41), then beat Redmond (47-36) and Sutherlin (60-24) in the fifth-place match.