Wrestlers face off during the Oregon Wrestling Classic on Saturday at the Deschutes County Fair & Expo Center in Redmond.

The Grant Union/Prairie City boys and girls wrestling teams headed out to Redmond to take part in one of the largest wrestling tournaments in Oregon on Friday, Jan. 12, and Saturday, Jan. 13, with both squads making their case to be included in Oregon’s 2A Top 10.

Unlike tournaments where wrestlers of the same weight class are seeded and matched up in a single- or double-elimination bracket comprising many teams, dual meets feature two teams that face off through each individual weight class with team points awarded based on the type of victory earned.

Pins, forfeits, injury defaults and disqualifications earn a team six points, a technical fall (a lead of 15 points during a match) earns five points, a major decision (a victory by eight to 14 points) earns four points and a regular decision (a victory by seven points or less) earns three team points.

The Prospector boys wrestled in seven duals overall during the two-day tournament, finishing in sixth place overall among 2A teams. The Pros won their opening dual of the tournament against Nestucca 51-30 before losing three straight duals to close out competition on Friday, Jan. 12, with a 1-3 record.

Despite the losses on Friday, the Pros still found themselves in the championship bracket and facing a quarterfinal matchup with Illinois Valley on Saturday, Jan. 13. The Pros would fall 57-24 and be relegated to the consolation bracket, where the highest they could finish was fifth place.

The Pros would win a close dual to Central Linn 46-36 to find themselves in the fifth- and sixth-place matchup against Enterprise in their final action of the Oregon Classic.

The Pros would fall in another close dual, this time a 42-30 loss to Enterprise to finish the Classic as the sixth-best dual team in the state at the 2A level.

Individually, the Pros were led by defending state champion Taylor Parsons at 128 pounds. Parsons went undefeated in four matches at the Oregon Classic, winning all but one by pin. Parsons logged one of the fastest pins at the tournament as well, a nine second pinfall over Central Linn’s Lily Diaz in the consolation semifinals.

Grant Union’s Mason Benge also logged four wins for the Pros at the Oregon Classic, going 4-2 over the course of the weekend in the 167 pound weight class. Like Parsons, three of Benge’s four Oregon Classic victories came via pinfall.

The Grant Union/Prairie City girls did not contend for the Oregon Classic Championship but did place third in the Oregon Classic Cup, a consolation tournament for teams eliminated from championship contention in the pool portion of the tournament.

The Lady Prospectors lost their opening dual to Crook County 45-21 but recovered to defeat Harrisburg 39-10 in their second dual of the day on Friday, Jan. 12. The Lady Pros dropped their next two duals on Friday, a heartbreaking 43-42 loss to Scappoose and a 66-9 drubbing at the hands of Thurston to finish Friday with a 1-3 record.

The Lady Pros recovered on the Oregon Classic’s second day, defeating North Valley 48-24 in the quarterfinal of the Oregon Challenge Cup. The Lady Pros would lose a close 36-33 dual to Southerlin to fall into the third place match in the Oregon Challenge Cup.

The Lady Pros’ third place matchup was a rematch with the Crook County squad that defeated them in their first dual of the Oregon Classic. This time the girls would get some revenge while coming up on the winning side of a close dual, downing the Lady Cowboys 30-28 to claim third place in the 2024 Oregon Challenge Cup.

Leading the Lady Pros individually was defending state champion Mallory Lusco, who wrestled four times over the course of the two-day dual tournament, winning all of her matches in the 237 pound weight class, all but one by fall. Macy Carter went 3-1 in the 137 pound weight class during the Oregon Classic, with two of her three wins coming by pinfall.

“I’m proud of the boys,” Grant Union/Prairie City head boys wrestling coach Tye Parsons said. “They all did well, and we’re just going to get tougher.”

The sixth place finish by the Grant Union/Prairie City boys is impressive considering the team isn’t fielding a wrestler at every weight class. “We have some holes in the middle, so we give up quite a few weights,” Parsons said. “We do well in the weights we do have guys.”

Parsons added that the team has a few freshmen stepping up and wrestling tough and that Taylor Parsons looked every bit the part of a defending state champion.

Girls coach Andy Lusco said his team did their part to establish themselves as one of the Top 10 dual meet teams in the state. The finish is special because the Grant Union girls competed against much larger schools like Scappoose and Thurston at the Oregon Classic.

Despite that, Lusco said the true measuring stick will be the district tournament, which is what the team ultimately works toward all season.

The Grant Union/Prairie City boys will be in action next on Wednesday, Jan. 17, when they head to Culver for a dual. Start time is scheduled for 4 p.m.

The girls will be in action next with the boys at the Grant Union Tournament on Friday, Jan. 19. Start time is scheduled for noon.

A previous version of this story had an inaccurate result for the dual between the Grant Union/Prairie City boys and Central Linn. The boys won that dual. The error has been corrected and the Eagle apologizes for the error.