Centennial’s Aiden Welsick finishes silver at wrestling state championships

Published 10:45 pm Saturday, March 1, 2025

Local grapplers showcased their talents under the championship spotlight, with many earning spots on the podium.

Wrestlers from Barlow, Gresham, Sandy and Reynolds competed at the 6A level; Centennial at 5A; Estacada at 4A; and Corbett at 3A all joined the 2025 OSAA Wrestling State Championships Thursday-Saturday, Feb. 27-March 1, at Veterans Memorial Coliseum.

At the team level (based on classification) Sandy boys finished 10th (88.5 points); Estacada boys 13th (42 points); Centennial boys 14th (41 points); Barlow boys 18th (47 points); Barlow girls 18th (35 points).

Centennial sophomore Aiden Welsick had the best finish of all individuals, taking second place at the 5A boys 113-pound division. The No. 3 seed started with two pins at 1 minute, 26 seconds and 1:41 to advance to the semifinals on Saturday, March 1.

In the semifinals, Welsick won a 7-4 decision to get into the title match and “upset” the No. 2 seed in the process.

“I was mad that he got the two seed, I wanted the two seed and I thought I deserved it. I won, so that’s all that matters,” Welsick said. “My outside single, in the first two matches it was pretty good. My aggressiveness and, except for my final match, my defense was good.”

Michael Salas Sanchez out of Thurston was a little too much to handle in the title bout though as Welsick lost on a 19-4 tech fall. But after going 0-2 at state as a freshman to a silver medal as a sophomore, the sky is the limit for the young Eagles grappler.

“I went to the gym, I ate better, I slept better and I worked harder in practice. And I wasn’t afraid to lose at practice,” Welsick said of his improvement. “I was surprised, I didn’t expect to do as good as I did, but I believed in what I did. I worked hard all year and overall I’m happy.”

Here are local kids who finished top-six at state:

3A

• Carl Orchard, Corbett junior, finished 3rd at 285 pounds

4A

• Braiden Grochowsky, Estacada junior, finished 4th at 113 pounds
• Turner Jackson, Estacada sophomore, finished 6th at 165 pounds
• Noah Hughes, Estacada senior, finished 6th at 190 pounds

5A

• Aiden Welsick, Centennial sophomore, finished 2nd at 113 pounds

6A

• Taylor Ward, Barlow freshman, finished 3rd at 125 pounds (girls)
• Aaron Burke, Sandy junior, finished 5th at 113 pounds
• Garrett Head, Barlow senior, finished 5th at 120 pounds
• Olin Storlie, Barlow freshman, finished 5th at 126 pounds
• Seth Hooley, Sandy boys, finished 5th at 157 pounds
• Abbeline Richard, Barlow junior, finished 6th at 120 pounds (girls)
• Owen Granberg, Gresham senior, finished 6th at 138 pounds