CULVER — North Medford junior Estella Gutches took an unbeaten record in girls wrestling into the state championship finals Thursday night, but so did her counterpart, who also happened to be the defending champion at 120 pounds.

Gutches pinned her way into the championship match with three wins Friday, but a pivotal fourth win was not forthcoming as Cleveland junior Haley Vann took down Southern Oregon’s lone finalist early in their match and scored a fall in 56 seconds.

Gutches previously finished third at 105 as a freshman and won last year’s title at 110 pounds at the Oregon Wrestling Association’s culminating week tournament to cap an abbreviated spring campaign.

To reach the finals, Gutches opened with a pin of Century’s Emilia Correa Artiaga in 1 minute, 28 seconds and followed with consecutive falls over Bend’s Rickie Dean (3:50) and Terese Korpela of St. Helens (4:55).

Vann wrapped up her season 25-0 while Gutches fnished 15-1 in girls matches after also competing this year against boys.

With Gutches leading the charge, North Medford placed sixth in the team standings with 53 points at the girls wrestling championships at Culver High.

Forest Grove won the team title with 99 points, with Thurston placing second at 75. Hillsboro (69), Tillamook (65) and St. Helens (57) rounded out the top 5 teams.

Crater junior Sienna Caruso placed third after a strong showing at 105 to wrap up her season with a 17-4 record.

Caruso edged Glencoe’s Yamilet Claudio Marquez, 6-5, in the quarterfinals before dropping to the consolation bracket when West Albany’s Richi Campbell scored a 9-2 win in the semifinals. Caruso bounced back with a pin of Glencoe’s Izselle Mercado in 3:58 to reach the third-place final, where she scored a 4-3 decision over Kate Leonard of St. Helens.

Eagle Point freshman Alixia Hernandez made a splash in her first state tournament, placing third at 170 despite a disqualification loss in the quarterfinals against Jennifer Delatorre of Tillamook, the eventual champion.

Undaunted, Hernandez recovered to scored four consecutive pins, including a fall in 1:28 over Cambria Funk of St. Helens in the third-place final.

Senior Bailey Grecco placed fourth for Crater at 145, suffering her first loss in the semifinals to Jasmine Hopkins of Forest Grove (5:12) before advancing to the third-place final with a pin in 4:58 over North Salem’s Icela Sanchez Rodriguez.

In the third-place match, Centennial senior Emma Johnson pinned Grecco in 3:23.

Isabella Prinslow, a junior, placed fourth for the Black Tornado at 140 pounds after battling her way through the consolation bracket to reach the third-place final.

Prinslow finished with four pins in her six matches Thursday, falling only to Oregon City’s Bella Amaro — the eventual repeat champion at 140 — in the quarterfinals (3:27) and Vale’s Ava Collins in the third-place final (3:56).

Eagle Point’s Sage Teixeira placed fifth at 155 in a bracket dominated by three-time West Linn state champion Destiny Rodriguez, who is among the top 20 girls wrestlers in the nation.

Rodriguez, a junior, pinned Teixeira in 44 seconds in the quarterfinals, but the EP senior responded by going 2-1 in her next matches before pinning Roosevelt’s Vida Boskovic in 2:58 in the fifth-place final.

Rogue River sophomore Lillyan Jaramillo also placed fifth at 190, pinning Hidden Valley’s Olivia McCurdy in 1:19 during their placing match.

Girls Wrestling State Championships

TEAM SCORES (TOP 10): Forest Grove 99, Thurston 75, Hillsboro 69, Tillamook 65, St. Helens 57, North Medford 53, La Pine 51, Sweet Home 49, West Albany 48.5, Scappoose 42.

Other Local Teams

13, Eagle Point, 37; T16, Crater, 30; T49, Rogue River, 14.

CHAMPIONSHIP FINALS

100 — Chelo Garcia, Siletz Valley/Eddyville Charter, pinned Sarahi Chavez, McKay, 1:36; 105 — Kaylee Annis, Thurston, pinned Richi Campbell, West Albany, 3:04; 110 — Ariana Martinez, West Albany, tech. fall Analise Smith, Bend, 15-0 5:56; 115 — Paige Chafin, Sweet Home, pinned Courtney Hall, Scappoose, 1:22; 120 — Haley Vann, Cleveland, pinned Estella Gutches, North Medford, :56.

125 — Ayana Medina, Hillsboro, major dec. Sophia Redwine, Newberg, 12-3; 130 — Alice Rickett, Hillsboro, pinned Kennedy Blanton, Forest Grove, 2:34; 135 — Kira Kerr, La Pine, dec. Makaila Takahashi, Forest Grove, 8-6; 140 — Bella Amaro, Oregon City, dec. Brielle Brick, Creswell, 5-4.

145 — Averie Stockwell, Thurston, pinned Jasmine Hopkins, Forest Grove, 3:16; 155 — Destiny Rodriguez, West Linn, pinned Madi Randels, Tualatin, 1:01; 170 — Jennifer Delatorre, Tillamook, pinned Anna McDougal, Central Linn, 4:00; 190 — Ella Taplin, Forest Grove, pinned Anna Rintoul, Scappoose, 5:22; 235 — Mallory Lusco, Grant Union, pinned Stephanie Romero, Irrigon, 3:15.