A small but mighty contingent from Phoenix proved it belonged at the OSAA State Wrestling Tournament.

Phoenix coach Joe Hutchinson saw Tanner Schuh (113 pounds) and Erik Reyes Medina (132) draw two of the tougher match-ups in their respective divisions at Memorial Coliseum.

The rankings were something that Hutchinson didn’t want the pair to worry about Thursday afternoon, instead steering their focus on wrestling and not the seeding.

“We just wanted to see our kids ready to go,” said Hutchinson. “Not dazed by how big the tournament is, and ready to compete, and that's what we saw.”

In his first match, Tanner Schuh pinned his opponent in 1 minute, 18 seconds to advance into the quarterfinals of the championship bracket. The junior was then pinned by Tillamook’s Bryce Haltiner, who is a returning state champion at 106, to fall into the consolation bracket.

Schuh followed the setback with a strong effort against Crook County’s Duke Wentzel, but again came up short to end his time at the state championships.

“We're really excited for Tanner and just seeing his ability to start having a short memory,” said Hutchinson. "He bounced back from a loss to give a good fight, so we were really excited for him today.”

Despite taking two losses to end his run, Reyes Medina fought hard against Alberto Flores, the returning runner-up at 113, in an opening-round loss by technical fall before being eliminated in the consolation bracket by Cole Roy of Pendleton.