Motivated trio looking to step up for Lake Oswego this season

Josh Christensen, Jackson Graetz and Dylan Marquez have a few things in common.

The first thing, and the most obvious, they’re all players on the highly-regarded Lake Oswego High School football team.

But, the similarities go deeper than that.

For their own individual reasons, Christensen, Graetz and Marquez are all highly motivated and are really ready to go as they look ahead to the upcoming fall high school season.

For Graetz, a Laker senior-to-be on the offensive line, missing the 2024 Class 6A state championship game, and most of the semifinal contest, has him more than anxious as he eyes his senior campaign.

For Marquez, a Lake Oswego junior-to-be, also playing on the line, getting thrown into the fire for the Lakers after Graetz got hurt, and starting in the title tilt, has him ready to to get a much, much bigger taste of the action this year.

For Christensen, a junior-to-be and a promising edge rusher for the Laker defense, after spending the summer working hard and turning many heads at many camps, he’s ready to prove what he can do on the field this fall.

To sum it all up, Graetz, Marquez and Christensen are looking for big things to happen with the Lake Oswego squad this fall.

“This season is going to be a great season,” said Graetz, as the three, along with many of their Laker teammates, competed at the Metro Area Lineman Challenge, a competition that featured such events as the 40-yard dash, the shuttle run, vertical jump, standing broad jump, bench press, farmer’s carry, tractor tire flip, two-man blocking sled relay and the team tug of war, held Saturday, July 12, at Hare Field in Hillsboro. “We’ve got great players, a great foundation and a great brotherhood, already. We’re just building every day.”

“It’s looking really good. I think it’s going to be one of our best years,” Christensen said. “We’ve got a lot of returning starters. We’ve also got a lot of players that could have played last year, but didn’t get the chance. We’ll definitely have a lot of players stepping up.”

“Oh, it’s going to be fantastic,” Marquez said with a smile. “I think we have a great brotherhood.”

Graetz, despite the postseason injury, stepped up for Lake Oswego during the 2024 season, helping the Lakers win the Three Rivers League title at 5-0 while going a perfect 9-0 during regular season play. The 6-foot-3, 255-pound Graetz then helped Lake Oswego pick up a 35-0 win over Mountainside in a Class 6A state playoff Open quarterfinal contest. But, just two series into the Lakers’ semifinal game with Central Catholic, played at Hillsboro Stadium, Graetz suffered a high ankle sprain. He would miss the rest of that game, and the state title contest, where the Lakers fell 44-30 to TRL rival West Linn.

“I got hurt, but Dylan, right here, stepped up and he did an amazing job, in my opinion,” Graetz said. “It was pretty tough, watching those last two games. But it definitely motivated me this offseason.”

Marquez (6-4, 270) was on the other side of things when Graetz got hurt in the semifinal tilt. Instead of unexpectedly seeing his season end, Marquez, just a sophomore, was unexpectedly thrown into action in a crucial situation.

“I wouldn’t say I was scared, but I was definitely nervous,” Marquez said. “There was no warning, no nothing. All year, I was on JV, but, in that first quarter, the second drive, Jackson went down and they just called me in and I was ready to answer. I loved it.”

Marquez then got the starting nod in the championship game.

“It was scary, but I had a great time,” Marquez said. “It wasn’t my best game, but I still tried my hardest and did what I had to do.”

Lake Oswego graduated three first-team all-Three Rivers League selections and one second-team pick from last year’s offensive line, meaning that both Graetz and Marquez will likely be looked upon to play big roles up front his year. They say they’ll be ready, as well the rest of the Laker linemen.

“We’ve got great backups and great big guys, like Dylan,” Graetz said. “He got thrown in there and already got the experience. We’ve got three big dudes already.”

“I think this experience will get me ready. I’m not as worried. I know what to expect, and what I have to do to get ready. This whole offseason, I’ve been thinking every day of getting back to that game, being ready to go,” Marquez said. “Even with our linemen, a few of them being gone, I think we have some good replacements, like me, Adam (Williams) and Ethan (Dromgoole). He’s another great player.”

The very athletic Christensen (6-6, 245) has had a very busy summer, as he’s getting ready for his junior season with the Lakers.

“I’ve gone to a few camps with a few of my teammates, and have done really well at those. It’s been good to meet the coaches,” Christensen said. “I’ve been to Oregon State, Cal, Washington State, Northwest’s Best.”

Last year, even as a sophomore, Christensen saw some key varsity action for Lake Oswego. He even assisted on a pair of tackles for the Lakers in the state championship contest. He’s motivated to do more – much more – this season.

“I’m looking to mostly play at defensive end, and to make as many plays as I can,” Christensen said. “Our defense is really looking good. We’ll be making a lot of plays out there.”

Christensen showed his athleticism, in a big way, at the Metro Area Lineman Challenge. Christensen finished in third place in both the heavyweight individual standings and the overall individual standings for the event.

“This is really fun,” Christensen said. “This means a lot to us as a team. We came out here to win and to compete.”

Christensen topped all heavyweight competitors on the day with his vertical jump of 31 inches. He also had strong marks in the standing broad jump, with a leap of 96.5 inches, in the bench press, where he lifted 185 pounds 19 times, in the tractor tire flip, where he had 11 flips, and in the farmer’s carry, where he toted the weight 86 yards.

“My favorite event, it’s between the tire flip and farmer’s carry,” Christensen said. “You have your whole team cheering you on. That’s like a mental push. It’s about who wants it most.”

Graetz also had a big performance on the day, finishing sixth in the heavyweight standings and seventh overall.

“This is my third time doing it. I just like doing stuff with my team. And this helps us build our brotherhood,” Graetz said. “I’d say the farmer’s carry is my favorite. It’s always good getting everyone hyped up and everything.”

Graetz had 15 lifts in the bench press, 11 tire flips and a distance of 80 yards in the farmer’s carry.

Marquez topped all the Lakers in the farmer’s carry with his distance of 100 yards. But, for Marquez, the big thing was his improvement from a year ago.

“I like the bench press,” Marquez said. “I had 16 reps this year. I improved by 12 from last year.”

Why did that happen?

“It was my offseason training, with Coach Mark (McLaughlin),” Marquez said. “He’s a great trainer, and I owe everything to him.”

Other Laker linemen had impressive marks on the day. Dromgoole had 24 lifts in the bench press while Williams had 22 lifts. The Lakers also finished in second place in the double-bracketed team tug of war.

With the linemen inspired, working hard and ready to do their part, the talented Lakers are aiming high going into the 2025 season.

“For sure, we’re motivated. We’re going for the state title, and we want to win it,” Christensen said. “We just need to stay locked in and work as a team. We have the talent, we just need to work together.”

The Lakers open their 2025 schedule on Aug. 29 when they travel to face South Medford in a nonleague contest.

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