Mittasch, Bussell, Flores take first place at Catoosa Tournament

By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

Fourteen members of the Sand Springs Team Big elementary wrestling team competed at a tournament in Catoosa recently and three took first place in their brackets.

Grady Mittasch (3-0, 7-0) competed in Division 3 at 70 pounds and won his third-straight tournament this season. He won a 9-0 major decision over Gerald Harris (Tulsa) and a close 4-3 bout with Jaxson Humphries (Catoosa), then pinned Cory Velasquez (Tulsa) in 1:20. 

Jayden Bussell (2-0) competed in Division 1 at 55 pounds and drew only two competitors. He pinned Mateo Baldez (Miami) in 0:09 and Colton Waldon (Miami) in 0:17 for first place. 

Dariuz Black (3-1) competed in Division 3 at 73 pounds and took second place. He pinned Derek Bailey (Pryor) in 2:28 and Aidan Wolfe (Pryor) in 0:23 and won a 7-0 decision over Samuel Melton (Renegade) before falling 5-0 to Louden Wolfe (Blackwell). 

Jaxon Trotter (3-1, 3-2) competed in Division 3 at 85 pounds and took third place. He was pinned in 0:43 by Tyler McCall (Catoosa), but won out from there with two pins and a major decision. He took down Ayden Tucker (Berryhill) in 0:36, Gabriel Rios (Berryhill) in 0:40, and majored Matthew Gass (Terminator) 9-0. 

Abraham Flores (2-1, 4-1) competed in Division 4 at 96 pounds and drew only one competitor. He was pinned in 0:59 in his first match against Rayden Agee (Blackwell), but won the next two matches 8-3 and 11-5 in a best-of-three series for first place. 

Tabor Reiss (2-1, 4-1) competed in Division 1 at 37 pounds and took second place. He defeated Zadien Emerson (Catoosa) by 16-0 tech fall and pinned Kroy Wolfe (Blackwell) in 0:26 before falling in 0:50 to Jayden Beard (Sperry) in the Championship round.

Clayton Giddens (2-1, 5-1) competed in Division 4 at 67 pounds and took second place. He defeated Andrew Havens (Sperry) by 19-3 tech fall and pinned Rhyder Morrow (Cushing) in 0:43, but lost 8-6 to Corban Zugelder (Catoosa) in a sudden-victory overtime match.

Kasen McAffery (2-1) competed in Division 2 at 61 pounds and took second place. He pinned Ayden Carlile (Catoosa) in 3:31 and Chase Bean (Berryhill) in 4:18 before falling in 1:12 to Brogan Oneal (Catoosa).

Colt Cothran (1-1) competed in Division 3 at 58 pounds and took second place. He pinned Camden Whitby (Collinsville) in 4:15, but was defeated 16-0 by Kyler Auten (Sperry). 

Robert Burke (3-2, 5-2) competed in Division 3 at 64 pounds and took fourth place. He was defeated 5-2 by Miles Velasquez (Tulsa) in the opening round, but bounced back with three-straight wins. He beat Keegan Herring (Sperry) 5-1, pinned Benjamin Smith (Bentonville) in 0:53, and decisioned teammate David Ritchey 6-3, before falling 9-1 to Daxton Sullivan (Bristow) in the consolation finals. 

David Ritchey (2-2) competed in Division 3 at 64 pounds. He pinned Andrew Kunkle (Catoosa) in 0:48 and majored Mason Moore (Owasso) 10-2 before falling 4-1 and 6-3 to Miles Velasquez (Tulsa) and teammate Robert Burke, respectively.

Ty Burdge (1-2) competed in Division 2 at 52 pounds. He defeated Matthew Compton (Catoosa) 8-2, but was pinned in 0:47 by Spencer McCellend (Pryor) and 0:24 by Jesse Justice (Sperry).

Hunter Dressler (1-2, 1-4) competed in Division 4 at 160 pounds and took third place. He pinned Preston Clark (Catoosa) in 0:49, but was pinned in 2:21 and 0:47 by Gunner Wilson (Catoosa) and Tyler Rich (Owasso), respectively. 

Carter Wood (0-2) competed in Division 2 at 70 pounds. He was defeated 10-2 by Grant Rowe (Blackwell) and 12-10 by Braxton Baker (Stilwell).

Adrian Flores (0-2, 5-4) competed in Division 3 at 100 pounds and drew only one competitor. He was pinned in 3:54 and defeated by a 15-0 tech fall against Kruz Goff (Blackwell).