Sand Springs wrestling club wins Junior and Schoolboy Freestyle State Championships

The Sand Springs Team Big wrestling club came in third place overall at the Oklahoma USA State Tournament in Cushing last weekend. They won State Championship titles in Schoolboy Freestyle and Junior Freestyle. Nine Team Big wrestlers combined for thirteen State titles between the two styles.

They also placed third in Novice Freestyle, third in Novice Greco, fourth in Schoolboy Greco, ninth in Cadet Freestyle, eleventh in Intermediate Greco, thirteenth in Cadet Greco, and sixteenth in Intermediate Freestyle. Threestyle Wrestling came in first overall, followed by Oklahoma Wrestling Academy in second. Threestyle is based in Pryor and OWA wrestles out of Edmond.

Team Big meets in the Charles Page High School wrestling room on Mondays and Wednesdays at 5:30 p.m. and is open to wrestlers outside of Sand Springs as well.

Junior

Charles Page High School senior Daton Fix (15-0 FS) took first place in freestyle at 132 pounds. He teched Logan Herell 10-0, Caron Watson 12-2, and OSSAA State Runner-Up Xavear Cullors 11-0.

Cullors, a junior from Collinsville, came in runner-up, defeated Verdell Schoats 14-8, Clayton Hanna 10-0, and Jason Christman 11-0 before falling to Fix.

CPHS senior Michael Ritchey (17-3 FS, 3-0 GR) came in runner-up in freestyle at 126 pounds. He scored a 10-0 tech fall over OSSAA State Runner-Up Kolton Smith, but fell 12-5 to Oklahoma State University-commit Jet Taylor.

Kaleb Tabor (9-4 FS, 0-2 GR) came in runner-up in freestyle at 160 pounds. He defeated Ryan Swanson 7-4, then teched OSSAA State Runner-Up Tyler Dieringer 25-14 before falling 10-0 to OSSAA State Runner-Up Dustin Plott in the finals.

Stillwater senior Christian Bahl placed second in freestyle at 182 pounds. He defeated Alexander Kauffman 4-3 and Shane Flandermeyer 10-0 before falling 11-1 to Jaryn Curry.

Claremore senior Tracy Reeder placed fourth in freestyle at 160 pounds. He pinned Carson Trindle in 47 seconds and topped Fisher Johnson 23-20, but fell 14-4 to Wes Ahrberg in the opening round and 11-8 to Ahrberg in the placement round.

Cadet

Carter Young (20-0 FS, 16-0 GR) took first place in both styles at 106 pounds, hammering his way through the competition with six technical falls and a pin to remain undefeated for the season. In freestyle he defeated Kilian McNichol 10-0, Jon Lee 10-0, Reese Davis 16-4, and Braeden Williams 10-0. In Greco he pinned Lee in 22 seconds, then teched Brayden Seago and Williams 10-0 each. Just two weeks ago he claimed national titles in both styles.

Collinsville’s Caleb Tanner came in runner-up in freestyle at 132 pounds. He teched Ti Lockwood 10-0 and Luke Surber 20-10 before falling 11-6 to Reece Witcraft in the finals.

Schoolboy

Kaden Glass (9-0 FS, 6-0 GR) took first place in both styles with four pins and two forfeits. In freestyle he pinned Kaylon Wolf in 15 seconds and Aundra Rhea in 1:23. In Greco he pinned Wolf in 19 seconds and Rhea in 1:03.

Christian Forbes (17-0 FS, 3-4 GR) took first place in freestyle and second in Greco at 84 pounds. In freestyle he continued his undefeated season with a 7-4 decision over Keaton Story, then teched Clay Gates 12-2 and Shelton Chastain 10-0. In Greco he teched Ethan Freer and Brock Gowens 10-0, but fell 3-2 to Chastain in the finals. This was his fifth-straight freestyle win this season.

Justin Vaughn (4-2 FS, 4-1 GR) took first place in freestyle at 70 pounds, pinning Mason Hanna in 3:28 and teching Jacob Caviness 10-0. This is his third-straight tournament win.

Bryce Fisher (10-1 FS) took first place in freestyle at 136 pounds, scoring four tech falls without giving up a single point. He defeated Jack Wells and Francisco Jr. Famero 10-0 each, and Brice Hickman and Gavin Koehler 12-0 apiece.

Cole Brooks (10-2 FS, 8-3) came in second in freestyle at 91 pounds. He defeated Cutter Sheets 12-6 and Tyler Johnson 10-0, but fell 14-2 to Jordan Williams in the finals.

Ethan White (12-1 FS) placed second in freestyle at 120 pounds, suffering his first loss of the season. He previously won four-straight freestyle tournaments. He defeated Parrish Terry 12-8 and pinned Michael Kenny in 37 seconds, but was pinned in 3:02 by Hudson Neeley.

Clay Gates (11-14 FS, 0-1 GR) took third place in freestyle at 84 pounds. He defeated Jayce Caviness 5-4, Brock Gowens 10-0, and Rhett Peak 8-4, but fell 12-2 to teammate Christian Forbes.

Rhett Peak (12-6 FS, 7-2 GR) took fourth place in both styles at 84 pounds. In freestyle he teched Brock Gowens 10-0, but was defeated 9-4 by Shelton Chastain. In the consolation rounds he defeated Braden Potts 8-7, but fell 8-4 to teammate Clay Gates. In Greco he teched Gowens 10-0, but fell to Chastain and Potts.

Intermediate

Nation Johnson (9-8 FS, 9-9 GR) took third place in both styles at 80 pounds. In freestyle he lost his opening match 24-14 to Trae Rios, but rebounded with three-straight tech falls over Erik Roy, Jude Smith, and Braxton Antuna. In Greco he was once again defeat by Rios in the opening round, but he pinned Antuna in 2:26 and Smith in 0:35 before falling 11-0 to Jake Miller.

Promised Johnson (15-6 FS, 8-11 GR) took fourth place in Greco at 70 pounds. He lost two of four matches, both to Kaden Wallace, but scored a pair of 10-0 tech falls in between losses.

Novice

Clayton Giddens (17-0 FS, 2-0 GR) continued his undefeated spring season with a pair of State titles at 70 pounds. Not only has he not lost a single match this season, but he hasn’t given up a single point. He has exclusively wrestled freestyle this spring, but took on both styles for State. In freestyle he teched Garrett Salt and Gunner Richey 10-0 each, then pinned Wesley Madden in 56 seconds. In Greco he teched Richey 12-0 and Zane Donley 10-0.

Abraham Flores (11-5 FS, 11-3 GR) took first place in Greco and second in freestyle. In freestyle he teched Deago Chay and Adrian Flores, but fell 14-6 to Garhett Reese. Adrian Flores was his only competitor in Greco and he won the best-of-three series with a pair of tech falls.

Balance Johnson (13-4 FS, 13-1 GR) took first place in Greco and second in freestyle. In freestyle he teched Andrew Bowron 10-0 and pinned Shane Lovejoy in 33 seconds before falling to Logan Richard and Caden Kelley. In Greco he teched Richard 24-14, pinned Lovejoy in 26 seconds, and teched Bowron 10-0.

Robert Burke (7-2 FS, 4-3 GR) took second place in freestyle at 65 pounds. He won a 5-4 decision over Gerald Harris and a 13-4 decision over Dylan Bratt before falling 10-0 to Dillon Ryan in the finals.