College Wrestling: Jack and Cody Karstetter place 1st and 3rd at OCU Open
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2017 State Champion Jack Karstetter won his first college tournament this past weekend. (Photo: Scott Emigh).
Charles Page High School graduates and All-State wrestling brothers Jack and Cody Karstetter have been reunited at Northeastern Oklahoma A&M College after two years apart.
Jack (5-0) graduated CPHS in 2017 and made his college debut with a 133-pound First Place finish in the Freshman/Sophomore division. The former 6A State Champion swept the competition with two pins, two decisions, and one major decision. He took down Waylon Holman in 2:57 and Gage Gomez in 3:47, then decisioned Marcelino Lopez 8-4. In the semifinals he majored Ryan Chavez 19-7, then topped James Tann Cole 11-4 in the championship round.
Cody (5-1 season, 12-6 career), a 2015 CPHS graduate and State Runner-Up, spent two seasons at the NCAA Division I level. He signed with the University of North Carolina TarHeels and went 6-3. He placed sixth at the Virginia Tech Hokie Open, then took second at the Wolfpack Open. He transferred to the University of Oklahoma last season and went 1-2 after a season-ending injury.
On Sunday he competed at 141 pounds in the Freshman/Sophomore division and took third place. He pinned his first two opponents, Ernest Caldwell in 1:49 and Jacob Blumenthal in 4:18, and won a 6-4 decision over Nate Keim. In the semifinals he was majored 13-2 by Oklahoma State University freshman and four-time undefeated State Champion Kaden Gfeller, who went on to win the bracket with a 14-2 major decision. In the Consolation bracket he pinned Darian Manzanares in 1:14 and Brandon Conrad in 6:23.
NEO is a two-year junior college in Miami, Oklahoma. The Golden Norsemen finished last season with a 14-1 record and placed third in the National Junior College Athletics Association (NJCAA) National Championships. They will return to action this Saturday at the Bethany Swede Open in Lindsburg, Kansas and will host Neosho County Community College in their first dual on Tuesday, November 14th.
Class of 2015 graduate and Oklahoma Wesleyan freshman Kyler Childers (0-3) competed at 285 pounds in the Freshman/Sophomore division. Childers was a three-time State placer for the Sandites and signed with Northeastern Oklahoma A&M his senior year but never competed. This is the first year of the Wesleyan wrestling program, which competes in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletes and Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference. The Eagles will travel to Bristol, Tennessee next weekend for the King University Open.
