Daton Fix wins third State Championship, team finishes third

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By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

The long train of Sand Springs 2015-2016 Championship appearances has led from softball to cross country to dance to football to dual state, and now it's stationed at Oklahoma State Fair Arena in Oklahoma City where the Sandites sent ten qualifiers for one of their best performances in years. 

The wrestlers may not have pulled off their first team championship since 1971, but they have undoubtedly shown themselves strong in the great tradition of Sandite athletic excellence. 

Going into the tournament Sand Springs held 35 individual State titles from 25 champions. The likelihood of adding to that number was strong as they brought six Regional Champions and one returning State Champion in Daton Fix.  

106 pound freshman Riley Weir (21-12), 113 pound junior Michael Ritchey (24-12), and 170 pound senior Trace Fleischman (10-6) were eliminated without placing.  

Sophomore Payton Scott (19-6) came in fourth place in 152 after an upset by Westmoore's Trey Painter whom he initially defeated in round one of the tournament. The two went into a tie breaker round where Painter came on top with a 3-2 decision.

Sophomore Blake Sargent (39-12) came in third at 120, scoring first with an escape midway through the second period against Zackery Bibb of Capitol Hill. Bibb tied it up moments into the third. The two remained neutral through the third, the sudden victory round, and the first tie breaker. In the second tie breaker round Sargent got the escape and the 2-1 victory. Bibb had initially defeated Sargent in round one. 

160 pound Junior Zane Basma (35-12) came in third after taking a quick lead by takedown and near fall less than a minute in to his match against Enid's Anthony Gonzalez. He added another takedown for near fall points moments into the third for a 9-0 lead and ultimately triumphed with a 16-0 tech fall in 4:32. 

132 pound junior Jack Karstetter (39-8) settled for State Runner Up after a narrow 3-2 decision to Kruz Simons of Edmond North. Simons scored first with a first period takedown with only 18 seconds left. Karstetter added a quick escape to start the second, then cut Simons loose a minute into the third after efforts at a pin proved fruitless. Unfortunately he was unable to find the takedown.

138 pound junior Beau Bratcher (43-7) came in second to Jaxen Gilmore of Yukon. Bratcher scored first with a quick takedown but Gilmore was right behind him with a reversal for near fall points to end the first period. Gilmore added another reversal with 40 left in the second and took a 7-2 lead into the final period where he pinned the Sandite in 4:52. 

Junior Daton Fix (45-0) secured his third consecutive undefeated State Championship with a 23-8 tech fall over fellow Fargo Champion Dalton Duffield of Westmoore in 4:58. Fix made it through the match without giving up a single takedown or reversal. Fix is now only the second Sandite ever to win three State Championships, following in the path of David McGuire who won three from 1963-1965.

This is Sand Springs's 36th individual State Championship and the first time since 1979 that the Sandites have brought home a gold medal three years in a row. 

9 Sandites remain at State, only slightly behind Broken Arrow and Choctaw

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By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

The remaining Sandites have about an hour long break before the next round begins at the 6A State Championship in Oklahoma City. 

Charles Page wrestling qualified eleven for the tournament with seven Regional Champions, more than either Broken Arrow or the Dual State Champions from Choctaw. Unfortunately 220 pound junior and Regional Champion Delvin Jordan was unable to participate dropping the number to nine. 

106 freshman Riley Weir (20-12) came in third at Regionals and was pitted against Choctaw's Colt Newton (40-3) in the first round and was pinned in 0:41. From there he was majored 14-4 by Yukon's Braden Fowler and eliminated. 

113 Regional Champion Michael Ritchey (22-16) was defeated in round one by Westmoore's Wes Hardin (31-11) by a narrow 5-2 decision but managed to hold the lead in the next match for a 5-3 victory over Spencer Schickram (14-9) of Ponca City. 

120 Regional Champion Blake Sargent (36-10) went into overtime with Zackery Bibb (24-5) of Capitol Hill and lost 4-2 in the tie breaker round. He fell in an early hole to Justin Gundlach (29-11) of Moore and trailed 3-2 going into the final period, but rallied for a takedown and pin at 5:14 to stay alive in the consolation bracket. 

126 two-time undefeated State Champion Daton Fix (44-0) pinned Bobby Robinson (30-13) of Deer Creek in 1:37.

132 Regional Champion Jack Karstetter (38-7) breezed through his first match with a 17-2 tech fall over Norman's Jeffrey Adams (23-12) in 5:42.  

138 Regional Champion Beau Bratcher (40-6) pinned Choctaw's Jeff Speer (23-10) in 4:48. 

145 Regional Champion Payton Scott (18-4) pinned Westmoore's Trey Painter (32-10) in 3:52.  

160 Regional Runner-Up Zane Basma (32-11) scored an 8-3 decision over Sam Hensley (31-13) of Edmond Memorial.  

170 Trace Fleischman (10-4) placed fourth at Regionals but rebounded big time at State with a 3-1 upset of West Regional Champion Jacob Schimmels (23-6) of Edmond. 

The top three teams are as close now as they have been all season with Broken Arrow at 25.5, Choctaw at 25, and Sand Springs at 23.5.  

The semi finals will begin at 7:15.  

#1 Sandites unstoppable with 2 shutouts and 4th place finish at Yukon tourney

By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

What a time to be a Sandite! Our football and softball teams were State Runners-Up, Cheyenne Walden won the cross country State Championship, and now we're midway through our Winter sports and there's no sign that this outstanding class of athletes has any intention of slowing down. 

Both of our basketball teams won games by more than 40 points this weekend and are ranked top 15, and our wrestlers have had the craziest week in years. Last week the wrestlers (9-0) dominated #1 Broken Arrow (4-2) 33-19 to earn the top spot in the state and followed it up Tuesday with a 57-15 slaughter of Bixby (0-4).

Thursday the wrestlers traveled to Enid for the triple-header District Duals. The Sandites pulled off the highest-scoring dual possible against the Putnam West Patriots (3-6), winning all matches by pin for an 84-0 shutout. U.S. Grant (11-4) only fared slightly better, losing by 80-0 shutout, and Enid (4-4) was put down 65-6 to secure the Sandites' spot at Dual State.

Not only did the boys have to wrestle three duals in a single day, but they didn't even get a day off to rest before traveling to Yukon for the annual Jay Hancock Memorial Invitational. 

The Sandites placed fourth in the tournament with nine placers and three champions. Allen, Texas, ranked 25th in the nation by Flowrestling, took first place, followed by Choctaw in second and Plainview third. Choctaw is currently ranked 2nd in Tournaments and 3rd in Duals.  Plainsview is ranked #1 in both 3A categories.

The Sandites have two duals left this season. Tuesday night the boys will take on the #1 5A Collinsville Cardinals, and Thursday they'll battle the #15 Jenks Trojans. 

The Sandites are still missing 106 starting freshman #7 Riley Weir (15-8), who's nursing a hand injury, but they have plenty of capable fill-ins at the lower weights. 

106 Scotty Patton (3-2)- 5th Place

  • teched 17-0 in 4:00 by #8 Trenton Higginbotham (Edmond North) 
  • pinned Bennett Siler (Westlake) in 0:49
  • majored Brendan Noetzal (Southlake Carroll) 16-7
  • pinned in 1:52 by #5 Braden Fowler (Yukon)
  • pinned Dominic Fitzpatrick (Moore) in 5:54

113 #5 Michael Ritchey (15-13) - 4th Place

  • pinned Davion Perkins (Lawton) in 1:59
  • defeated Chase Slatton (Jenks) 5-1
  • teched 15-0 in 4:20 by #1 Paxton Rosen (Edmond North) 
  • defeated Jonathan Warford (Sapulpa) 8-2
  • lost 10-3 to Logan Brown (Allen)

120 #6 Blake Sargent (26-9) - 5th Place

  • lost 5-0 to Jack Skudlarczyk (Westlake) 
  • majored Cameron Clark (Sapulpa) 12-3
  • pinned Zane Everett (Yukon) in 2:43
  • pinned Jaxson Roney (Plainview) in 3:54
  • lost 3-0 to Jack Skudlarczyk (Westlake)
  • pinned #5 Zane Taylor (Yukon) in 4:28

126 #4 Jack Karstetter (26-6) - Champion

  • pinned Ibrahim Crespo (Capitol Hill) in 1:00
  • pinned Kaiden Ogee (Choctaw) in 2:45
  • majored #3 Clayton Seleznoff (Moore) 9-1
  • defeated Zach Atencio (Plainview) 3-1 by sudden victory

132 Unattached Derek Davis (7-4) - DNP

  • defeated Tre Moore (Allen) 5-4
  • lost 7-2 to Dayton West (Deer Creek) 
  • lost 10-4 to Cole Shipman (Choctaw)

132 Daton Fix (31-0) - Champion

  • pinned Andrew Day (Jenks) in 0:52
  • pinned Garrett Griffin (Sapulpa) in 0:27
  • teched Hunter Hershey (Westlake) 23-6 in 3:57
  • teched Madison Roney (Plainview) 28-13 in 5:55

138 #2 Beau Bratcher (30-5) - Runner-Up

  • pinned Joseph Smith (Moore) in 0:59
  • pinned Noah Austin (Edmond North) in 1:12
  • pinned David Washington (Allen) in 4:34
  • lost 2-0 to #1 Jaxen Gilmore (Yukon)

145 Cody Mathis (10-11) - 6th Place

  • pinned in 1:41 by Ty Lucus (Plainview)
  • pinned Hunter Walsh (Edmond North) in 0:32
  • pinned Dylan Waklee (Choctaw) in 3:55
  • pinned in 0:38 by #1 Chase Vincent (Yukon)
  • defeated 7-1 by Gabe Moreau (Westlake)

At 152 #2 Payton Scott (11-3) is also taking some time to recover before State, and the Sandite roster has less depth in the upper weights. Every tournament this season has had at least one weight class forfeited, and the team would consistently place higher were they at full strength. 

160 #4 Zane Basma (22-9) - Champion

  • pinned Leon Larkpor (Putnam City) in 0:38
  • defeated #5 Chase King (Choctaw) 7-1
  • defeated John McCabe (Allen) 5-1
  • defeated Anderson Salisbury (Westlake) 3-1

170 Bryton Beck (8-13) - DNP

  • defeated Keith Thierry (Lawton) 7-2
  • lost 8-3 to #7 Jacob Schimmels (Deer Creek)
  • majored Cameron Hanson (Moore) 12-1
  • pinned in 0:51 by Eli Paul (Plainview)

182 #3 Trace Fleischman (6-6) - DNP

  • pinned Tres Davis (Westlake) in 1:27
  • lost 7-0 to #2 Noah Hooks (Edmond North)
  • pinned #9 Jak McCall (Deer Creek) in 1:46
  • lost 3-2 to #6 Jared Kerr (Bixby)

195 Zach Sims (17-18) - 4th Place

  • majored Zane Bailey (Edmond North) 14-5
  • defeated #4 Cody Adams (Bixby) 8-4 
  • lost 3-1 to Bodie Davis (Plainview) 
  • defeated Cole Dixon (CPHS) 6-1
  • lost 3-0 to #4 Cody Adams (Bixby) 

195 Unattached Cole Dixon (3-3) - 6th Place

  • defeated Nathan Seaton (Edmond North) 10-4
  • lost to Dalton Madole (Allen) 7-4
  • pinned Bracken Campbell (Plainview) in 1:00
  • pinned Jake Johnson (Southlake Carroll) in 1:31
  • lost 6-1 to Zach Sims (CPHS) 
  • lost 8-3 to Dakota Carnes (Sapulpa) 

220 Delvin Jordan (7-4) - DNP

  • pinned Conner O'Neal (Plainview) in 0:49
  • lost 7-3 to #1 Nic Roller (Bixby)
  • pinned Colin Foster (Yukon) in 0:40
  • lost 4-2 to Tyrel Bell (Choctaw)

285 Gage Fain (7-16) - DNP

  • pinned in 3:23 by Dorian Fagan (Plainview) 
  • defeated Hunter Richard (Edmond North) 2-1
  • lost 2-1 in tie-breaker to Ashraf Mohamad (Edmond North)

#1 Undefeated Sandite wrestling breezes through Bixby, 57-15

By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief, with Morgan Miller, Staff Writer

It was a strange night for the #1 Sandite varsity wrestling team (6-0), as half of them didn't even get to touch the mat. The Bixby Spartans (0-5) forfeited the first half of the night's matches, so nobody from 106-145 got to wrestle. 

Cody Mathis (8-8) wrestled up from his normal 145 to 152 for the first time since December, taking on Gavin Staton for the first time this season. Staton took an early lead with a 2-point takedown. Mathis got the escape, then briefly took a 3-2 lead with a reversal, but Staton reversed it back for the 4-3 lead. With 12 seconds left in the second period, Mathis escaped to even things out going into the third. Staton took the down position and scored an escape leaving Mathis fighting for a takedown, but unable to find it and suffering a 5-4 decision.

At 160 it was Zane Basma (18-9) taking an early 7-0 lead over Phillip Tyree with a pair of near-falls before finally letting his opponent out to take him down for the third time, this time for good. The two had yet to meet this season, and after a 1:50 fall, Tyree is unlikely to want to encounter Basma again.  

170 Bryton Beck (6-11) got off to a hot start against Max Guyer, scoring a 2-point takedown early on. He scored an easy escape to start the second period, then got the takedown for a 5-0 lead before finally letting Guyer up just to take him down once again. Beck had a slight mishap where he struggled so hard to prevent an escape that he put himself off balance and inadvertently gave up a takedown. He quickly corrected that mistake with a reversal before letting Guyer out with a 9-4 lead. The match ended with one more takedown shortly before the buzzer and Beck broke a three-loss streak with an 11-4 decision and nearly all the riding time. 

Lane Lettich (4-4) saw action at 182 against state-placer Jared Kerr. Lettich scored first with a pair of 2-pt takedowns, each punctuated by an escape for a 4-2 lead. In the second period, however, Kerr started off with an escape and then scored a takedown, and Lettich broke free to tie things up 5-5. Both wrestlers began to tire out and big moves became few and far between. Lettich took a brief 6-5 lead to start the third. Lane tried to score a takedown with a trip, but Kerr ended up on top for the lead with 40 seconds left. With under 30 to go Lettich fought his way free and sent the match into overtime where Kerr got the takedown for sudden victory, 9-7. 

At 195 Zach Sims (14-16) rematched 2015 Regional Runner-Up Cody Adams, whom he had an 0-3 record against in previous matches. Most recently Adams defeated Sims by 7-2 decision this past weekend at the Bobby Lyons Invitational. Sims had Adams on one leg for nearly ten seconds before Adams managed to squirm out of it and take Sims down instead. Sims tied things up with a pair of escapes, but was taken down once more shortly before the end of the second period. Adams took the down position for the third period and never managed to escape, but despite riding him the entire period Sims was unable to score points and gave up a 4-2 decision. 

The Sandites forfeited 220 to allow Delvin Jordan to continue resting a tweaked ankle and wrapped up the night at 285 with Gage Fain (6-14) against Austin Hiser. Fain qualified at 220 but has been wrestling up to heavyweight for most of the season. Despite being drastically outclassed in terms of weight, he had no problem scoring a quick takedown and turning it into a pin in only 1:07.

From there Riley Weir (15-8), Michael Ritchey (12-11), Blake Sargent (22-7), Jack Karstetter (22-6), Daton Fix (27-0), Derek Davis (6-2), and Beau Bratcher (27-4) all accepted forfeits for a final score of 57-15. 

Erin Kennedy was named Homecoming Queen and was escorted by Beau Bratcher, Blake Sargent, and Marshall Tate. Other Queen candidates include: Blyte Lester escorted by Daton Fix and Sage Singleton, Shelby Tillman escorted by Jack Karstetter and Zane Basma, Madison McIntosh escorted by Payton Scott and Bryton Beck, and Chandler Lindsey escorted by Trace Fleischman and Zach Sims.

The Sandites return to action Thursday night at Putnam City. 

Beau Bratcher places first at Bobby Lyons Invitational

By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

Despite sitting out several key starters, the Charles Page High School wrestling squad was still more than capable of finishing third at their home tournament behind the #1 teams in 6A and 5A. After upsetting the #1 Broken Arrow Tigers Thursday night, the most important thing for the Sandites to do now is remain healthy for Regionals, State, and Dual State. #8 Riley Weir, John Jiminez, #2 Trace Fleischman, #7 Lane Lettich, and Delvin Jordan all set out the tournament to rest and recover, and several backups got to see their first varsity action of the season. 

(Part Four of Five...)

#2 Beau Bratcher (26-4) was the victor of 138, pinning Cascia Hall's Miles Waller in 2:37 and Ponca City's Nenebah Biggoose in 1:05. Broken Arrow's Blake Mattioda gave Bratcher the closest run for his money, only giving up a 4-1 decision, but Bratcher prevailed against both him and #4 Brody Perciful (Ponca City) in the finals with a 5-0 decision for his first championship of the season.

Gavin Garcia (0-2) made his varsity debut wrestling unattached at 145, but had to take on #8 Gabe Evans, a state qualifier from Union in the first round and was teched 16-1 in 4:58. The next battle was much closer, but Jimi Cerre of Ponca got the 5-0 decision for the win.

145 #10 Cody Mathis (8-7) had one of the highest-scoring matches of the night, running up a 17-14 decision over Barnsdall's Colten Allen, then pinned Cerre in 4:53. In the next round, however, he was defeated 5-0 by 5A State Runner-Up Justin Walker of Collinsville and bumped to the consolation bracket. Saturday morning Mathis had to take on Evans and was overcame 9-2, but he rebounded with a narrow 3-2 victory over Jacob Waits (Sperry) for a 5th Place finish. 

At 152 #2 Payton Scott (11-3) defeated Wesley Yarber (Barnsdall) 9-3 and pinned James Ott of Grapevine, TX in 1:31. Union's #5 Christian Mayhue battled valiantly before falling 5-3 to land Scott a spot in the finals against Elijah Tanner of Collinsville. Unfortunately, Scott aggravated an injury and forfeited his last match to settle for second place. Earlier this season Scott defeated Tanner 7-6 and Tanner defeated Scott 3-1 at Geary. 

See Related:

http://www.sanditepride.com/wrestling/160117sargentsstourney

http://www.sanditepride.com/wrestling/160117karstettersstourney

http://www.sanditepride.com/wrestling/160117fixsstourney

Sandite Wrestling dominates Broken Arrow to earn #1 rank in Oklahoma

By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

It was a battle of the undefeateds Thursday night at Ed Dubie Fieldhouse as the #2 Charles Page Sandites challenged the defending state champions, the #1 Broken Arrow Tigers. Both teams went into the dual 4-0 for the season.

The Sandites started off at 126 with #3 Jack Karstetter (17-6) scoring a 14-4 major decision over Brady Mattioda for a 4-0  team lead. Karstetter had multiple takedowns and a near fall, but was unable to get the pin.

At 132 Derek Davis (5-2) got off to a great start against #10 Dylan Wingo, scoring a 2-pt takedown in the first minute. Davis expanded that lead to 4-0 by the end of the first period, and rode for nearly the entire match, but was unable to score again and ended with a 4-0 decision for a 7-0 team lead.

Next up was the #1 wrestler in the state, #3 in the nation, the undefeated 2X State Champion Daton Fix (22-0) against (145 #5) Blake Mattioda. Fix exploded on to the mat with a somersault and flip to great crowd applause. In typical fashion it was cat and mouse as Fix outscored his opponent 10-4 in the first period and the only points Mattioda scored were escape points that Fix handed him. Ultimately Fix ended with a win by technical fall for a 12-0 lead.

At 145 both Beau Bratcher (22-4) and Caleb Wise wrestled up from their usual 138. Bratcher is currently ranked #3 in 138, Wise is ranked #4, and the two had met twice already this week. Bratcher defeated Wise 6-5 at the start of the Geary Invitational, then beat him 2-1 later on in the tournament. Bratcher wrestled his way up through the consolation bracket at Geary for a second place finish and is currently Sandite of the Week. This time Bratcher would edge Wise out even more for a 3-0 finish and a 15-0 Sandite lead. 

152 #3 Payton Scott (8-2) immediately made a statement with a takedown of #4 Blake Warren barely 8 seconds into the match. Warren got the escape point, however, and Scott gave him another escape to start the second period. The two were tied throughout the entire second period, but Scott scored a 2pt reversal early in the third for the 4-2 lead. With 9 seconds left Scott slammed Warren and looked like he would get a pin, but ultimately only got a 6-3 decision for an 18-0 Sandite lead.

For the third time this dual, it was the #3 wrestler in 160 versus the #4. Zane Basma (13-9), the underdog, scored a 2:32 upset pin over Brady Jones for the 24-0 lead

At 170, Gavin Potter scored the first win of the night for the Tigers over Bryton Beck (5-9). The Sandite Senior was filling in for Trace Fleischman (3-2) who is nursing an ankle injury, and battled valiantly before giving up an 11-2 major decision.

At 182 it was #6 Lane Lettich (4-3) against #1 Isaiah Page and the two had a perfect repeat of their 170 pound match at last year's dual. The Geary Champion from Broken Arrow beat Lettich 7-2 for the second year in a row, but the Sandites still led 24-7. 

195 #10 Zack Sims (11-13) had a David vs Goliath matchup against #1 State Runner-Up Skylar Haynes but managed to avoid bonus points, going down 13-6 and holding the team lead 24-10.

At 220 came standout linebacker Delvin Jordan, Jr. (5-2) against #9 Gage Kaiser. The Sandite scored first on a second period escape, and nearly got a takedown in the third but Kaiser battled it out for a match-tying escape. Jordan was outstanding, clearly wrestling through some major pain from a still-recovering leg injury. The match went into overtime and Jordan narrowly worked his way through a near-takedown and reversed it for the 3-1 sudden victory decision and a 27-10 lead.

The Sandites are lacking in the heavyweight department, and Gage Fain (3-11) has been having to wrestle up against much larger opponents such as #3 Trenton Lieurance who had more than 50 pounds on Fain and won by pin in 3:27 to keep the Tigers' hopes alive.

Circling back to the light weights, it was 106 #8 freshman Riley Weir (14-8) wrestling against junior state-placer Tyler Lawley who is ranked #5 in 113. Weir is nursing a majorly strained ligament in his arm and overcame a near fall for a pin in an inspiring match against Union Tuesday night. Weir wasn't able to pull off the win, but he battled it out to a 7-1 decision, preventing bonus points as the Sandites led 27-19.

All 113 #6 Michael Ritchey (9-9) had to do was win by simple decision to cinch the dual for the Sandites, but he made it clear he was looking for the pin, and nearly got it at the end of the first. Instead, the Junior had to settle for near-fall points and a 5-0 lead. Ultimately Ritchey would settle for the 7-0 shutout decision over Blake Gonzalez, but he had all the riding time and wrapped up the upset win for the Sandites.

The last match was merely a formality as Sand Springs already had an 11-point lead with only 6 points left, but 120 #9 Blake Sargent (17-7) went above and beyond in his battle against the #5 wrestler in 126. TaJuan Daniels is an incredible athlete, but Sargent worked it over on him for most of the regular match. Daniels wouldn't go down without a fight, however, and escaped with 10 seconds left to tie things up 2-2 and force overtime. Sargent got the 2-pt sudden victory takedown and the Sandites ended things with a 33-19 victory to unofficially claim the #1 rank in the state.

Broken Arrow won the Junior High dual 36-26. The Sandites will next see action tomorrow at the Bobby Lyons Invitational Tournament at Ed Dubie Field House.