Sandite Wrestling Wins Glenpool Warrior Classic with 4 Champions

View fullsize

The Charles Page High School wrestling team earned its first tournament title of the Ty Bowling era Saturday, crowning four champions at the 5th Annual Glenpool Warrior Classic.

The Sandites went 4-3 in the finals with Kase Skaggs, Mitchell Smith, Jaxon Trotter, and Mason Harris earning gold. No. 7 Sand Springs earned 219 team points to beat out No. 9 Owasso with 179.

“I think we finished the regular season strong,” said Bowling.

“We really wanted to go to (the Yukon tournament two weeks ago) but we were kind of beat up and we’d been going for a few weeks in a row so I felt like we needed to take that off and we really needed to get this one in right before the postseason started.”

Coincidentally, Bowling was previously the head coach at Glenpool, though this was the first time one of his teams would win the tournament

Skaggs breezed through the 106 bracket with three pins and 10-1 major decision in the finals against Owasso’s Elijah Cherry.

Smith won at 150 with five pins and a tech fall, outscoring his foes 45-8. He pinned Glenpool’s Michael Lohr in the finals and also reached a big milestone in the quarterfinals when he pinned Glenpool freshman Kevin Gruse for his 100th career victory.

“I watched all these other guys grow up and do it so it feels nice,” said Smith.

The senior has been battling a knee injury since the Jenks tournament but doesn’t see that slowing him down in the postseason.

“I’m feeling good, healthier, a lot better now. I’m excited about that too.”

Trotter didn’t give up a single point till the 157-pound finals, where he earned a 5-3 decision over Sapulpa’s Blake Hurt.

Harris was equally dominant at heavyweight, only giving up one point in the whole tournament before winning a 6-0 decision against Enid’s Seth Melvin.

David Ritchey, Jayden Pait, and Ethan White finished as runners-up. Colt Hood, Ali McCoy, and Connor Diaz placed fourth. Landon Castro and Jaden Allen placed fifth. Luke McGehee placed sixth.

The Sandites were also missing several starters in Hudson Sheppard, Zander Grigsby, Jesse Moore, and Matthew Moore, making the team title even more remarkable.

“The ones we brought, they were the ones who stepped up and wrestled hard,” said Bowling.

“Coach (Earl) Shockley does a good job of setting up JV duals and JV tournaments, so those guys are constantly wrestling. It’s a next-man-up mentality.”

Smith says the team spirits are high and feels confident going into Dual State and Regionals.

“We’re a lot happier than we have been in the past, more of a team than anything else.”

“He’s a great team leader,” Bowling said of Smith. “How he goes, that’s how the rest of the team’s gonna go. He sets the tone for us. He’s the leader in the room and out of the room so he’s a good one to have.”

Junior High

The Sand Springs boys placed seventh at the Junior High Allstate Tournament in Oklahoma City.

Ryley Kester and Kaden Pope placed third, Isaac Sensintaffar placed fourth, and Jaxon Grigsby and Kasen McAffrey placed sixth.

For the girls: Rylee Allen placed fourth and Stefanie Ortiz placed sixth.

Sandites Win Highway 97 Rivalry 51-20 Against Sapulpa

The Sand Springs boys wrestling team is right where it wants to be heading into Christmas break.

The No. 8 Sandites are 3-0 in duals following a 51-20 victory against 5A No. 10 Sapulpa (1-2) Tuesday night at the Ed Dubie Field House.

Sand Springs won nine out of fourteen matches with six pins in its seventh-straight Highway 97 Rivalry win.

“Anytime you can beat your rivals it’s a good evening,” said first-year head coach Ty Bowling.

“Good start to December for us so far. We’re not in February yet so we’ve got plenty of time to get better and keep getting better every single week.”

Sapulpa won the opening match with a 3-0 decision by Christian Cue over Dawson Briscoe, but a forfeit at 113 put the Sandites ahead for the remainder of the evening.

Colt Hood pinned Jackson Mills in 28 seconds and Brady Moore won a 7-0 decision against Jackson Willingham before the Chieftains won their next match.

Kyle Brooks eked out a back-and-forth 6-4 decision over Preston Reyna, but the Sandites responded with three more bonus point wins

Jayden Pait and Jesse Moore pinned their opponents and Mitchell Smith received a forfeit to make it 33-6.

Blake Hurt won an 8-7 upset against Jaxon Trotter at 157 pounds, but Ethan White answered with a 32-second pin of Trey Henderson to clinch the dual for Sand Springs.

“It’s Ethan’s senior year,” said Bowling. “We’re working real hard to get him to the state tournament this year, hopefully to the podium.”

“He’s been putting in extra work and that’s his goal this year is to get to the state tournament and make a little noise there.”

Sapulpa won at 190 and 215, but Hudson Sheppard pinned Mason Williams in 38 seconds and Mason Harris pinned Taylor Anderson in 29 seconds to wrap up the evening.

“This year we’re working on our toughness and I think every single week we’ve gotten a little bit tougher,” said Bowling.

“We had two duals a couple of weeks ago then we rolled into a long two-day tournament. We dealt with sickness and soreness and getting our weight down, but we battled through things and each week we’re getting tougher and tougher and that’s kind of our theme for this year.”

Prior to the boys dual, Ty Davis pinned Elizabeth Corveler in a girls exhibition match.

The Sandites will return to action December 29th at the Diamond State Duals in Springdale, Arkansas.

Sandite Wrestling places second at Cabot tournament, beat Sapulpa in dual

Mitchell Smith looks for an opening against his opponent at Meet the Sandites. Smith was named the Outstanding Wrestler at the Cabot “Drop the Hammer” Tournament. Photo by Scott Emigh.

This story was originally written for the Sand Springs Leader.

The Charles Page High School wrestling team (1-0) is off to a hot start on the season, topping 5A No. 4 Sapulpa 37-23 in a Highway 97 Rivalry dual. 

The Sandites won eight out of the fourteen matches, collecting four pins in their fifth consecutive win against the Chieftains. 

Sapulpa, fresh off a tournament win at Bristow, took an early lead before Sammy Naugle pinned Parker Lecoq at 138 to put the Sandites up 13-12. Lecoq had scored two takedowns and a set of nearfall points against Naugle before the Sandite made a second-period comeback.

Mitchell Smith followed it up with a pin of Blake Hurt, and Ethan Norton pinned Hugh Primeau to turn the tide in the Sandites’ favor. 

The two teams traded blows till 195 when Brooks Dudley clinched the dual with a pin of Jackson Deerman to make it 34-20. 

Zander Grigsby recorded a major decision for the Sandites, and Jayden Pait, Ethan White, and Marcus Sims all won decisions. 

The junior high team pitched a shutout against the Chieftains with a 75-0 victory.

The Sandites traveled to Cabot, Arkansas over the weekend and placed second at the Bring the Hammer tournament with two champions in Grigsby and Smith.

Grigsby won the 120-pound bracket with three pins, a technical fall, and two major decisions to remain undefeated on the season.

Smith won at 145 pounds with seven pins and was named the Outstanding Wrestler of the tournament. 

Pait, Norton, David Ritchey, Cash Lucas, and Carter Goodman placed third. Jaxon “Scout” Trotter placed fourth, James Robey placed seventh, Colt Hood and Jesse Moore placed ninth. Dylan Quinton and Drake Fain placed tenth, Ethan White placed eleventh, and Slaytor Ferrell placed twelfth. 

The Sandites were only 17 points behind Keller Timber Creek, despite being short handed without Blake Jones, Brooks Dudley, and Mason Harris. Dudley and Harris are expected to return after Christmas Break, but Jones may miss the season due to a football injury. 

Sand Springs will return to action January 4th with a dual at Jenks (0-2).