Sandite of the Week: Carter Young places second at National Championship

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Incoming Sand Springs freshman Carter Young (32-5) was selected as our Sandite of the Week for his outstanding performance at the USA Wrestling Cadet Freestyle National Championship.

Click here to view previous Sandites of the Week.

Held in Fargo, North Dakota, the USAW Nationals are one of the biggest events of the year for the wrestling community.

Young was the defending three-time USAW Champion with tournament wins in Novice and Schoolboy. This was his first year at the Cadet age division.

Last year Young defended his title without giving up a single point, winning all of his matches by 10-0 technical fall. It looked like he might repeat the feat this year. 

Competing at 94 pounds, Young won his first four matches 10-0. He defeated Ethan Ferris in 27 seconds, Utah State Champion Austin Bush in fifty seconds, Nebraska State Champion Dyson Kunz in sixty seconds, and USAW Folkstyle National Runner-Up Kase Mauger in forty seconds without giving up a single point. 

He finally found a competitor in New York State Runner-Up Jordan Titus, but never trailed in points and rolled to a 17-7 victory in 4:15. The winning streak finally came to an end in the finals as he took on Colorado State Champion Jett Strickenberger. After giving up an 8-0 advantage to Strickengerger in the first round, Young scored four in the second period. Strickenberger tacked on the final two points and held on for the 10-4 decision. 

Oklahoma tied with Georgia for 11th out of 46 states. Young was the highest-placing member of the Oklahoma Cadet squad.

Full Team Oklahoma results:

  • 88 lbs - Luke Ahrberg - Did Not Place (0-2)
  • 94 lbs - Jason Gilbert - DNP (2-2)
  • 94 lbs - Cooper Mahaffey - DNP (1-2)
  • 100 lbs - Eli Griffin - DNP (4-2)
  • 100 lbs - Dayton Cary - DNP (0-2)
  • 106 lbs - Braeden Williams - DNP (2-2)
  • 113 lbs - Alexander Prince - DNP (1-2)
  • 113 lbs - Jaxon Randall - DNP (3-2)
  • 113 lbs - Corwin Strachan - DNP (0-2)
  • 113 lbs - TJ Long - DNP (0-2)
  • 120 lbs - Cameron Picklo - DNP (0-2)
  • 120 lbs - Ryder Ramsey - DNP (3-2)
  • 120 lbs - Reece Witcraft - DNP (4-2)
  • 120 lbs - Caleb Tanner - 4th Place (7-2)
  • 126 lbs - Laif Jones - DNP (2-2)
  • 126 lbs - Brayden Strachan - DNP (1-2)
  • 132 lbs - Timothy Trigg - DNP (2-2)
  • 132 lbs - Blake Gonzalez - DNP (2-2)
  • 132 lbs - Blake Salt - DNP (0-2)
  • 132 lbs - Spencer Schickram - DNP (3-2)
  • 138 lbs - Dillon Berry - DNP (1-2)
  • 138 lbs - Blake Ramos - DNP (1-2)
  • 138 lbs - Kobi Gomez - DNP (1-2)
  • 145 lbs - Cole Thomas - DNP (0-2)
  • 145 lbs - Wyatt Berry - DNP (0-2)
  • 152 lbs - Micah Lugafet - DNP (3-2)
  • 152 lbs - Jacob Law - DNP (1-2)
  • 152 lbs - Kyle Knowles - DNP (2-2)
  • 160 lbs - Colby Simpson - DNP (1-2)
  • 160 lbs - Gage Hockett - DNP (4-2)
  • 170 lbs - Cade Cook - DNP (2-2)
  • 170 lbs - Talon Borror - Fifth Place (5-2)
  • 182 lbs - Matthew Santos - DNP (2-2)
  • 182 lbs - Grant Baber - DNP (0-2)
  • 195 lbs - Konner Doucet - Sixth Place (4-3)
  • 195 lbs - John Wiese - DNP (1-2)
  • 195 lbs - Garrick Johnson - DNP (0-2)
  • 195 lbs - Taylor Fleming - DNP (2-2)
  • 220 lbs - Joshua Heindselman - DNP (2-2)
  • 220 lbs - Micah Walker - DNP (3-2)
  • 220 lbs - Cabe Dickerson - DNP (4-2)
  • 285 lbs - Carson Wiley - DNP (0-2)
  • 285 lbs - Trenton Keith - DNP (0-2)
  • 285 lbs - Ashton Aldridge - DNP (0-2)

Sandite of the Week Carter Young goes 11-3 at Dual Nationals

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Incoming Sand Springs freshman Carter Young (27-4 FS, 22-1 GR) was selected as Sandite of the Week for his last week's performance on the Oklahoma Cadet Dual Team in York, Pennsylvania. 

Young, a two-style Schoolboy All-American, made his debut on the Cadet Dual Team and went a combined 11-3 between Freestyle and Greco Roman.

The Oklahoma Outlaws placed seventh in Greco-Roman and fifth in Freestyle.

Some of Young's most impressive wins were against two-style Georgia Champion Tucker Kinsaul, Michigan Freestyle Champion and U.S. Open Runner-Up Sam Freeman, three-style Minnesota Runner-Up Cael Swensen, Junior High Ohio Champion Dustin Norris, and Missouri Champion Korbin Shepherd.

Young was the youngest Sandite of the Week recipient ever when he competed at the Schoolboy Pan American Championship in Colombia last October. He took Gold in Freestyle, Silver in Greco-Roman, and was named the Outstanding Wrestler of the tournament. 

Click here to view previous Sandites of the Week.

Oklahoma Cadet Dual Team places fifth at Freestyle Nationals

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The Oklahoma Cadet Dual Team finished fifth in the nation in freestyle and seventh in Greco-Roman this weekend in York, Pennsylvania. Incoming Sand Springs freshman Carter Young (27-4 FS, 22-1 GR) represented the Sandites in both styles and finished with a winning record.

SEE RELATED: Oklahoma Dual Team places 7th at Greco-Roman Nationals

Oklahoma got off to a good start in freestyle with a 54-27 win over New Jersey Blue, aided by a 15-4 tech fall from Young over Thomas Fischer. Next to fall was Minnesota Storm Team 2 by a dominating score of 57-18. Young handed three-style State Runner-Up Cael Swensen a 10-0 tech.

Young won his third match 10-0 against Junior High State Champion Dustin Norris, but it wasn’t enough to propel his team past Ohio Red, and the Okies fell 42-32 in the D-Pool finals.

Oklahoma lost their next two duals as well, falling 41-31 to Pennsylvania Red and 60-18 to Minnesota Storm. Young topped Chris Kim 16-6, but fell 17-6 to Minnesota Junior State Champion Paxon Creese.

The Okies finished strong, however, with a pair of close wins. They defeated Missouri Red 45-31 and edged out Washington 39-35 in the fifth-place match. Young won a close 14-13 decision over Missouri State Champion Korbin Shepherd but fell 5-2 to Washington State Champion Yusief Lillie.

Oklahoma went 4-3 in both styles, while Young went 6-1 in Greco and 5-2 in freestyle.

Their fifth-place finish in freestyle was a big improvement over a tenth-place finish in 2016 and is their best result since taking fourth in 2014.

Beginning Wednesday at the Cox Business Center, Tulsa will host the Junior Dual Nationals. Team Oklahoma will feature a star-studded cast of Sandites. Charles Page High School Assistant Coach Derek Fix will also serve as an assistant coach on the Junior Team.

Oklahoma previously placed seventh in freestyle and fifth in Greco Roman last year.  

Oklahoma Dual Team places 7th at Greco-Roman Nationals

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Incoming Charles Page High School freshman Carter Young (22-2 FS, 21-1 GR) competed on Team Oklahoma at the 2017 USA Wrestling Greco-Roman Cadet National Duals this week in York, Pennsylvania and was only one win shy of attaining All-American status.

While the team as a whole went 4-3 for seventh place in the nation, Young went 6-1 for the second-best record on Team Oklahoma. Young’s six wins were the most of any wrestler on the team, and Reece Witcraft was the only Okie to go undefeated at 4-0. Micah Lugafet (0-1), Gage Hockett (3-1), Talon Borror (4-1), Cabe Dickerson (5-1), and Josh Heindselman (4-1) were the other one-loss members of Team Oklahoma.

Twenty-four states participated in the National Championship with thirty total teams. Minnesota defended their National Championship from last year with a close 40-38 finals victory over Illinois, who placed third last year, but won it in 2015. Oklahoma slipped two spots from their previous performance when they placed fifth in 2016, but still made it to the Gold Pool for the second year in a row.

To qualify for the Cadet Dual Teams, wrestlers must be born in either 2001 or 2002. Selections are then based upon five levels of qualification. Young qualified as an Oklahoma USAW Freestyle State Champion and returning Dual Team member. He was a two-style All-American at the Schoolboy classification after going undefeated in last year’s Dual Nationals.

Oklahoma got off to a great start Thursday, going undefeated in the D Pool. They dominated Virginia 63-18 and Georgia Red 63-19, then topped Michigan Red 42-32 to earn their way to the Gold Pool on Friday.

On day one, Young defeated Georgia two-style State Champion Tucker Kinsaul via 12-0 technical fall, then topped Michigan Freestyle State Champion and U.S. Open Runner-Up Sam Freeman 12-2.

Day two was far tougher, however, as the Okies lost their opening dual 45-28 to Iowa Gold, who would go on to finish fourth. Young suffered his first defeat of the year to Cullan Schriever, an undefeated freshman State Champion from Mason City, who won the USAW National Titles in all three styles last year.

Oklahoma lost their next two duals as well, 41-33 to Ohio, who would place fifth, and 52-24 to Illinois.

Young rebounded from his loss and finished the day with three-straight wins, all by tech fall, and Oklahoma won a rematch with Michigan Red for seventh place.

The Cadet teams will return to action Friday for the Freestyle tournament. The event is being held at Memorial Hall on the York County Fairgrounds.

Illinois has won four-straight National Titles in freestyle and has made the finals every year since 2009. Team Oklahoma placed tenth last year and hasn’t won a Cadet Freestyle Title since 2008 when they defeated Pennsylvania 35-33.