The top-ranked Charles Page High School wrestling team won their second-straight 6A-East Regional Championship Saturday evening at the Ed Dubie Field House, qualifying eleven wrestlers for State. This is their third tournament win this season.
The Sandites had a great start to the Regional Friday, sending nine wrestlers to the finals—one more than the previous year. They had a rough time Saturday, however, losing several toss-up matches and crowning only four champions compared to the seven they had last year. Last year they sent only eight wrestlers to State and took third place as a team, so with eleven qualifiers this year they’re in good shape to make a run at their first State Championship since 1971.
The OSSAA State Tournament will held next weekend at the Oklahoma State Fairgrounds in Oklahoma City. The first rounds will be wrestled Friday at 10:30 a.m., followed by the semifinals and first round of consolations at 5:00 p.m. The consolation semifinals will be Saturday at 10:30 a.m., followed by consolation finals at 12:45 p.m. and finals at 5:45 p.m.
Sophomore Riley Weir (38-6 season, 59-18 career) qualified for State for the second-straight year, winning his bracket at Regionals with four-straight pins. He recorded the fastest pin of his career against Capitol Hill’s Chrisma Collins in only twelve seconds, the pinned Stillwater’s Henry Warren and Broken Arrow’s Jackson Cockrell. In the finals he was pitted against Union sophomore TJ Long. Long was briefly featured in FloWrestling’s top-twenty national rankings earlier this season after winning the Geary Invitational, but the Sandite had little difficulty in securing his nineteenth pin of the season in 4:33. Weir placed third at last year’s Regional but didn’t place at State.
Oklahoma State University-signed senior Daton Fix (44-0, 162-0) had zero difficulty in securing his fourth-straight Regional Championship. He continued his undefeated career with two falls and two technical falls. He pinned Stillwater’s John Ritchey in 2:14 then worked up a 22-7 tech fall against Southmoore’s Joe Reynolds in 2:38. In the semifinals he pinned Owasso’s two-time State Qualifier Baylor Smith in 3:46, then scored another 22-7 tech fall against two-time State Qualifier Sam Avant of Norman North in 3:53. Fix is aiming to be the first four-time State Champion in Sand Springs history.
Senior Jack Karstetter (29-1, 102-16) won his third-straight Regional Championship, qualifying for State for the third time. He pinned Norman North Conner Mares-Ballard in the quarterfinal, then served up an 11-3 major decision against Ponca City senior Dawson Hunt. In the finals he was pitted against three-time State Qualifier Tyler Dieringer of Stillwater. The two were equally matched throughout and neither was able to score a takedown. After neither took a lead through the sudden victory round or the tie breaker period, Karstetter won with an escape in the first ultimate tie-breaker period. He failed to place at State as a sophomore, but came in Runner-Up last year.
Senior Delvin Jordan (42-2, 73-14) won his second-straight Regional Championship, qualifying for State for the third time. He breezed through his first three foes, pinning Booker T. Washington’s Cameron Douglass in 1:22, Enid’s Brock Anderson in 0:42, and Ponca City’s Austin Fry in 2:34. In the finals he took on defending State Champion Skyler Haynes, of Broken Arrow, and prevailed 3-2 in tie-breaker overtime. He was a Regional Runner-Up as a freshman, but didn’t place at State. He missed most of his sophomore year with an injury. Last year he won the Regional Championship by pinning the defending State Champion from Bixby, but was unable to compete at State.
Senior Tanner Ward (32-10, 108-22) qualified for State for the fourth-straight year, coming in Runner-Up at Regionals. He pinned Jenks’s Jared Miller in 1:52 in the quarterfinals and Norman North’s Yves Worou in the semis before falling 11-8 to three-time State Qualifier Brandon Blose, of Sapulpa. A transfer from Berryhill, Ward placed third at 3A State as a freshman and was a State Runner-Up the past two years.
Senior Michael Ritchey (35-10, 64-34) qualified for State for the second-straight year, coming in Runner-Up at Regionals. He pinned Bixby’s Ainslie Lane and Enid’s Hunter McGee in the first two rounds, then prevailed 5-1 over Laif Jones of Bartlesville in the semifinals. In the final round he was pitted against Broken Arrow two-time State Qualifier Tyler Lawley in a rematch of their Dual State bout. The two were perfectly matched throughout and finished the third period without a single point scored. They went through the sudden victory round still neutral, but Lawley got the upper hand in the first tie-breaker period and prevailed by 2-0 decision. Ritchey won Regionals last year but didn’t place at State.
Senior Beau Bratcher (43-6, 134-29) qualified for State for the fourth-straight year, coming in Runner-Up at Regionals. He pinned Bartlesville senior Jeremy Wingate in 0:33 and Sapulpa sophomore Colton Konell in 1:32, then topped Broken Arrow freshman Brady Mattioda 8-1. In the finals he was pitted against three-time State Qualifier and former Louisiana State Champion Kendon Lee of Stillwater. Neither scored a takedown in regulation, but Lee got the upper hand in sudden victory overtime and prevailed 3-1. Bratcher placed third at Regionals as a freshman and took first place the past two years. He failed to place at State the first two years, but was last year’s Runner-Up.
Junior Payton Scott (38-2, 59-10) qualified for State for the second-straight year, coming in Runner-Up at Regionals. He pinned Stillwater’s Parker Nicholas in 0:33, Jenks’s Colt Freeman in 0:55, and Owasso’s Richie Lee in 0:56. In the finals he was pitted against Ezequiel Rubio of Ponca City, but was upset 7-5 in sudden victory overtime. Scott won Regionals as a sophomore and placed fourth at State.
Senior Zane Basma (26-3, 88-28) qualified for State for the third-straight year, coming in Runner-Up at Regionals. He made quick work of his first three opponents, pinning Bixby’s Christian Shubert in 0:49, Owasso’s Brandon Dugan in 1:38, and Union’s Darius Boone in 1:51. In the finals he took on defending State Champion Christian Bahl, of Stillwater. The Pioneer got the upper hand with a 3-0 decision. Basma also placed second at last year’s Regional and placed third at State.
Junior Blake Sargent (37-9, 89-23) qualified for State for the second-straight year, placing third at Regionals. He won his first two matches by fall, pinning Enid’s Logan Herell in 1:23 and Booker T. Washington’s Elijah Harrigan in 1:19, before falling 3-1 in sudden victory overtime to Bixby’s two-time State Qualifier Easton Hudson. In the consolations he defeated Owasso senior Wyatt Johnson by 4-3 decision, then topped Broken Arrow sophomore Blake Gonzalez 7-3. Last year he won his bracket at Regionals and placed third at State.
Sophomore Noah Almy (24-18) qualified for State for the first time, placing fourth at Regionals. He won his first two matches by fall, pinning Bixby’s Owen DeWoody in 0:38 and Bartlesville’s Austin Manley in 2:40. In the quarterfinals he was forced to forfeit to Broken Arrow’s Caleb Wise with a minor injury, but he came back on day two and topped Owasso junior Nolan Miller 12-10 in sudden victory overtime to make the consolation finals. Already guaranteed a spot at State, he forfeited his final match against Stillwater’s Connor Wilcoxen to avoid aggravating his injury.
Sophomore Luke Bratcher (5-4) won his first match by fall, taking down Jenks’s Naimul Islam in 1:49, but suffered a concussion against Broken Arrow’s Gavin Potter and forfeited his remaining match.
Junior Kris Edwards (5-6) fell to Muskogee’s Jacob Wood in 3:57 in his first round match, but rebounded with a pin of Southmoore’s Jose Ruiz in 1:50. He lost his third match in a close 4-3 decision to Sam Smith of Stillwater.
Junior Gage Fain (26-15, 39-37) went the distance in both of his matches, falling 8-6 to Southmoore’s Jordan Reel in sudden victory overtime, and 4-3 to Stillwater’s Aaron Veselak in the tie-breaker period.
