Oklahoma dominates Georgia 68-2 in Dual Nationals round one

/

By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

Team Oklahoma got off to a fast start against Team Georgia Blue in the first round of the Junior Greco-Roman Dual Nationals Wednesday morning, building up a massive lead before the wrestling even started.

Jet Taylor, Jacob Butler, and Jaxen Gilmore received forfeits for 126 to 138. Tuttle's Brik Filippo wasted no time in putting points on the board with a 10-0 tech fall over Khyree Alexander, then Sand Springs's Payton Scott took down Dustin Berry 10-0 in thirty seconds flat. Ezequiel Rubio pinned Cole White in a quick twenty then Nick Mahan teched Chandler Miele 13-2.

Bear Hughes continued the winning streak with an 11-0 tech over Devyn Villafane. Zach Marcheselli received a forfeit, Tanner Hawkins picked up a 16-6 tech fall over Richard Walker, then Trenton Lieutance, Alex Fields, and Wyatt Adams all received forfeits.  Alec McDoulett teched Brandon Foster 11-0 and Westmoore's Dalton Duffield wrapped things up with a 12-0 tech of Alex Cain for a final score of 68-2 with no matches lost.

Up next for Oklahoma is Team Pennsylvania who solidly defeated Team Kansas Red 49-12 in round one. 

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

/
image.jpg

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.  

Sandite Blake Sargent wins Regional Championship, headed to State

/

Blake Sargent works on a takedown against TaJuan Daniels.

Story and photo by: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

Charles Page High School sophomore Blake Sargent (36-11) won his first Regional Championship by a single point, earning the #3 ranking in 6A. In the first round he pinned Garett Koss (Owasso) in 0:46, then defeated Grant Fox (Jenks) 3-2. Next to go down was #5 Justin Gundlach (Moore) by 6-3 decision, and Sargent was pitted against #4 TaJuan Daniels for the third time this season.

It's tough to beat an incredible wrestler three times in a season, especially one so close to you in talent. In the Broken Arrow dual the two ended the third period tied 2-2 and Sargent narrowly got the win with a sudden victory takedown. They next met at the Sand Springs Invitational in the finals round where it came down to a 3-2 decision for the Championship. Once more the crucial matchup was decided by a single point as the Sandite won his second tournament of the season with a 1-0 decision.

Sargent got to see a fair bit of action his freshman year, placing 3rd at both the Perry Tournament of Champions and the Jay Hancock Memorial Invitational. This year he repeated his 3rd place finish at Perry, came in 9th at the Kansas City Stampede, and finished 5th at Yukon.

This year he went undefeated in regular season duals before finally falling 9-8 to Wesley Hardin (30-11) during the Dual State Quarterfinals against Westmoore, then getting majored 10-1 by Garrett Rowe (37-5) during the Championship dual against Choctaw. He also gave up a 12-3 major to Rowe at Perry. Hardin will be wrestling at 113 at State. 

Rowe is the #1 seed in 120 going into State and is the biggest obstacle in Sargent's path. The two are on opposite sides of the bracket, though, and first Sargent must overcome #8 Zackery Bibb (23-5) of Capitol Hill in the opening round. This will be the first time the two have met. Bibb was last year's 5A State Runner-Up whose only losses were to the State Champ.

From there he will either get a rematch against Gundlach, or meet #2 Tanner Cole (34-1) of Deer Creek for the first time this season. That match will be every bit as difficult as Rowe. Cole was undefeated in the season till he met Rowe in the West Regional finals and was pinned. He also pulled off a one-loss season last year en route to a 5A State Championship title. Cole and Sargent have met once before, at the OK USA Freestyle State Tournament last May. Cole walked away with a 10-0 major decision that time. 

Other opponents that the Sandite could encounter include #7 Cordney Chairs (17-17) of Union, #6 Josh Suter (28-8) of Norman, and #4 TaJuan Daniels (24-11) of Broken Arrow. 

Sargent has yet to encounter Suter, but he has 3-0 records against both Daniels and Chairs. His most recent matchup with Chairs wasn't even close as he recorded an 11-0 major decision at Dual State. He also posted a 7-1 regular season dual victory, and defeated him at the Sand Springs Invitational semifinals. That one was a lot closer however, at 1-0.

Sandite Freshman Riley Weir headed to State Championship

/

Sandite freshman Riley Weir puts up a fight against Choctaw's Colt Newton

Story and photo by: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

Charles Page High School freshman Riley Weir (21-10) came in Third Place at the 6A East Regional Tournament at Broken Arrow Saturday night, pinning Dominic Fitzpatrick (Moore) in 0:52 in the first round, but falling 11-2 to #4 Brandon Blose (Sapulpa) in round two. In the consolation bracket he pinned Brady Bristow (Ponca City) in 1:53, then defeated #9 Cameron Picklo (Mustang) by 6-3 decision.

Weir has been a force to be reckoned with all season since he inherited the varsity 106 spot from Cody Randall who graduated last year. He made his debut in the Owasso dual where he recorded a 10-0 major decision over Eric Merida.

Since then he's ran up an 8-2 dual record and a 13-8 tournament record against some of the toughest opponents in the state. He placed 4th at the Perry Tournament of Champions and 9th at the prestigious Kansas City Stampede and won a crucial major decision during the Dual State Quarterfinal dual against Westmoore. Oklahoma Wrestling currently has him ranked 7th in 6A.

Weir drew a tough opponent for the first round of State. Friday morning he'll have to take on fellow freshman #3 Colt Newton (39-3) of Choctaw. Newton dealt Weir a 3:19 pin at the Perry tournament, a 1:12 pin at the Geary Invitational, and a 0:55 pin at the Dual State Finals.

After Newton, he'll have to take on either #1 Mason Naifeh (26-4) of Union, or #6 Braden Fowler (23-11) of Yukon. Naifeh and Fowler have spent much of the season wrestling at 113 so the Sandite has yet to meet either of them. 

In fact, of his seven potential opponents, he's only met three thus far. He hasn't met #2 Canon Randall (28-4) or #4 Jakob Houston (36-4) either. #5 Brandon Blose (22-4) of Sapulpa defeated Weir 11-2 in the first round of Regionals, then Weir defeated #8 Cameron Picklo (25-8) of Mustang by 6-3 decision. 

Despite the toughness of his class, only a fool would count the freshman out. He's more than proven his ability to overcome the odds, most notably when he was injured at Geary and came from behind to pin Union's Caron Watson in a dual later that week with his arm in a brace. He's spent the last half of the season wrestling with his injury, demonstrating the severe toughness and dedication that only a homegrown Sandite can display. 

State Championship: Choctaw leads Sandites 24-6 with 6 matches left

/

By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

#3 Zane Basma (29-10) kicked things off at160 with a takedown of #4 Chase King but King escaped for a takedown of his own that added nearfall points before Basma managed to escape. King started the second period on bottom and escaped quickly for a 6-3 advantage. Basma did the same to start the third 6-4 and both battled back and forth before King got a takedown with near-fall points and pushed the match to 12-6 decision.

Choctaw rode a 3-0 lead into the 170 that saw #4 Trace Fleischman (6-2) against #9 Kalob Blackwell. The two were fairly evenly matched for most of the first, but Fleischman scored a takedown with 19 seconds left and maintained control into the second where he started on bottom and scored a quick escape. The Sandite added another takedown midway through the period and cut his opponent loose for a 5-1 advantage. Blackwell added another escape to start the third and nearly got a takedown but lost control on the way down and Fleischman rolled back to his feet. Blackwell did get his first takedown with 11 seconds left, but cut the Sandite loose and he fended off the rally to tie the match up with a 6-4 decision. 

#4 Lane Lettich (12-8) represented the Sandites at 182 against Choctaw's #2 Easton Rendleman in the closest match thus far. Rendleman scored first with an escape to start the second, followed by Lettich to start the third and they were tied 1-1 till Rendleman got a takedown with 45 seconds left in the third. Lettich got the escape but was unable to chase down the Yellowjacket and went down 3-2.

195 #9 Zach Sims (22-20) walked all over Caulin Poole for the first two periods before running out of steam in the third. He took a 2-0 lead into the second, a 7-1 into the third, and finishing up 7-3 with three takedowns and an escape. 

The back and forth affair continued at 220 as Choctaw's Tyrel Bell upset Delvin Jordan (14-5) by way of narrow 3-2 decision. 

At Heavyweight it was Zach Austin with the 2:19 pin over Gage Fain (11-19) and Colt Newton with the 0:55 pin of Riley Weir (18-9) at 106 for a Yellowjacket lead of 21-6. 

Choctaw won their fourth straight in Conner Holman over Michael Ritchey by 6-4 decision.

State Championship: Sandites and Yellowjackets tied 6-6 after four matches

/

By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

#3 Zane Basma (29-10) kicked things off at 160 with a takedown of #4 Chase King but King escaped for a takedown of his own that added nearfall points before Basma managed to escape. King started the second period on bottom and escaped quickly for a 6-3 advantage. Basma did the same to start the third 6-4 and both battled back and forth before King got a takedown with near-fall points and pushed the match to 12-6 decision.

Choctaw rode a 3-0 lead into the 170 that saw #4 Trace Fleischman (6-2) against #9 Kalob Blackwell. The two were fairly evenly matched for most of the first, but Fleischman scored a takedown with 19 seconds left and maintained control into the second where he started on bottom and scored a quick escape. The Sandite added another takedown midway through the period and cut his opponent loose for a 5-1 advantage. Blackwell added another escape to start the third and nearly got a takedown but lost control on the way down and Fleischman rolled back to his feet. Blackwell did get his first takedown with 11 seconds left, but cut the Sandite loose and he fended off the rally to tie the match up with a 6-4 decision. 

#4 Lane Lettich (12-8) represented the Sandites at 182 against Choctaw's #2 Easton Rendleman in the closest match thus far. Rendleman scored first with an escape to start the second, followed by Lettich to start the third and they were tied 1-1 till Rendleman got a takedown with 45 seconds left in the third. Lettich got the escape but was unable to chase down the Yellowjacket and went down 3-2.

195 Zach Sims walked all over Caulin Poole for the first two periods before running out of steam in the third. He took a 2-0 lead into the second, a 7-1 into the third, and finishing up 7-3 with three takedowns and an escape.