Sand Springs sends four to USAW National Championship, Riley Weir places fourth in Freestyle

By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

Two Sandites competed at the 2016 USAW Junior Men's Greco-Roman Nationals in Fargo, North Dakota this past week. Charles Page High School senior Jack Karstetter placed eighth in the tournament. Class of 2016 graduate Sage Singleton also competed, but didn't place.

Karstetter and Singleton were joined by Sophomore Riley Weir and Senior Michael Ritchey for the Freestyle competition.

The USA Wrestling event is considered by many to be the most prestigious national tournament a Cadet or Junior-aged wrestler can compete in. 

Karstetter rode an impressive wave of victories into the event. In February he came in Runner-Up at the Oklahoma High School State Championship, then came in Runner-Up at the United World of Wrestling Cadet Greco Nationals in June. Earlier this month he competed at the Cadet Pan-American Championship in Lima, Peru and took Silver.

At Fargo Karstetter stepped up to a higher age-division and competed at the Junior level in the 126 pounds bracket.

The Sandite got off to a great start with back-to-back 10-0 technical falls. The first opponent to fall was two-time Arizona State-Placer Tanner Borneman, followed by Kyle Clough of Illinois. He had a tough quarterfinal matchup in former Flonationals Champion Cole Manley, but prevailed with a 6-2 decision over the Pennsylvanian. 

Karstetter finally met his match in the semifinals against West Virginia University freshman Matthew Schmitt. The two-time Fargo Runner-Up and three-time Missouri State Champion defeated the Sandite by decision and went on to win the tournament. 

Moving to the consolation quarterfinals, Karstetter won a close 10-9 decision over three-time Montana State Champion Clayton Currier. From there he was defeated 7-1 by UWW National Champion Paul Bianchi and 12-8 by four-time Kansas State Qualifier Taylor Jokerst, but secured eighth place and All-American status for the second year in a row. 

Singleton competed at 120 pounds and was eliminated after two matches. In the first round he was pinned in 0:34 by former Fargo Runner-Up Brandon Meikel of Utah. In the consolations he was teched 10-0 by Marquel Parks of Washington. The winner of the 120 bracket was fellow Oklahoma Dalton Duffield of Westmoore High School.

Weir made an impressive return to action in the Freestyle competition.

The State Qualifier has been recovering from an elbow injury since February but you wouldn’t know it based on his performance at the prestigious tournament. Weir made a brief appearance at the Junior National Duals in Tulsa last month, but only wrestled three matches.

He kicked off the contest with a 10-0 tech fall over Luc Valdez of Illinois and followed it up with a 16-6 tech over Arkansas State Champion Christopher Whisenant.

In the quarterfinals Weir fell 14-4 to Northern Plains Champion Matthew Petersen, but worked his way up through the consolation bracket with three straight wins.

Texas’s Chris Thomas fell 14-2, Illinois Freestyle State Champion Anthony King fell 10-0, and New York Freestyle State Champion Brandon Nunez lost by an ultimate tie breaker. The winning streak finally came to an end with a 17-5 loss to UWW Cadet National Runner-Up Cevion Severado.

Karstetter got off to a great start with four straight victories before being eliminated with back-to-back losses. He scored tech falls of 10-0 and 12-2 over Hawaii’s Ryan Wahl and North Carolina Freestyle State Champion Caleb Kreitter, respectively. He picked up a high quality win with a 5-4 decision over three-time Kansas State Finalist Corbin Nirschl, and followed it up with a 12-10 decision over Colorado’s Zeke Alirez.

Karstetter finally met his match in nationally-ranked No. 20 Zachary Sherman of New Jersey in an 11-6 decision. Once again he was pitted against Schmitt and WVU wrestler prevailed again, 10-0.

Ritchey won his first match 10-0 over Utah’s Kaden Love but fell in his next match to USAW Greco National Runner-Up Gabriel Townsell of Illinois. He was eliminated by fellow Okie Trey Edwards of Mustang.

Singleton was defeated 10-0 by Codi Russell and Trevon Majette.

Seven-time USAW National Champion (three-time Greco, four-time Freestyle) Daton Fix didn’t defend his Fargo title this year and instead is spending time at the US Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs to prepare for the World Championship inMacone, France.

All-American Jack Karstetter places eighth at USAW National Championship

By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

Two Sandites competed at the 2016 USAW Junior Men's Greco-Roman Nationals in Fargo, North Dakota this week. Charles Page High School senior Jack Karstetter placed eighth in the tournament. Class of 2016 graduate Sage Singleton also competed, but didn't place.

The USA Wrestling event is considered by many to be the most prestigious national tournament a Cadet or Junior-aged wrestler can compete in. 

Karstetter rode an impressive wave of victories into the event. In February he came in Runner-Up at the Oklahoma High School State Championship, then came in Runner-Up at the United World of Wrestling Cadet Greco Nationals in June. Earlier this month he competed at the Cadet Pan-American Championship in Lima, Peru and took Silver.

At Fargo Karstetter stepped up to a higher age-division and competed at the Junior level in the 126 pounds bracket.

The Sandite got off to a great start with back-to-back 10-0 technical falls. The first opponent to fall was two-time Arizona State-Placer Tanner Borneman, followed by Kyle Clough of Illinois. He had a tough quarterfinal matchup in former Flonationals Champion Cole Manley, but prevailed with a 6-2 decision over the Pennsylvanian. 

Karstetter finally met his match in the semifinals against West Virginia University freshman Matthew Schmitt. The two-time Fargo Runner-Up and three-time Missouri State Champion defeated the Sandite by decision and went on to win the tournament. 

Moving to the consolation quarterfinals, Karstetter won a close 10-9 decision over three-time Montana State Champion Clayton Currier. From there he was defeated 7-1 by UWW National Champion Paul Bianchi and 12-8 by four-time Kansas State Qualifier Taylor Jokerst, but secured eighth place and All-American status for the second year in a row. 

Singleton competed at 120 pounds and was eliminated after two matches. In the first round he was pinned in 0:34 by former Fargo Runner-Up Brandon Meikel of Utah. In the consolations he was teched 10-0 by Marquel Parks of Washington. The winner of the 120 bracket was fellow Oklahoma Dalton Duffield of Westmoore High School.

Jack Karstetter takes Silver Medal at Pan American Championship in Peru

By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

Charles Page High School senior Jack Karstetter continues to show the world how deep the talent runs in Sand Springs. The 2016 OSSAA 6A State Runner-Up finished his junior year with a 39-8 record in high school folkstyle wrestling and is preparing for his senior year with some international competition.

In April Karstetter won the USA Oklahoma East Regional Freestyle Championship at Broken Arrow and advanced to the Junior Freestyle State Tournament in Cushing in May. After going 2-2 at Freestyle State he headed to Akron, Ohio for the United World of Wrestling National Championships where he won Silver in Greco-Roman. 

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Medaling at Akron qualified Karstetter for the Pan-American Championships this past weekend in Lima Peru.

In Greco-Roman he defeated Argentina's Lautaro Pereyra with an 8-0 tech fall, then scored a 3-0 decision over Jose Davila Cabello of Peru before falling to Gerardo Oliva Montes 10-0 in the finals. Claiming a Silver Medal, Karstetter helped his team to a first place finish over Peru for the Pan American Team Championship.

Team USA also claimed the first place trophy in Freestyle where Karstetter took ninth place after a close 11-8 decision to Oscar Calvopina of Ecuador.

Next up for Karstetter is the USA Wrestling Nationals in Fargo, North Dakota from July 16th through the 23rd.

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. 

Four Sandites will represent Oklahoma at Jr Dual Nationals

By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

The Junior Dual Nationals will return to the Cox Business Center in Tulsa on June 22nd. The Tournament will last through the 25th and will feature four Charles Page High School wrestlers.

Last year Team Oklahoma bulldozed their way through both styles, placing fourth in Greco and first in Freestyle. That talented team included three Sandites. Cody Karstetter and Kyler Childers had just graduated that year and are now wrestling the collegiate circuit. Daton Fix is back to help his State defend its title.

Riley Weir just finished his Freshman year with a 21-12 record at the 106 pound class and a State Championship appearance. Weir placed fourth at the Perry Tournament of Champions and ninth at the highly prestigious Kansas City Stampede. He came in third at the Regional Championship to qualify for State, but was eliminated after losing his first two matches. Weir nursed an injured elbow throughout the final weeks of the high school season and wasn’t even close to full strength in the post-season. This event will be a great demonstration of his true potential in the upcoming high school season.

Jack Karstetter finished his Junior year with a 39-8 record and placed second at 132 pounds in the State Championship after giving up a heart-breaker 3-2 decision to Kruz Simons of Edmond North. Throughout the high school season he placed fourth at Perry, ninth at Kansas City, second at the Geary Invitational, first at the Sand Springs Invitational, first at the Jay Hancock Memorial, and secured the Regional Championship.

Since school let out he came in Runner-Up at the UWW Cadet Greco-Roman Nationals and secured his spot on Team USA for the Pan-American Championships in Lima, Peru this July.

Daton Fix is earning his way into the history books after completing his third straight undefeated high school season. He’s currently sitting at an overall record of 118-0 with three-straight State Championships. He’s only the second Sandite in school history to win three State Championships, the first being David McGuire from 1963-1965. No Sandite has won four.

Since the high school season ended, Fix won the UWW Junior Freestyle National Championship, defeated the Iranian Champion Kheyrollah Gharamani at the Beat The Streets Gala in Times Square, and scored a pair of 10-0 tech falls over National Champion Austin Gomez to earn his way onto the USA World Team.

Fix will compete at the Grand Prix of Spain, a Senior level tournament in Madrid from July 9-10, then will travel to Fargo, North Dakota for the Junior Freestyle Nationals from July 16-23 where he is a defending Champion. From August 30th through September 4th he will compete at the UWW World Championship in Macon, France.

Payton Scott finished his Sophomore year with a 19-6 record at 152 pounds and placed fourth in the State Championship. He missed the first half of the season while getting back in shape after a long and grueling football post-season, but placed fourth at Geary, second at Sand Springs, and first at the Regional Championship.

Scott was also a member of last year’s Cadet National Dual Team that finished seventh in Freestyle and second in Greco. Overall he went 13-3 between the two styles.

Other Team Oklahoma members include:

• Alex Fields of Guthrie, 2016 Southern Plains Regional Champion in both styles.
• Rhett Golowenski of Tuttle, two-time OSSAA 4A State Champion.
• Mason Naifeh of Tulsa Union, two-time OSSAA 6A State Placer.
• Wyatt Adams of Lawton MacArthur, 2015 OSSAA 5A State Champion.
• Dalton Duffield of Westmoore, three-time OSSAA 6A finalist, 2015 Fargo National Champion.
• Jacob Butler of Elgin, 2016 OSSAA 4A State Champion.
• Kaden Gfeller of Heritage Hall, three-time undefeated OSSAA 3A State Champion.
• Brik Filippo of Tuttle, 2016 OSSAA 4A State Champion, two-time finalist.
• Beau Guffey of Tuttle, three-time OSSAA 4A State Champion.
• Jaryn Curry of Choctaw, 2016 OSSAA 6A State Champion, 2015 USAW Cadet National Runner-Up.
• Dayton Garrett of Tuttle, three-time OSSAA 4A State Finalist, 2015 State Champion.
• Wyatt Sheets of Stilwell, four-time OSSAA 4A State Champion, Oklahoma State commit.
• Christian Bahl of Stillwater, 2016 OSSAA 6A State Champion.
• Dan Baker of Sulphur, 2016 OSSAA 3A State Champion.
• Drew Hinkle of Jenks, 2016 OSSAA 6A State Runner-Up.
• Zach Marcheselli of Broken Arrow, 2016 OSSAA 6A State Champion.
• Bear Hughes of Coweta, 2016 OSSAA 5A State Champion.
• Gunner Cash of Tecumseh, two-time OSSAA 4A State Qualifier.
• Gage Johnson of Norman North, 2016 OSSAA 6A State Runner-Up.
• Trenton Lieurance of Broken Arrow, two-time OSSAA 6A State Placer.

Sandite Wrestling tour de force continues at Schoolboy National Championship Duals

By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

Sand Springs has a long and impressive history when it comes to wrestling, but 2016 is well on its way to becoming one of the best years yet. Dual State Runners-Up, eleven State Qualifiers, six Regional Champions, one State Champion, and that was just during the school year.

As the saying goes, "Summer wrestling makes Winter Champions." Since the school year ended, the Sandites haven't even slowed down. Charles Page senior Daton Fix won a Freestyle National Championship and is headed to the World Championships in France this August. Senior Jack Karstetter came in Runner-Up in Greco-Roman at Nationals and is headed to the Pan-Ams in Peru in July. But it's not just the upperclassmen building up their resumes. Clyde Boyd Middle School eighth-grader Carter Young is working hard on the national scene as well.

After winning the OKUSA Youth Wrestling League State Championship, the Junior High Allstate Wrestling Championship, the OKUSA Freestyle and Greco Roman State Championships, and the Southern Plains Regional Championships in both Greco and Freestyle, Young most recently found himself in Indianapolis, Indiana for the Schoolboy Dual National Championships.

Competing as part of Team Oklahoma Red, alongside fellow Team BIG wrestlers Christian Forbes and Cougar Andersen, Young was one of the most crucial members of the team, going undefeated in both Greco-Roman and Freestyle.

On day one of Greco, the Oklahoma Outlaws dominated Team Idaho, winning eleven of seventeen matches for a 53-23 victory. Young defeated Christopher Martino 10-0 in his match. In the next dual, however, it was Team Washington with the edge on Oklahoma. Young won a 10-3 decision over Kenndyl Mobley, but Washington won ten matches for a 42-31 victory.

Thursday the Outlaws began working their way up through the consolation bracket, winning a pair of tough duals over Missouri and Utah before falling to Pennsylvania Red. The Outlaws had a 45-30 edge on Missouri, winning ten matches including a 10-0 tech fall by Young over Cody Ketchum. The Oklahoma team won eleven matches against Utah and Young picked up yet another 10-0 tech fall over Sage Mortimer for a 47-32 victory.

The Okies met their match in Pennsylvania after leading for most of the dual. It was back-and-forth for the first half and the Outlaws led by as much as 30-16 before giving up a yellow card and six straight matches for a final score of 41-29. Young won his match, however, with an 11-0 tech fall over Sheldon Seymour to remain undefeated in the tournament.

On Friday the Outlaws’ third place finish in Pool A landed them in the Bronze/Copper bracket where they swept the competition with four straight victories.

Young scored a 12-0 tech fall over Zachary Espalin, helping his team to a 44-33 win over Virginia. Next to fall was Indiana Gold 48-30 after the Okies won eleven matches, including a 10-0 tech fall by Young.

The Okies scored another dominating victory over Arizona at 51-29, winning eleven matches yet again. Young continued to breeze through his competition with his sixth-straight shutout tech fall, this time over Nathan Bigelow.

In the finals, the Outlaws got another rematch against Utah and once again came out with the advantage, winning ten matches for a final score of 43-34. Young continued his streak with a 11-0 victory over Mortimer.

The Oklahoma team claimed first in the Bronze/Copper Pool, placing them at ninth in the nation out of thirty-two teams. Three Team Oklahoma wrestlers earned All-American status in Greco, including Young with a final record of 9-0.

In Freestyle the boys did even better, placing seventh out of thirty-five teams.

In round one the Outlaws smoked Tennessee 60-20, losing only four matches while resting Young. The Sandite returned to action in the next round in a 58-19 domination of Utah and Young beat Mortimer for the third time that week 10-0.

Young sat out round three as the Outlaws easily handled Colorado Blue 56-18, and returned to action in the Pool A finals. He defeated Bob Houpt 10-0, but team finally lost their first dual of the tournament 48-27 to Washington.

In the true-second dual Oklahoma earned their way into the Gold/Silver bracket with a 48-29 victory over Missouri, including another 10-0 win over Ketchum from Young.

Young received a forfeit from Illinois in the first round of the Gold Pool as his team won 48-27.

His streak of seven-straight tech falls finally came to an end in a close match with Jett Strickenberger. Young got the 10-6 decision, but Colorado Red defeated the Okies 48-30.

Young didn’t wrestle against New Jersey in the next round, and it may have made the difference as the Outlaws fell 41-38, including a loss in the 77 pound position that Young normally occupies.

In the seventh place match against Arizona, he returned to action with a 10-0 tech fall over Nathan Bigelow and the Oklahoma team finished seventh overall.

Young is currently riding a twenty-two-straight winning streak and a 65-5 record for the year. He was also named an All-American in Freestyle.

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This story was originally published in the Sandite Pride News Weekly Sunday edition.