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

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.  

Seven Sandites take First Place at OK USA Youth State Championship

By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

Carter Wood, Michael Johnson, Clayton Giddens, Carter Young, Blake Jones, Sammy Naugle, and Jared Hill all placed first in their divisions at the Oklahoma USA Youth Wrestling State Championship last month, wrestling for Sand Springs Team Big, a club started by Charles Page High School assistant coach Derek Fix. Those champions are but a few on the long roster of incredible youth talent that represents the future of Sandite wrestling.

Jared Hill won the 92 lbs bracket in Division 5, the oldest division, in a close overtime matchup with Bryce Dauphin of Tuttle. Hill pinned his first opponent, Kilian McNichol of Owasso, in 1:06, then outlasted Copper Gibson (NEO) 11-7 on his way to the finals. Hill and Dauphin were tied 0-0 when regulation expired and the two entered into a sudden victory overtime period where the Team Big wrestler came out on top with a 2-pt takedown. This marks Hill's first tournament win of the year after coming in second at both the US Jr. Open Championships and the Ted Anderson Open.

Carter Young competed at 76 lbs in Division 4 and majored Collinsville's Jordan Cullors 10-1 in the opening round, then pinned Hunter Waits (RAW) in 1:29 before registering a 6-2 decision over John Wiley (Matrix WC) for his ninth tournament championship this school year. Young is a two-time consecutive ASICS Kids National Freestyle Champion and two-time consecutive ASICS Kids National Greco-Roman Runner-Up.

Blake Jones competed at 92 lbs in Division 4 and breezed through four opponents while only allowing a single point. He teched his first foe, Kaden Murray (Jay), 16-0, then defeated Jack Golowenski in the quarterfinals by 5-1 decision. His narrowest match was against Landon Valenzuela (Southmoore) 3-0 in the semis, but he finished up with a solid 6-0 decision over Reese Davis of Tuttle for his sixth tournament championship of the school year.

Michael Johnson competed at 52 lbs in Division 3 and didn't allow a single point over his three matches. Hunter Jackson (Elgin) and teammate Zander Grigsby each went down by way of major decision, 9-0 and 8-0 respectively. In the finals he defeated Jason Goodin (Moore) 7-0 for his ninth Championship this school year. Last summer he claimed his second consecutive ASICS Kids Freestyle National Championship title in Wisconsin.

Clayton Giddens competed at 58 lbs in Division 3 and pinned his first two opponents in nearly the exact same amount of time. Cash Donnell (StandFast Wrestling) fell in 2:51, followed by Dylan Abbott (Sperry) in 2:52. In the finals he was pitted against Bryson Humphries of Catoosa and triumphed by 6-0 decision. This makes Giddens's sixth tournament championship this school year. He also placed runner-up at the U.S. Jr. Open Championships. 

Sammy Naugle competed at 80 lbs in the Novice Division 4 bracket and defeated Keaton Story (Creek) 3-0 and Ransom Cosby (Blanchard) 2-0 en rout to the finals. There he was pitted against Garrett Washington (Glenpool) and won 6-3 for his fourth tournament championship of the school year and first of 2016.

Carter Wood competed at 60 lbs in the Novice Division 1 bracket, scoring a 0:46 fall over Trevor Engles (Blanchard), then defeated his next three opponents by decision. Alex Munoz (Collinsville) went down 2-0, Rylan Rinehart (Newcastle) fell 6-3, and Promised Johnson (Bristow) lost 8-6. This marks Wood's fifth championship this school year, winning tournaments at Owasso, Catoosa, and Sand Springs, as well as the 2016 Flo Novice Nationals. Not bad for a 6 year old. 

Other results are as follows...

Division 5

76 Dylan Luker, 4th Place

• defeated 6-2 by Caleb Hight
• defeated Jose Becerril 1-0
• teched 18-1 by Cryce Cockrell 
• defeated 4-2 by Cooper Britton

100 Brendon Wisely, DNP

• majored 9-0 by Josh Taylor
• defeated 4-1 by Agustus Edwards

100 Brandon Elrod, 4th Place

• pinned Mason Watts in 1:06
• defeated 3-0 by Ryder Ramsey
• majored Sheldon Roberts 9-0
• defeated Peyton Messenger 2-1
• defeated Eli Benham by 7-2 sudden victory
• defeated 4-2 by Ryder Ramsey in sudden victory

106 Seth Jones, 6th Place

• defeated 4-2 in sudden victory by Blake Gonzalez
• defeated Michael Harjo 5-2
• defeated 4-2 by Luke Surber
• defeated 3-0 by Remington White

120 Caleb Phillips, 5th Place

• pinned Brent Ingram in 0:34
• defeated 3-2 by Hunter Hall
• defeated 5-0 in sudden victory by Timothy Trigg
• pinned Matthew Thompson in 0:46

Division 4

63 Owen Martin, 2nd Place

• majored Gehrig Furr 9-0
• defeated Christian Forbes 6-2
• defeated 5-2 by Cole Brooks 
• majored Sam Smith 11-0

76 Colton Luker, DNP

• majored Silas Carney 8-0
• pinned in 1:21 by Reece Moffett
• pinned Owen Zellers in 0:44
• defeated 3-0 by Case Rich

80 Kaden Clark, DNP

• pinned in 1:24 by Micheal Edwards
• defeated Cohlson Peper 13-6
• pinned Sutton Little in 0:55
• majored 10-0 by Cutter Sheets

84 Cody Spann, DNP

• defeated 7-0 by Gabriel Fontanez
• majored Gunnor Yates 12-0
• defeated 2-0 by Casey Goss

Division 3

52 Jackson Martin, DNP

• pinned in 1:50 by Christopher Kiser
• defeated 4-2 by Cavin Pepper

52 Zander Grigsby, 4th Place

• defeated Iziah Tusler 6-2
• majored 8-0 by Michael Johnson
• defeated Cavin Pepper 4-3
• defeated 6-3 by Christopher Kiser

64 Mitchell Smith, 5th Place

• pinned Keller Kizarr in 2:48
• pinned Blade Walden in 2:36
• defeated 5-0 by Dylan Sie Palmer
• defeated 5-2 by Kason McGill
• defeated Louden Wolfe 4-2

110 James Winn, DNP

• pinned Jared Young in 0:29
• pinned in 2:03 by Balance Johnson
• defeated 2-0 by Julian Rash

285 Tyler B Smith, 5th Place

• pinned in 2:03 by Brezlyn Hightower
• pinned in 1:21 by JaKobe Sanders
• pinned in 1:51 by Lane Gourley
• pinned in 2:32 by Jarrod Whitmore

Division 2

43 Jaxon Grigsby, 3rd Place

• pinned Paxton Shultz in 0:37
• pinned in 2:44 by Jesse Justice
• majored Cooper Jackson 13-0
• pinned Will Meredith in 0:50
• defeated 8-2 by Mason Burnham

49 Ayreson Reiss, 6th Place

• majored 11-1 by Brynton Handshy
• teched Kannon Henn 15-0
• majored Evan Colbert 8-0
• pinned in 0:34 by Cayden Cupps
• pinned in 3:27 by Brynton Handshy

55 Hunter Spencer, DNP

• defeated 4-2 by Maddox Jackson
• defeated 3-2 by Terrel Parker

61 Zane Swafford, 5th Place

• majored Jase Winchester 10-1
• majored Bo Ware 17-3
• defeated 1-0 by Hayze Ivvey
• defeated 6-1 by Greyson Zellers
• teched Bo Ware 17-2

61 David Ritchey, DNP

• pinned Bradley Gallia in 0:30
• defeated 5-0 by Cache Pierson
• defeated Jace Simms 5-1
• defeated 11-8 by Greyson Zellers

70 Dallas Flores, 6th Place

• teched 18-1 by Gunner Tate
• defeated 6-0 by Pierce Davis
• pinned in 1:44 by Clete Gilbert

75 Jaxon Trotter, 3rd Place

• defeated Wyatt Hiesler 6-5
• defeated Owen Vaught 1-0
• pinned in 3:00 by Aiven Robbins
• defeated Wyatt Hiesler by 5-3 sudden victory
• majored Owen Vaught 9-1
• defeated 5-1 by Haydan Yocham

Division 1

52 Kasen McAffrey, 2nd Place

• defeated Maddox Young 9-5
• lost 5-0 to Andrew Moro

Novice 4

84 Ryder Barnes, 4th Place

• pinned Levi Rodgers in 1:49
• pinned in 0:23 by Gunnor Yates
• defeated 6-3 by Bryson Rouse

Novice 3

58 Dawsen Briscoe, 2nd Place

• pinned Preston Proffitt in 1:39
• pinned Carson Owen in 1:54
• defeated DJ Peterson 8-5
• pinned in 2:27 by Carson Orr

61 Blake Stewart, 4th Place

• pinned in 0:50 by Daniel Hernandez
• defeated Zoey Freeman 6-1
• pinned Dayton Aguilar in 2:33
• pinned in 0:35 by Nick White

85 Evan Williams, DNP

• defeated 8-2 by Vincent Vandiver 
• majored 12-0 by Tyler Hockett

Novice 2

49 Bradie Adams, 5th Place

• defeated 7-0 by Wiley Wilson
• pinned Matteo Carrasco in 2:27
• majored Andrew Howard 11-0

majored Brayden Harrison 11-2

• defeated 7-6 by Aidan Graves
• defeated Isaiah Carrasco 7-1

52 Kaden Pope, 3rd Place

• lost 1-0 in tie breaker to Jarrett Patty
• defeated Joseph Ketcher 6-0
• defeated Jaden Bixler 7-2
• majored Xzaivier Buzzard 8-0
• defeated Brock Copass 2-0

55 Colt Cothran, 3rd Place

• pinned AJ Oyer in 0:29
• defeated Luke Shaffer 9-2
• defeated 4-2 by Camden Whitby
• defeated Johnathan Blau 4-0
• defeated Aydin Machado 8-2

58 Landyn Barnes, DNP

• pinned in 0:46 by Jake Wassom
• pinned in 0:32 by Aiden Cox

61 Hunter Jewell, DNP

• pinned Bradley Gallia in 2:37
• majored 9-1 by Toby Shipman
• defeated 5-3 by Brody Byers

Novice 1

37 Asher Giddens, 3rd Place

• pinned Maddox Masters in 0:59
• pinned William Vaughan in 0:49
• pinned in 2:30 by Tabor Reiss 
• defeated Brynlyn Sullivan 7-3
• defeated Daxen Delaserta 9-7

37 Tabor Reiss, 2nd Place

• pinned Dalton Perkins in 0:43
• pinned Asher Giddens in 2:30
• lost 8-6 to Jon Zerzavy

46 Brody Bates, DNP

• pinned in 1:55 by Ashlyn Masters
• pinned Olen Appleton in 1:15
• majored Paul Howe 14-0
• majored 10-2 by Kale Shultz

49 Jayden Bussell, 5th Place

• pinned in 1:40 by Revin Flipps
• pinned Jakoby Bussell in 1:11
• pinned Hunter Stanford in 0:19
• pinned Jordan Weems in 0:25
• pinned Nathan Griffin in 0:31
• defeated 7-6 by Jaycob Graves
• defeated Kale Fruits 5-4