Sandites Qualify 12 Boys, 4 Girls for State Wrestling Tournament
/Charles Page High School will be well represented at the OSSAA State Championship Thursday afternoon when 6A action starts.
Both the boys and girls will begin wrestling at 4:30 p.m. in Session II at Jim Norick Arena in the State Fairgrounds at Oklahoma City.
The Sandites qualified 12 boys for State after a strong second place finish at the West Regional in Moore on Saturday. It was their highest Regional placement since 2017 and their most total State qualifiers since at least 1996, if not ever. They also had their first Regional Champion since 2019 in Zander Grigsby.
The girls meanwhile qualified four for State at the East Regional in Glenpool on Tuesday, taking eighth place as a team. Bailey Copeland became the first-ever girls State qualifier from Sand Springs in the Sandites’ second year with a girls program.
The Sandites’ fourth and fifth placers from Regionals will be first to wrestle in the wrestle-in round on Thursday, followed by the quarterfinals at 6:00 p.m. Consolation matches will begin Friday at 5:00 p.m. followed by semifinals at 7:00 p.m. Consolation semifinals will be Saturday at 11:30 a.m. followed by 3rd place matches at 1:30 p.m. and finals matches at 6:30 p.m.
Girls Regionals
Copeland (17-4), a freshman, took third place at 100 pounds with three pins. Her only loss was a 2-0 decision to Broken Arrow’s Alina Peralta in the semifinals. In the placement round she earned a 6-1 decision over Ponca City junior Camila Bohon.
Laila Mirza (38-8) took fourth place at 115, going 3-2. She pinned her first foe and won a 5-2 decision over El Reno’s Brooklynn Huggins before falling 15-3 to returning Stillwater State qualifier Abigail Rivero. In consolation she pinned Claremore’s Cambry Suskey a second time but fell 11-4 to Bixby freshman Larra Mullin.
Kelsi Hilton (37-7) placed fourth at 135, pinning her first two opponents before falling to returning State finalist Mak Gregg in the semifinals. She added another pin in consolation before falling to returning State placer Adisyn Ivers from Ponca City. Hilton actually led 2-0 after the first period but was pinned after starting the second on bottom.
Freshman Ambrielle Chambers (22-8) took fifth place at 105 with three pins, falling to Durant senior Addison Polk, a returning State qualifier, in the quarterfinals. In the consolation semis she fell to Ada junior EllaBabe Fisher but bounced back with an 8-4 decision over Muskogee’s Grace Fraser to punch her ticket to State.
The girls finished in eighth place with 83 points, just one point behind Sapulpa and one point ahead of Shawnee. Broken Arrow won the Regional over runner-up Bixby. It was a drastic improvement for the Lady Sandites, who placed 42nd last year with no State qualifiers.
Boys Regionals
Zander Grigsby (38-2) manhandled the 165-pound bracket, outscoring his opponents 36-8 without giving up anything but escape points. He pinned two opponents and had a 24-7 technical fall en route to the finals, where he earned a 6-1 decision over top-seeded Brayden Lucas, a returning State placer from Edmond North
Freshman Jaxon Grigsby (18-9) placed second at 126, dominating Gavin Horn 12-1 before eking out a 3-2 overtime tie-breaker against two-seed Barrett Byers of Piedmont. In the finals he lost 3-0 to returning State finalist Christian Belford of Edmond North.
Mason Harris (34-3) was runner-up at heavyweight, winning his first three matches by fall. In the finals he lost a 1-0 decision to defending State Champion Ricky Thomas of Edmond North.
Matthew Moore (26-13) placed third at 132 with three pins, only losing a close 4-3 decision to top-seeded Hudson Hackbarth of Edmond North. In the consolation finals he pinned Deer Creek’s Parker DeGraffenreid in 5:36.
Jaxon Trotter (39-8) placed third at 175 with a 3-1 sudden victory overtime takedown against two-seeded Alex Wilson of Yukon, a returning State placer. He teched his first opponent in 4:31 before falling 3-2 to Westmoore State placer Cole Olguin. In consolation he pinned his next two opponents before decisioning Putnam North’s Ryan Gooch 3-1 in the semifinals.
David Ritchey (20-9) placed fourth at 120, pinning his first opponent and winning a 5-1 decision in the quarterfinals before falling 9-0 to two-time State Champion Cash Donnell from Piedmont. In consolation he pinned Southmoore’s Noah Reynolds before falling 7-0 to Yukon’s Hayden Wright.
Preston Reyna (26-11) finished fourth at 150, pinning his first foe before falling to Piedmont’s Jayden Fuston. In consolation he won a major decision, a pin, and a 9-5 upset of four-seed Axton Wright from Moore before falling once again to Fuston in the placement match.
Dawsen Briscoe (23-13) took fifth place at 106, winning his first match by 5-1 decision against Yukon’s Caleb Schneider, who also finished a State qualifier, before falling to top-seeded Jake Goodin from Edmond North. In consolation he fell 6-1 to third-placer Blake Thomas of Piedmont before earning a 6-5 decision over Putnam North’s Jaaziel Benman.
Jayden Pait (17-5) placed fifth at 138, losing his first match 3-1 to Westmoore’s Gannon Morales before winning his next two matches by fall. In the consolation semis he fell 8-4 to Yukon’s Dillon Ryan but he won his placement match by 9-1 major decision against Piedmont’s Ethan Applebee.
Jesse Moore (28-10) placed fifth at 144, losing his first match 3-2 to Moore’s Seth Shouse. In consolation he pinned one foe and teched another in just 3:10 before taking a 6-3 loss against Piedmont’s Kolton Mullings. In the placement round he got a rematch with Shouse and this time won 5-2.
Brody Ensten (30-15) placed fifth at 157, bouncing back from an opening 7-5 loss to Westmoore’s Sam Gibson with three dominant wins. He pinned his next two foes and earned a 16-1 technical fall before falling 11-2 to two-seeded Barrett Weathers of Deer Creek. In the placement round he won a 2-1 rematch with Gibson, scoring an escape in overtime.
Peyton Callis (36-13) placed fifth at 190, winning his first match by decision before falling 4-3 to Yukon’s Ryan Martindale. In consolation he received a medical forfeit then pinned his next opponent before falling to Piedmont’s Jackson Blackburn. In the placement round he won a 9-2 decision over Norman’s Lance Eubanks.