Sandites Win Skiatook Tournament With Three Champions

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The Charles Page High School boys’ wrestling team crowned three champions en route to a team title at the one-day Skiatook tournament Friday - the second team title of the season for the Sandites.

No. 6 Sand Springs locked up first place very early on, scoring 254.5 points to runner-up 4A No. 2 Catoosa’s 194.

It was a strong bounce-back performance for the Sandites (10-1), who suffered their first dual loss of the season the night before. No. 3 Broken Arrow (8-0) won 12 out of 14 matches in a 45-11 rout.

“We responded well,” said head coach Ty Bowling. “Last night, it was rough, but I think we needed that. I think we will learn a lesson from it, we’ll get better from it. And today I think we started the process. We had a good day and rebounded well.”

The Sandites put seven in the finals with Jayden Pait, Zander Grigsby, and Jaxon Trotter winning their brackets while Dawsen Briscoe, David Ritchey, Isaac Sensintaffar, and Peyton Callis finished as runners-up.

Pait suffered an MCL tear in the quarterfinals of the Mid America Nationals last December in Enid, but he looked very much back to form, winning the 138-pound bracket with four falls.

“I was pretty upset going throughout the whole season,” said Pait. “You never want to get hurt your senior season…I’ve been out for about a month and a half now so getting these wins today really boosted my confidence.”

After pinning his first three opponents in the first period, he took a 2-0 lead into the second period against Catoosa State qualifier Michael Blendowski before reversing into a fall.

“Getting that reversal meant a lot because I knew that he was good at riding legs and I knew what I had to do on bottom,” said Pait.

“I’ve been battling some recovery, battling some confidence issues in some of my matches, but I feel confident now…I’m feeling good, I’m ready to come back, ready to compete some more and qualify for State.”

Zander Grisgby earned his third tournament title of the season, winning the 165-pound bracket with a technical fall, a forfeit, and three pins. In the finals he easily handled Hilldale’s Nathan Stroble with a second-period fall.

Trotter picked up his first tournament title of the year at 175, pinning his first two opponents and earning a 20-5 technical fall in the semifinals before meeting Bixby State qualifier Colton Kaiser in the finals.

“I knew I’d have a good match in the finals,” said Trotter. “Throughout the day I was just trying to focus on my shots and really dial in my neutral to help me in this match and just have me warmed up. I think it helped out a lot.”

The two stayed neutral throughout the first period but Trotter scored an escape early in the second before scoring a double-leg takedown for the 3-0 lead. Kaiser managed an escape in the third but Trotter’s defense kept the Spartan at bay for a 3-1 decision.

Briscoe won his first four matches at 106 before falling 9-0 to Skiatook State qualifier Cole Smith in the finals.

Ayreson Reiss went 4-1 and placed third at 113, losing only to Skiatook State runner-up Jagen Jones. He received a forfeit in the third-place match.

Kase Skaggs and Ritchey both went 4-1 at 120, with their only losses coming to Bixby State qualifier Colden Dyer. Dyer teched Skaggs in the semifinals before winning a 4-1 decision against Ritchey in the finals. Skaggs bounced back with a 19-3 technical fall against Tonkawa’s Tate Coffey for third place.

Jaxon Grigsby pinned his first two opponents at 126 before falling 12-4 to eventual champion Logan Hargrove, from Catoosa, in the semifinals. Grigsby bounced back with a 16-0 technical fall against Skiatook’s Landon Dodd.

Matthew Moore pinned his first three opponents at 132 before falling 7-0 to Catoosa State qualifier Tucker Collinsworth in the semifinals. He bounced back with a 10-1 major decision over Darin McWhorter for third place.

Jesse Moore teched his first two opponents at 144 before falling 3-0 to tournament champ Tharyn Hausler of Bixby. In consolation he pinned Inola’s Bryson Faulkner for third place.

Brody Ensten and Sensintaffar both competed at 157 and suffered their only losses to the champion.

Ensten pinned two opponents before falling to Wagoner State placer Bryce Steele in the semifinals. He bounced back with an 8-3 decision over Catoosa State qualifier Fernando Dominguez for third place.

Sensintaffar pinned his first three opponents and beat Dominguez 7-3 in the semifinals before falling 5-0 to Steel in the championship.

Callis pinned his first three foes at 190 and won an 8-4 decision in the semifinals before falling 3-2 to Bixby State placer Hank Puckett in the finals.

Heavyweight Ryley Kester pinned his first two opponents before falling to Catoosa’s Tank Love in the semifinals. In consolation he won a 5-1 decision over Wagoner’s Dax Griffin

Preston Reyna placed fourth at 150, Jaden Allen placed fourth at 215, Hunter Spencer placed fifth at 126, Nathan Feather placed seventh at 113, Jackson Burdge placed seventh at 144, Brock O’Dell placed seventh at 157, and Gage Gunn placed 10th at 132.

Varsity Girls

The varsity girls took second place at the Ray Murphy Jr. Memorial Tournament on Saturday with 144.5 points, just a hair behind Rogers, Arkansas with 147.

Ambrielle Chambers, Trinity Owens, Laila Mirza, Audree Robinson, and Kelsi Hilton all took first place.

Chambers recorded three first-period pins and a major decision at 105 pounds; Owens had three pins at 110; Mirza had two pins and a tech fall at 115; Robinson had two pins and a decision at 125; and Hilton had three pins at 140.

Samantha Baker placed fourth at 125, Mia Bruns placed third at 130, Kayla Arnold placed fourth at 145, Tessa Urrey place fourth at 155, and Emily Ambriz placed fifth at 235.

JV Boys

The junior varsity Sandites took third place at the Ray Murphy tournament with 154.5 points and three champions.

The mostly varsity tournament was led by Coweta’s JV with 190 points and Bartlesville’s varsity with 183.5.

Skaggs took first place at 120, Spencer won at 126, and Kaden Pope won at 132.

Brody Wilson placed second at 113, Caleb Childers placed fourth at 113, Scott Halpain place fourth at 150, Reiss placed fifth at 113, Nathan Feather placed sixth at 120, Dallas Flores placed sixth at 165, Jeffery Norton placed seventh at 120, Jesse Kerr placed eighth at 113, Logan Childers placed eighth at 126, Gage Gunn placed eighth at 132, and Alex Lahmeyer placed eighth at 175.

Sandites Defeat Jenks on Senior Night, Ryley Kester Wins Joe Cole Classic

The No. 9 ranked Charles Page High School boys wrestling team is undefeated at Christmas break for the third year in a row, wrapping up the semester with a 59-15 win over Jenks (1-1) Tuesday on Senior Night.

Sand Springs (5-0) never trailed, trading pins to open the dual before the Sandites went on a nine-match win streak and clinched the victory early.

“We’re on a break, so we had to come in today and get a little practice in and try to keep somewhat of a normal routine so we weren’t laying around all day,” said head coach Ty Bowling. “They responded well and I thought we looked really good.”

Dawsen Briscoe (1-0) made his season debut at 106 pounds and reversed for a pin against Cale Lawson late in the first period. It was the first time this season that the Sandites had a wrestler at the lightest weight.

“He took a little hiatus there for a couple of months but when he figured out that we didn’t have a six-pounder, he said ‘I’m going to do my best to get down and get there for you,’” said Bowling.

Seattle Lindsey won a first-period fall against Ayreson Reiss (3-2) to tie the dual, but Kase Skaggs (10-1) got the Sandites back on track with a 7-3 decision over Isaac Newton.

The next few Sandites decided to play with their food before they ate it.

Colt Hood (5-3) worked up a 9-1 lead on Reggie Bombita before pinning him in the first period.

Jaxon Grigsby (9-3) took a 10-0 lead on Holden Brolick before pinning him in the third.

Then Kasen McAffrey (3-0) won a 12-0 major decision against Bradley Hamilton, with the buzzer sounding just a second before he was about to either get the fall or a set of back points.

Jesse Moore (5-0) pinned Creek Shavney in 1:22 and Preston Reyna (10-2) pinned Pau Khai in 38 seconds. Brody Ensten (8-3) clinched the dual with a 9-1 major decision against Kade Hodges at 157 then Zander Grigsby (10-0) and Jaxon Trotter (11-2) received forfeits.

The Trojans finally snapped their losing streak when Peyton Callis (10-3) was disqualified after a big slam knocked the wind out of Alex Dombrow. Owens Jones added a 9-5 decision against Ali McCoy (5-6).

Mason Harris wrapped up the dual with a 14-second pin of Zay Goodman at heavyweight.

“Really top to bottom, we’re tough,” said Bowling. “We’ve wrestled five duals and we’ve not had the same lineup for five duals. We’ve had guys out injured or ineligible or whatever it may be and it’s next man up.”

The Sandites will return to action on January 4th with home duals against Ponca City (0-2) and No. 5 Westmoore (1-0).

Over the weekend, the junior varsity boys took eighth place out of 35 mostly varsity teams at the Joe Cole Classic in Cleveland, led by Ryley Kester with a first-place finish.

Kester (6-0) won a 10-1 major decision against Stillwater’s Jacob Mohler before earning a 3-0 upset against Cleveland State qualifier Brock Powell. From there he pinned Pawnee’s Connor McClendon in 5:19, Bristow’s Marley Branscum in 2:39, and Pawnee’s Anthony Stewart in 2:40.

Logan Childers placed third at 126, winning his first match by decision before falling to Perkins-Tryon State qualifier Cadyn Burns in the quarterfinals. He bounced back in a big way with four consecutive falls to win the consolation bracket, pinning Elk City’s Lake Hargrove in the finals.

Moore placed third at 150, winning his first three matches before falling to Blackwell State qualifier Grant Rowe in the semifinals. He bounced back with a pair of consolation wins, including 5-3 decision over Bristow’s Hank Powell in the finals.

Reiss took fourth place at 113, winning his first two matches via pin and major decision before falling to undefeated Blackwell State qualifier Jaxon Brown in the semifinals. He bounced back with a 2-1 decision over Berryhill’s Malaki Venetoff before falling to Chandler State qualifier Landon Earp.

Laila Mirza Becomes First-Ever Girls Tournament Champion from Sand Springs

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Laila Mirza is officially the first ever regular-season tournament champion for the Sand Springs girls wrestling program.

The junior 120 pounder won the Joe Cole Classic in Cleveland, helping her team to a program-best 2nd place finish. All five Lady Sandites placed top-four in their divisions.

“I found her in the weight room because I help coach (Kevin) Avey with the girls weightlifting,” said head coach Ty Bowling, who started the girls’ program this year.

“She tries to get as much extra work (during free period) or during weightlifting period when they’re not lifting weights, and she’ll stay after practice.”

“She’s one that gets here early and stays late,” said Bowling.

Mirza pinned her first two opponents without giving up a single point, then received two forfeits in the round-robin bracket.

“She’s run cross country and she’s ran some track, and she told me at the beginning of the year that she had never ever won a medal.”

“That preseason tournament she went to she got first, then she took sixth (at Jay) and got a medal there, and then she got first here, so she’s kind of three for three on the medals in wrestling.”

Kelsi Hilton placed third at 140 pounds with three pins, only losing in a close 8-5 decision to the tournament champion.

Addily Shotwell placed third at 170 with one pin. Kreedence Behnke placed third and Madison Chambers was fourth at 100 pounds.

“Our girls are working hard,” said Bowling. “Wrestling’s not an easy sport and they’re in here every day doing it exactly like the boys are doing.”

“We’re not trying to put too much pressure on them, but we’re telling them how they’re going to be forever remembered as the girls that started (the program) and have a chance to be the first ever Sand Springs girls State qualifiers.”

The junior varsity boys placed fourth at the tournament despite mostly facing varsity competitors.

Kase Skaggs won the 113-pound bracket and four other Sandites also medaled.

Skaggs outscored his opponents 51 to 13 with a pin and two major decisions before earning a 4-2 decision over State qualifier Daxtyn Davis.

Peyton Callis was runner-up at 165 with three pins; Cash Lucas was runner-up at 285 with three pins; Jesse Moore placed third at 144 with four pins; and Logan Childers placed fourth at 113 with three pins.

The junior high boys team placed 12th with two total medalists and the junior high girls placed 14th with one medalist.

Gage Gunn placed fourth at 132 with three pins; Dallas Flores placed fourth at 155 with five pins; and Rylee Allen placed fourth at girls 117 with two pins.

The Keystone Kids wrestling club had no problem winning the Sand Springs Slam tournament over the weekend with 28 champions, nearly tripling the score of runner-up Barnsdall.

Jase Morgan, Maddix Spencer, Hagan Wolfenberger, Kason Wolfe, Acetyn Hart, Sutton Hawley, Zander Pope, Rylan Hamby, Ty Galloway, Samuel Moore, Joshua Compton, Griffin Sensintaffar, Ayreson Reiss, David Ritchey, Matthew Moore, Kasen McAffrey, Samuel Reichel, Jaxon Trotter, Brenntly Taylor, Jayce Parks, Caemon Young, Ryker Dawes, Collin Randall, Hunter Sims, Colt Combs, Kydon Harness, Gage Buchanan, and Saylor Eaglin all won their divisions.

The varsity boys and girls will return to action Tuesday, December 20th with home duals against Sapulpa at 6:00 p.m.