Oklahoma pulls off several upsets in dual with New Jersey

By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

Oklahoma got off to a great start against the heavily favored New Jersey Friday morning at the Cox Business Center in Tulsa, but Jersey came from behind to win it in the third-to-last match. 

Jersey brought an incredible roster featuring twelve wrestlers nationally ranked by Flowrestling, but that didn't phase the two-time Junior National Champions from Oklahoma.  

Sand Springs's National Champion Daton Fix had tough competition in No. 20 Zachary Sherman, but scored a 10-0 tech fall shortly into the second period in the first match. Jaxen Gilmore followed it up with a 4:15 pin of Nicholas Farro.

Jersey got on the board with a 10-0 tech fall by No. 11 Requir Van Der Merwe over Beau Guffey, but Oklahoma returned the favor with an 8-3 decision from Wyatt Sheets over No. 19 Andrew Merola. 

No. 7 Kyle Bierdumpfel handed Dayton Garrett a 13-2 tech fall, Christian Bahl put up a good fight against No. 4 Brandon Dallavia before going down 9-3, and No. 12 Joseph Grello teched Bear Hughes 13-3. Brandon Kui took down Zach Marcheselli 13-0 and No. 5 Kevin Mulligan pinned Gunner Cash in 0:44. Trenton Lieurance went the distance with No. 1 Chase Singletary and lost 6-1 for a 28-16 Jersey lead. 

Alex Fields got Oklahoma back in the race with a 10-0 tech fall over Thomas Fierro in only 0:41 but No. 7 Michael Colaiocco won a 16-6 tech fall over Colt Newton to clinch the dual. Oklahoma came up big with a Jet Taylor 14-3 tech fall over No. 3 Sebastian Rivera and Jersey wrapped things up with a 15-4 tech fall from No. 8 Ty Agaisse over Dalton Duffield for a final score of 41-27. 

Oklahoma will be wrestling for seventh place against Michigan Blue which features four nationally ranked wrestlers in Ben Freeman, Jelani Embree, Brandon Whitman, and Trent Hillger. 

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. 

Blake Sargent, Team Oklahoma place fifth in Greco Roman Nationals

By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

Charles Page High School junior Blake Sargent has spent the last two days in York, Pennsylvania wrestling with Team Oklahoma at the Cadet Dual Nationals, and he's ran up quite the record. The Greco-Roman tournament came to an end Thursday, and the Freestyle bracket will begin Friday morning.

Sargent finished his sophomore year with a 39-12 record and placed third in the State Championship. Since then, he's won the Team Big Freestyle Tournament and came in Runner-Up in the OKUSA Freestyle State Tournament in Cushing. 

Oklahoma was pitted against North Carolina in the first round of pool play and devastated their opponents, giving up only one match for a 73-5 victory, the third-largest win of any team in the tournament. Sargent kicked things off with the first match of the dual and pinned his opponent in the first period. North Carolina Greco State Runner-Up Phifer Ozimek went down in 2:11, setting the tone for the rest of the dual. Team Oklahoma won the next thirteen straight matches with nothing but pins and tech falls.

The next dual wasn't quite as big of a blowout as the first, but it was a clear and dominating victory, nonetheless. The Okies won twelve of seventeen matches over Florida for a final score of 55-25. Sargent put the icing on the cake, pinning Florida Greco State Champion Emauni Smithson in 1:27 for the final match of the dual.

Oklahoma finally met its match in the Pool A finals. Minnesota Storm raced off to a quick advantage with four-straight victories before Oklahoma evened it out with four of their own. The back and forth affair continued right down to the end, but Minnesota got the 39-33 edge. Sargent remained undefeated with a close 12-8 decision over Northern Plains Regional Champion Sebas Swiggum. Minnesota Storm would go on to sweep the entire tournament.

Thursday morning the Oklahoma team began battling in the Gold/Silver Pool against far tougher teams than their earlier opponents. Sargent teched his first opponent, Illinois Greco State Champion Jared Head (not to be confused with the Owasso wrestler of the same name) 11-1, but Illinois won the dual 48-27.

The Okies were in for another defeat in round two as Pennsylvania Blue won nine of seventeen matches for a narrow 44-31 victory. Sargent would lose his first match of the tournament in an 11-1 tech fall to 2015 USAW National Champion Beau Bartlett. 

From there Reece Witcraft filled in at the 126 weight for the duration of the tournament. Sargent finished with an overall record of 4-1. Oklahoma rebounded from the pair of tough losses with a 41-35 victory over New Jersey Red and secured the fifth place spot with a 42-33 win over Washington.

The Freestyle Dual Nationals will begin Friday morning against New Jersey Blue. Last week, in the Schoolboy Dual Nationals, Team Oklahoma placed ninth in Greco and improved to seventh in Freestyle. Sand Springs's Carter Young went undefeated in both styles at that tournament and achieved All-American status.