Wrestling: Daton Fix to take on defending Silver Medalist for ticket to World Championships

Daton Fix concluded his high school career in 2017 as a four-time undefeated State Champion with a 168-0 record. 

Oklahoma State University freshman and Charles Page High School Class of 2017 graduate Daton Fix (15-3) is back in the spotlight as the Final X Senior World Team Trial approaches. On Saturday, June 9 Fix will travel to Lincoln, Nebraska to take on Thomas Gilman in the last rung of the ladder to the World Championships.

In April Fix placed second at the U.S. Open, outscoring his first three opponents 24-0 with two first-period technical falls before falling 2-2 to University North Carolina assistant coach Tony Ramos. The former NCAA National Champion was awarded the win on criteria, but Fix got a rematch in May and made up for the loss.

At the Senior World Team Trials three weeks ago, Fix again made quick work of his pre-finals opponents. He teched former Oklahoma State All-American Eddie Klimara 14-2 in 2:07, topped former Illinois All-American Zane Richards 9-2, then teched former Minnesota All-American Zane 10-0 in 2:00. Fix won a best-of-three finals series against Ramos with 4-3 and 10-3 decisions.

On Saturday Fix will attempt to upset Gilman, who won Silver at the 2017 World Championship in Paris, France. While Gilman was coming in Runner-Up in France, Fix was going the distance for Gold at the Junior Championships in Tampere, Finland.

Fix has an extensive international resume at the Junior level, including Worlds Bronze in 2016, but is still relatively new to the Senior scene. He swept the Under 23 World Team Trials in October but was eliminated in the first round at Poland.

Fix made his debut at No. 15 in the FloWrestling International Freestyle rankings after topping Ramos. Gilman dropped from seventh to thirteenth in those same rankings after falling to Cuba’s Reineri Ortega in the Pan-American Championships.

The first round of the trials will kick off at 6:00 p.m. Central Time in Bob Devaney Sports Center at the University of Nebraska. Fix and Gilman will be the fifth of seven matches on the card. Round two will begin approximately at 7:15 and the final round will be at 8:30.

Also defending their spots on the Mens’ World Team are 70 KG Silver Medalist James Green, 74 KG Champion Jordan Burroughs, and 97 KG Champion Kyle Snyder.

This year’s World Championship will be held in Budapest, Hungary October 20-28.

In Other Wrestling News:

The Sand Springs Team Big wrestling club brought home ten gold medals from the OKUSA State Tournament last month in Cushing, finishing fourth out of seventy-seven teams in total standings.

The Sandites placed third in Schoolboy Freestyle and Cadet Freestyle, and secured a team State title in Schoolboy Greco-Roman.

Threestyle Wrestling, based out of Catoosa and Owasso, won the tournament overall with 667 points. Edmond’s Oklahoma Wrestling Academy came in runner-up with 332, Prodigy Wrestling scored 250, and Sand Springs scored 246.

Grady Mittasch (25-6 FS, 17-7 GR) took first place in both styles, competing in Novice at 78 pounds, with three technical falls.

Christian Forbes (11-0 FS, 8-0 GR) swept both styles for a pair of 94 pound Cadet titles with four tech falls and a pin.

Carter Young (38-6 FS) won both styles for a pair of 113 pound Cadet titles with five techs and a pin.

Ethan White (21-8 FS, 8-2 GR) won the Schoolboy Greco title at 136 pounds with a pin and a tech, and placed second in Freestyle with a pin and a tech.

Abraham Flores (14-3 FS, 10-3 GR) won the Schoolboy Greco title at 114 pounds with a pin and a tech fall, and placed third in Freestyle with a tech.

Clayton Giddens-Buttram (8-0) took first place at the Schoolboy Freestyle tournament at 77 pounds with a 10-0 technical fall and a 4-3 finals decision.

Bryce Fisher (25-2) won the Schoolboy Freestyle title at 149 pounds with a pin and two decisions.

Josey Jernegan (2-1 FS, 2-1 GR) placed second in Schoolboy in both styles at ninety pounds with three technical falls and a fall.

TJ Long (5-2 FS, 6-3 GR) placed second in Junior Freestyle and fourth in Greco with two tech falls.

Cameron White (9-9 FS) placed third in Schoolboy in both styles at 110 pounds with one pin and two tech falls.

Several Team Big wrestlers represented Team Oklahoma at the Southern Plains Regional in Dodge City Kansas this past weekend.

Mittasch won both styles at Novice 78 with three pins and a tech. Balance Johnson (3-1 FS, 4-0 GR) won both styles at Novice 160 with three pins. Long placed second in freestyle and third in Greco at Novice 126.

CPHS Wrestling: Daton Fix selected as All-Tulsa World Player of the Year Finalist

Charles Page High School Class of 2017 graduate and Oklahoma State University freshman Daton Fix was selected as one of three finalists for the All-Tulsa World Wrestler of the Year award. Fix is considered to be one of the greatest wrestlers in Oklahoma High School history, and is currently ranked first in the nation pound-for-pound.

Before ever hitting the high school varsity mat, Fix already had a series of Junior High State Championships and was a three-time USA Wrestling National Champion in both Freestyle and Greco-Roman.

As a freshman he went undefeated and won titles at the Perry Tournament of Champions, the Kansas City Invitational, the Bobby Lyons Invitational, the Jay Hancock Invitational, the Junior High State Championship, the Regional Championship, and the 113-pound 6A State Championship.

In 2014 he won the USAW Folkstyle National Championship, the Cadet Freestyle and Greco-Roman Pan-American Championships in Brazil, the UWW Cadet Freestyle National Championship, and was a member of the Oklahoma USAW Junior Freestyle Dual Team that won a National Title. He traveled to Slovakia for the Freestyle World Championships and placed tenth, then won a silver medal at the Youth Olympic Games in China. He also went 32 minutes into overtime with current Penn State sophomore Nick Suriano to set a world record for longest high school match.

As a sophomore he won the Perry TOC, the KC Stampede, the Jerry Billing Invitational, the Jay Hancock Invitational, the Regional Championship, and the 120-pound 6A State Championship.

In 2015 he won the UWW Junior Freestyle Nationals, the UWW Cadet Freestyle Nationals, the USAW Junior Freestyle Nationals, and went undefeated on the USAW Oklahoma Junior Dual team that repeated for the title. He also won bronze at the Cadet Worlds in Bosnia.

He continued his undefeated streak during his junior year with wins at the Perry Tournament, the KC tournament, the Geary Invitational, the Bobby Lyons Invitational, the Jay Hancock Invitational, the Regional Championship, and the 126-pound State Championship.

In 2016 he won the UWW Junior Freestyle Nationals, defeated an Iranian National Champion during an exhibition match in Times Square, New York City, then won Junior Bronze at the World Championships in France.

He concluded his undefeated high school career with a 168-0 record, winning the Perry Tournament, KC Invitational, Geary Invitational, Jerry Billings Invitational, the Regional Championship, and the 132-pound State Championship. He also helped the Sandites to their first State Title since 1971 and their first-ever Dual State Title.

This summer he won the U.S. Open Freestyle Nationals and earned a spot on the Junior World Team once again. He will compete in Tampere, Finland this August.

He is a recipient of the National Dave Schultz High School Excellence Award, a USAW All-American First Team member, and a nine-time Sandite of the Week.

Final selection for the Athlete of the Year will be made at the All World Awards dinner on July 8th at Marriott Southern Hills.

Sandite of the Week: Daton Fix qualifies for World Championship in Finland

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Charles Page High School Class of 2017 graduate and incoming Oklahoma State University freshman Daton Fix defeated Arizona State freshman Brandon Courtney at the Junior World Team Trials in Lincoln, Nebraska this weekend.

Courtney finished his senior season ranked 11th in the country at 126 pounds according to Flowrestling. He was a four-time Arizona State finalist, three-time State Champion, and the 2015 USAW Junior Freestyle National Champion.

Fix is ranked first in the country both at 132 pounds and pound-for-pound. He finished his high school career as a four-time undefeated State Champion with multiple UWW and USAW National Championships. 

Fix has made the World Team the past three seasons. In 2016 he took Bronze at Junior Worlds in France, in 2015 he took Bronze at Cadet Worlds in Bosnia, and in 2014 he placed tenth at Cadet Worlds in Slovakia. He also won Silver at the Youth Olympic Games in China in 2014.

As the defending World Team member, Fix got a bye through the World Team Trials bracket and met Courtney in a best-of-three series in the finals.

Courtney had to win three matches to make his way to the finals. He defeated Buffalo freshman Derek Spann 12-2, Nebraska-committed and undefeated high school senior Alex Thomsen 7-5, and Indiana freshman Liam Cronin 10-0.

Courtney had an impressive trip to the finals, but once he got there he was quickly shut down by Fix. In the first match the Sandite handily rolled to a 12-0 tech fall. In the second match Courtney managed to score a four-point throw, but Fix still prevailed with another tech fall at 15-4 to secure his place on the world team.

The Junior World Championship will be held August 21-26 in Tampere, Finland. 

Fix was one of five State Champions on the 2017 Sand Springs Wrestling Team that won both the State and Dual State Championships this year. Click here to view our commemorative magazine.

Click here to view previous Sandites of the Week. 

To nominate a Sandite of the Week, fill out the form on our homepage.

Daton Fix and Payton Scott win Geary Invitational; Sandites place fourth

By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

Team Scores

173.00 Blair Academy (National No. 1)
131.50 Tuttle (National No. 11)
96.00 Broken Arrow (OK 6A No. 3)
86.00 Sand Springs (National No. 16)
77.00 Lawton MacArthur (OK 5A No. 1)
70.00 Choctaw (National No. 18)
57.00 Norman North (OK 6A No. 12)
55.00 Tulsa Union (OK 6A No. 8)
51.00 Altus (OK 5A No. 4)
41.00 Arkansas City, KS
41.00 Randall, TX
38.00 Rio Rancho, NM
37.50 Collinsville (OK 5A No. 3)
34.00 Geary (OK 3A No. 4)
23.00 Arlington Martin, TX
17.00 Midwest City
14.00 Westmoore (OK 6A No. 6)
11.00 Tascosa, TX
6.00 Duncan (OK 5A No. 7)
2.00 Del City (OK 5A No. 10)

Champions

106 TJ Long (Union)
113 Trevor Mastrogiovanni (Blair)
120 Mike Madara (Blair)
126 Chris Cannon (Blair)
132 Daton Fix (Sand Springs)
138 Tanner Litterell (Tuttle)
145 Brik Filippo (Tuttle)
152 Payton Scott (Sand Springs)
160 Jaryn Curry (Choctaw)
170 Leo Tarantino (Blair)
182 Gavin Potter (Broken Arrow)
195 Zach Marcheselli (Broken Arrow)
220 Chase Singletary (Blair)
285 Gage Johnson (Norman North)

The No. 1 ranked Charles Page High School varsity wrestling team (3-0) continued their nationally-recognized season with a fourth place finish at the oldest high school tournament in the country. The Sandites, who are ranked sixteenth in the nation by FloWrestling.com, traveled to the 72nd Annual Geary Invitational Tournament this weekend and fell by 87 points to the No. 1 team in the country, Blair Academy. 

Undefeated Oklahoma State University-signed senior Daton Fix took first place for the second-straight year and junior Payton Scott won his bracket for the first time. Six total Sandites placed in the tournament that featured all-star talent from across the country. Delvin Jordan took second place, Michael Ritchey and Beau Bratcher took third, and Cody Mathis took sixth.

The Geary Tournament uses a blind draw instead of seeding the brackets, and also features a second-place challenge match for consolation winners who didn't already wrestle the runner-up.

Nationally ranked No. 11 Tuttle came in second, while Oklahoma 6A No. 3 Broken Arrow upset both Sand Springs and Choctaw for third place. Blair Academy has held the No. 1 spot in the country since knocking off Wyoming Seminary nearly a year ago. The Buccaneers won national prep titles in both 2015 and 2016.

The Sandites' performance is made even more impressive by their incomplete roster. State Runner Up Jack Karstetter (5-1, 78-16) and State-placer Zane Basma (4-1, 66-26) sat out with injuries, and the Sandites didn't wrestle anybody at the 170 or 195 weight classes.

Daton Fix (19-0 season, 137-0 career) competed at 132 and scored a trio of dominating tech falls to earn his way to the finals. He defeated both Connor Manderfield (Arlington Martin) and State-qualifier David Hunter (Duncan) 23-7 each, then teched State-qualifier Sam Avant (Norman North) 20-4. In the championship round he had his closest win of the season, 7-3 over nationally ranked No. 6 Zach Sherman, a University of North Carolina commit.

Payton Scott (18-1, 39-9) competed at 152 and won his first two matches with close decisions over tough competitors. He topped USAW Preseason National Runner-Up Dustin Plott, a freshman from Tuttle, 8-6, then defeated two-time New Mexico State Champion Ryan Rochford of Rio Rancho. In the semifinals he pinned Tascosa freshman Sam Mora in 2:51, setting himself up for a finals bout with Willy Kaiser of Blair Academy. He prevailed 3-1 in overtime for his second tournament championship this season. 

Delvin Jordan (18-2, 49-14) competed at 220 and continued his pin streak with a 1:12 fall over Georgia State-qualifier Josue Arroyo (Altus). He met his match in the semifinals, however, in a 16-1 tech fall to nationally-ranked No. 1 Chase Singletary (Blair). In the consolation bracket he pinned Micah Walker (Union) in 0:45 and won a rematch with Arroyo 9-3. In his challenge match he scored a 15-8 decision over State-placer Dion Brown.

Michael Ritchey (14-7, 43-31) defeated Dylan Morris (Duncan) 5-0 in the first round of 120, but fell 6-3 to Mike Madara of Blair Academy. In the consolations he scored a 2-0 decision over Quinton Smith (MacArthur), then defeated Choctaw's Andy Schlaepfer 5-0 in the finals. He was pinned in the first period of his challenge match by two-time State Champion Rhett Golowenski (Tuttle).

Beau Bratcher (16-5, 107-28) competed at 145 and won two impressive matchups on day one. He scored a 10-0 major decision over Blake Muse (Choctaw), then pinned State-qualifier Brady Mattioda (Broken Arrow) in 4:39, setting himself up for his toughest opponent of the season. He put up an impressive effort, but eventually fell 6-1 to nationally-ranked State Champion No. 18 Brik Filippo of Tuttle. In the consolations he handily defeated Dillan Rowland (Lawton MacArthur) 7-0, then pinned Jermaine Harring (Union) in 2:38 in the finals. In his challenge match he gave up a close 6-2 decision to State Champion Nate Keim (Collinsville).

Cody Mathis (7-5, 25-19) competed at 138 and drew a tough competitor to start. He was pinned in 4:42 by nationally-ranked No. 7 Malcolm Robinson of Blair Academy, but worked his way up through the consolations. He defeated New Mexico State-placer Zak Vigil 3-1 and Cameron Traylor (Union) 8-5 before falling 5-2 to David Reyes (Arlington Martin) in the consolation semifinals. In the placement round he forfeited to Jack Hammond (Collinsville).

Riley Weir (14-6, 35-18) lost his first round match at 106, but the closeness of the loss was impressive. Blair Academy's Nick Incontrera is currently ranked ninth in the nation according to FloWrestling.com, but Weir hung close and only lost 4-1. The sophomore resoundingly won his next match with an 8-0 major decision over Luke Garcia (Arlington Martin), then scored a 16-1 tech fall over Alex Emmer (Rio Rancho), before falling 13-4 to Johnathon Ortegon (Randall). 

Tanner Ward (13-6, 89-18) won his first match at 113, pinning Alec Ramirez (Tascosa) in 1:24, but gave up a 12-8 decision to Union's Caron Watson in the quarterfinals. In the consolations he defeated Will Hicks (Duncan) 7-2, but was edged out 6-5 by Daniel Vargas (Rio Rancho).

Blake Sargent (14-6, 66-20) scored a 7-0 decision over Ryder Ramsey (Tuttle) in the first round at 126, then lost a close 7-5 match to two-time State Runner-Up Connor Holman of Choctaw. In the consolations he pinned Landon Holt (Geary) in 0:40, but lost a 3-2 decision to Texas State Champion Xavier Torres (Randall).

Noah Almy (8-9) competed at 160 pounds and was eliminated after the first day. He was pinned in 4:16 by State-placer Ryce Haymaker (Collinsville) and in 2:20 by State-placer Ross Shawnee (Geary). 

Hayden Cramer (1-3) competed at 182 and was eliminated after a pair of close losses to tough competition. He was defeated 4-1 by Jacob Base (Geary) and 5-3 by Brady Worthington (Blair Academy).

Gage Fain (12-6, 25-28) competed at 285 and was pinned in 0:42 by two-time State-placer Trenton Lieurance of Broken Arrow. In the consolations he scored an 8-3 decision over Baylor Walker (Tascosa), but was pinned in 1:49 by Michael Pope (Del City).