Sand Springs Sandites win first-ever Dual State Championship over Broken Arrow

By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

When the No. 3 ranked Broken Arrow Tigers (9-3) entered Firelake Arena Saturday morning in Shawnee, they had two losses under their belt. Earlier in the season they were defeated 38-22 by No. 2 Choctaw (9-1) and 46-21 by No. 1 Sand Springs (20-0). Since then, they returned multiple starters who were previously injured, they won seven-straight duals, one shutout, and one tournament. In the noon semifinals they avenged their loss to Choctaw, upsetting the nationally-ranked defending State and Dual State Champions 36-28.

Unfortunately for the Tigers, Sand Springs didn't feel like splitting wins.

The nationally-ranked Sandites concluded their perfect dual season with a 40-26 victory.

The dual kicked off in the Sandites' favor as Payton Scott (34-2, 55-10) nearly got a pin in the first few seconds. He settled for nearfall points against Aedan Cottle and worked up an 11-3 first period advantage. He continued to take down and cut his opponent loose and won a 25-10 technical fall in 3:49.

Broken Arrow took the lead in the next match, however, as Caleb Wise pinned Noah Almy (20-17) in 1:07. Zane Basma (23-2, 85-27) earned those points right back with a pin of Joey Hall in 1:01.

Gavin Potter scored first against sophomore Luke Bratcher (4-2) with an escape to start the second period. He added a takedown halfway through the period, but the Sandite reversed then cut his foe loose. Bratcher started the third period neutral, trailing 4-2, and Potter added another takedown for nearfall points and prevailed by 8-2 decision.

State Champion Zach Marcheselli returned his team to the lead at 14-11 with a 19-4 tech fall against Gage Fain (26-13, 39-35) in 5:55, but Delvin Jordan (38-2, 69-14) tied it up by defeating State Champion Skyler Haynes. The two remained neutral through the first period but Haynes gave Jordan the escape to start the second. Haynes tied it up thirty seconds into the third, then scored a takedown with forty seconds left. Jordan escaped ten seconds later and took the lead with five seconds left for the 4-3 decision.

Trenton Lieurance pinned Kris Edwards (4-4) in 1:03, but Riley Weir (34-6, 55-18) handled Jackson Cockrell for an 11-4 decision to cut into the deficit.

Tanner Ward (30-9, 106-21) had little difficulty with Andrew Police and worked up a 10-0 lead with three sets of back points all in the first period. He entered the final stretch 12-1 and started neutral, adding a takedown and nearfall points for a 17-1 tech fall in 4:43. Sand Springs returned to the lead at 22-20.

Michael Ritchey (32-9, 61-33) scored a takedown against Tyler Lawley, was awarded an unsportsmanlike point, then gave up an escape to end the first period 3-1. He started the second on top and Lawley escaped once again. Ritchey took down Lawley, Lawley reversed, then got a touchfall against the Sandite for a 26-22 team lead.

Blake Sargent (33-8, 85-22) made up for that loss however, pinning Blake Gonzalez in 1:24. The Tigers forfeited to Daton Fix (40-0, 158-0) and Sand Springs led 34-26 with two matches left.

Jack Karstetter (26-1, 99-16) took a 1-0 lead over TaJuan Daniels to start the second period, then added a takedown with fifteen seconds left. The Tiger escaped in the last second, but Karstetter got the takedown towards the end of the third and prevailed 5-3 to clinch the dual.

Beau Bratcher (39-6, 130-29) concluded the evening with a 4-2 decision for a 40-26 team victory.

The Sandites will have a week to celebrate, but their season isn't over yet. They will host the 6A-East Regional Championship next weekend. 

Sandite Wrestling returns to State Finals for second-straight year with 53-9 victory over Ponca

By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

The No. 1 undefeated Charles Page High School wrestling team (19-0) is headed to the Dual State Championship finals for the second-straight year after dominating No. 6 Ponca City (10-3) 53-9.

CPHS 53 Ponca City 9

106 No. 1 Weir p. Linder 0:45
113 No. 3 Ward d. Bellmard 3-0
120 No. 4 Ritchey d. No. 8 Swenson 1-0
126 No. 3 Sargent d. No. 2 Schickram 8-6
132 No. 1 Fix t.f. No. 5 Schickram 20-5
138 No. 2 Karstetter d. No. 9 Hunt 12-10
145 No. 2 Bratcher p. Tipton 0:23
152 No. 1 Scott p. No. 5 Rubio 0:35
160 No. 9 Almy d. No. 10 White 5-1
170 No. 1 Basma p. No. 10 Newlin 1:22
182 Bratcher d. Arechiga 10-6
195 Pressnall d. Fain 3-2
220 No. 1 Jordan p. No. 5 Fry 0:10
285 No. 9 Bridges p. Edwards 2:21

The dual kicked off at 145 as Beau Bratcher (38-6 season, 129-29 career) pinned Tacoma Tipton in 0:23. Payton Scott (33-2, 54-10) was right behind him, pinning State Qualifier Ezequiel Rubio in 0:35.

The Wildcats put up more of a fight at 160. Sophomore Noah Almy (20-16) took on Grayson White and scored a takedown in the first period, started the second period with an escape, then took down White again. The Wildcat picked up a caution point to end the second period, and chose neutral in the third. He was unable to score any points and the Sandite prevailed by 5-1 decision for a 15-0 team lead.

Zane Basma (22-2, 84-27) took on Lane Newlin and scored an early takedown before getting the fall in 1:22.

Sophomore Luke Bratcher (4-1) made his return to the mat after missing a few weeks with a sprain. He took a quick 7-2 lead over Abram Arechiga with nearfall points and started the second period neutral. He scored another quick takedown, but Arechiga got an escape at the end of the second and the start of the third to cut it to 9-4. Arechiga scored his first takedown with 30 seconds left, but Bratcher quickly escaped and finished 10-6.

Gage Fain (26-12, 39-34) battled out of an early deficit against Bradyn Pressnall and tied it up at 2-2 with a second period escape. Pressnall started the third period on bottom and Fain elected to give him the escape, but was unable to score and let Ponca on the board with a 3-2 decision.

Delvin Jordan (37-2, 68-14) more than made up for it with a ten-second fall against State Qualifier Austin Fry and the Sandites led 30-3. Kris Edwards (4-3) was far outsized in his match. He scored a quick takedown against Brett Bridges, but the Wildcat got the upper hand in period two and pinned the Sandite in 2:21.

Riley Weir (33-6, 54-18) pinned Chase Linder in 0:45. Tanner Ward (29-9, 105-21) scored a takedown against Karson Bellmard late in the first, then escaped in the second for a 3-0 lead which he held to the end, essentially clinching the dual.

Michael Ritchey (32-8, 61-32) battled it out with Jacob Swenson and neither scored in the first period. Ritchey started the second period on bottom and scored an escape halfway through, then started the third period on top and held on for the 1-0 decision.

Blake Sargent (32-8, 84-22) picked up a huge win against State Qualifier Spencer Schickram, who has beaten him multiple times this season. Schickram got the first takedown, but Sargent quickly escaped and scored on the Wildcat before cutting him loose to end the first period 3-3. Sargent started the second period on bottom, reversed, then was reversed on to keep it knotted up. He took the lead once again with an escape and entered the third period on top with a 6-5 advantage. Schickram tied it right back up, but Sargent got the winning takedown with 30 seconds left.

Daton Fix (39-0, 157-0) worked his usual magic on Dylan Schickram and led 13-4 after the first period and ultimately won by 20-5 technical fall in 3:06.

The dual wrapped up at 138 with Jack Karstetter (25-1, 98-16) versus Dawson Hunt. Karstetter took a 7-3 lead into the second, earning backpoints once against the Wildcat, but getting taken down in the last seconds. The Sandite earned an escape point halfway through the second period, but got in trouble at the end. Hunt scored a takedown for nearfall points and the Sandite was saved by the buzzer, holding on to a 12-9 lead to start the third and prevailing 12-10 for a final score of 53-9.

Sand Springs will return to action at 6:30 p.m. in the Championship round against No. 3 Broken Arrow (9-2), who upset the defending State Champs in No. 2 Choctaw (9-1). The Tigers prevailed 36-28 in a dual that came down to the very last match.

No. 1 Sandite Wrestling dominates No. 11 Norman 74-3 with eleven pins

By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

The No. 1 ranked and undefeated Charles Page High School wrestling team (18-0) won their quarterfinal match-up with the No. 11 Norman Tigers (15-4) Friday afternoon at Firelake Arena in Shawnee.

Sophomore Noah Almy (19-16) picked up a quick 0:51 pin, then Zane Basma (21-2, 83-27) pinned his foe in 0:48 for a 12-0 lead. Sophomore Hayden Cramer (9-8) took a 2-1 lead into the second period of his match, escaped to start the second and the third periods, then got the pin in 4:53. Gage Fain (26-11, 39-33) wrestled at 196 and got the pin in 1:42. Delvin Jordan (36-2, 67-14) put on a takedown clinic at 220, building a 12-4 lead in the first minute before pinning his foe at 1:11.

Kris Edwards (4-2) gave up a lot of weight at heavyweight and trailed 3-1 going into the third period. He was faster than his opponent, and quickly scored a second escape point, but Dami Oyesanya ended out on top of a 7-3 decision to spoil the potential shutout.

Riley Weir (32-6, 53-18) took a 5-0 first period lead over his opponent, added an immediate takedown to start the second, then got the pin at 2:35. Tanner Ward (28-9, 104-21) followed with a quick pin in 0:20 to unofficially clinch the dual victory. Michael Ritchey (31-8, 60-32) got a pin in 1:19, then Blake Sargent (31-8, 83-22) got the fall in 1:51.

Daton Fix (38-0, 156-0) took a 12-5 lead into the second period and was 20-8 going into the third. The Norman wrestler managed to stay on top of Fix for a full 11 seconds, which is more than most wrestlers can say, but the undefeated Sandites prevailed with a 23-8 technical fall in 4:16.

Jack Karstetter (24-1, 97-16) had a tough opponent at 138. The two remained neutral throughout the first period, then Karstetter took a 2-1 lead with only 0:20 to go in the second. He added an escape point to start the third and won by 3-1 decision.

Beau Bratcher (37-6, 128-29) got a fall in 0:33, then Payton Scott (32-2, 53-10) pinned his foe in 0:38 to end the dual 74-3.

The Sandites will return to action Saturday at noon against No. 6 Ponca City (11-2). Ponca tied No. 4 Edmond North (10-2) 31-31 and advanced on criteria, having received less unsportsmanlike penalties than the Huskies. Sand Springs already defeated Ponca City 59-3 earlier this season. No. 2 Choctaw (10-0) defeated No. 10 Stillwater (8-4) 56-21 in their quarterfinal and will take on No. 3 Broken Arrow (9-2), who defeated No. 5 Yukon (8-3) 51-19. Choctaw defeated Broken Arrow 38-22 earlier this year.