No. 1 CPHS Wrestling leads State Championship after first round with 8 semifinalists
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Top-ranked 220 pound senior Delvin Jordan pinned his first-round opponent at the OSSAA State Championship. (Photo: Scott Emigh)
6A Top-Ten Team Scores:
- No. 1 Sand Springs (25)
- No. 2 Choctaw (21.5)
- No. 3 Broken Arrow (21)
- No. 13 Norman North (11)
- Midwest City (10)
No. 8 Stillwater (10) - No. 4 Edmond North (9)
- No. 6 Ponca City (8)
No. 5 Yukon (8) - No. 11 Edmond Memorial (6)
Owasso (6)
By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief
The No. 1 ranked Charles Page High School wrestling team got off to a solid start at the OSSAA 6A State Championship Friday afternoon at the Oklahoma State Fairgrounds. Eight of the eleven State Qualifiers won their first round matches, and the Sandites had the top team score by a narrow margin over the defending State Champions from No. 2 Choctaw.
It's a three-way race for the top with Choctaw and No. 3 Broken Arrow right behind the Sandites. The Yellowjackets and Tigers each have six wrestlers remaining in the championship bracket.
106-pound sophomore Riley Weir (39-6 season, 60-18 career) met Edmond North freshman Nate Becker (22-13) in his quarterfinal. Weir took a 5-1 lead into the second period and started on bottom, then quickly reversed in the first twenty seconds. He did it again to start the third period and held on for a 9-1 major decision. He will face Choctaw freshman Gabe Johnson (34-6) in the semifinals.
113 senior Tanner Ward (33-10, 109-22) took on Mustang sophomore Cameron Picklo (29-8) and recorded a takedown in the first twenty seconds, then cut his foe loose soon after. He snagged another score midway through the first period, added a pair of back points, cut his opponent loose, then took him down again to end the first period 8-3. Picklo started the second period on top and Ward easily got the escape, then added a takedown soon after. Picklo got a reversal and nearly put the Sandite in danger, but Ward managed to stay off his back and recovered for a reversal and 14-5 third period lead. The final stretch started neutral and Ward picked up a couple more takedowns for a 16-5 major decision. He will face Westmoore senior Canon Randall (36-4) in the semifinals.
120 senior Michael Ritchey (36-10, 65-34) and Choctaw junior Andy Schlaepfer (27-16) hit the mat early and struggled for control, ending up in a stalemate before the Sandite finally came out on top with seven seconds left. They started the second period neutral and it went the same as the first, hotly contested with one stalemate, and one Sandite takedown, once again in the final ten seconds. Ritchey started the final period on bottom and escaped thirty seconds in, then took control with a minute left and held on for the 7-0 decision. He will face Edmond North senior Paxton Rosen (36-2) in the semifinals.
126 junior Blake Sargent (37-10, 89-24) battled Choctaw junior Connor Holman (35-6) and gave up a takedown late in the first period. He started the second period on top and cut his opponent loose early on, then Holman added another pair of points towards the end and took a 5-0 lead into the final stretch. Sargent started the third period on the defensive end and escaped in the first few seconds, but was unable to score. Holman added another takedown, Sargent cut loose, and the Yellowjacket won by 7-2 decision. He will face Ponca City sophomore Spencer Schickram (37-9) in the consolationquarterfinal.
132 Oklahoma State University-signed senior Daton Fix (45-0, 163-0) easily handled Midwest City senior Marquez Edwards (24-8), scoring a takedown for nearfall points in the first thirty seconds. He cut his foe loose, scored, cut him loose again, scored again, and continued to run up the score to 11-3 at the end of the first period. He started the second with a reversal and secured the pin in 2:43. He will face Ponca City junior Dylan Schickram (38-12) in the semis.
138 senior Jack Karstetter (30-1, 103-16) had a scrappy competitor in Edmond Memorial junior Connor Simpson (21-8). The Sandite handily prevailed, however, taking a 7-0 lead into the second period with two sets of back points. He started on bottom and immediately escaped five seconds in, then added a second takedown for a 10-1 third period advantage. He reversed to start the final stretch and cut Simpson loose to look for bonus points, but the two remained neutral and Karstetter got the 12-2 major decision. He will face Ponca City senior Dawson Hunt (29-14) in the semifinals.
145 senior Beau Bratcher (43-7, 134-30) battled Westmoore sophomore Zach Johnson (25-7) and scored his first takedown at the minute mark. He started the second period on defense and scored an early escape and held on for a 3-0 lead in the third. Johnson selected defense, and remained there for the duration, giving Bratcher a 3-0 decision. He will face Yukon senior and defending State Champion Jaxen Gilmore (27-2) in the semifinals.
152 junior Payton Scott (37-3, 58-11) took on Choctaw junior Jeff Speer (16-8) and scored a takedown in the first thirty seconds, and cut his foe loose immediately. He added two more by the end of the first and entered the second stretch 6-2. He started with an immediate escape, then took Speer down for a fall at 2:19. He will take on Midwest City senior Rober Walker (28-6) in the semifinals.
160 sophomore Noah Almy (24-18) took on Choctaw junior and defending State Champion Jaryn Curry (35-3) and gave up an early takedown, but escaped soon after. Curry added another score and cut the Sandite loose, then repeated for a 6-3 lead. Almy started the second period on top, but Curry broke free and scored another trio of takedowns in the first minute and entered the third period with a 15-6 lead. They started neutral and Curry scored a takedown and a pair of back points before securing the 22-7 tech fall in 4:58 after a stalling penalty on Almy. The Sandite will return to action against Edmond Santa Fe junior Williams Depona (16-13) in the consolation quarterfinals.
170 senior Zane Basma (26-4, 88-29) gave up an early takedown to Edmond Memorial junior Sam Hensley (36-7), but quickly escaped and scored his own takedown for a trio of nearfall points. The Sandite started the second period neutral with a 6-2 lead, but gave up another takedown at the end of the period. Basma started the final stanza on bottom and quickly escaped, but Hensley scored a last second takedown for back points for the 9-7 decision. Basma will take on Ponca City junior Lane Newlin (31-14) in the consolation quarterfinal.
220 senior Delvin Jordan (43-2, 74-14) took on Westmoore senior Jonathan Martinez (15-8) and the two were evenly matched through the first. Jordan took a 1-0 lead with a second period escape then added a takedown soon after. Slow and steady won the race and Jordan worked his foe into a cradle at 3:42. He will take on Choctaw junior Caulin Poole (25-10) in the semifinals.
The first round of consolations will begin at 5:00 p.m., followed by the semifinals at 7:15 p.m.
