Sand Springs Team Big Wrestling Club wins nineteen First place medals at SS tournament

Clyde Boyd Middle School played host to the Sand Springs USA Oklahoma wrestling tournament this past weekend and the Sand Springs Team Big wrestling club earned a plethora of medals in their home tournament. Fourteen members of Team Big won gold.

Team Big meets Monday and Wednesday evenings at 5:30 p.m. in the Charles Page High School wrestling room, and is open to wrestlers from the surround areas as well as Sandites.

Junior

CPHS sophomore State Champion Riley Weir (6-0 FS) took first place for the third straight week at 120 freestyle. He pinned Braydon Blose in 0:39, then scored an 11-0 tech fall over Zane Plunkett.

CPHS junior State Qualifier Blake Sargent (2-0 FS) took first place in freestyle at 126 pounds. He teched teammate Skylar Galloway 10-0, then pinned Brendan Clarke in 2:18.

CPHS senior State Champion Daton Fix (8-0 FS) took first place in freestyle for the second week in a row at 138 pounds. He teched all four of his opponents without giving up a single point, including Cleveland State Qualifier Tyler West 12-0.

Claremore State Runner-Up Tracy Reeder took first place in freestyle at 152 with two pins and a tech fall.

CPHS senior State Qualifier Michael Ritchey (11-2 FS, 3-0 GR) took second place in freestyle at 138 pounds for the second week in a row. He lost his opening match to teammate Daton Fix, but teched his next three opponents, including a 12-2 victory over Tyler West.

Cleveland State Qualifier Zach Myles took fourth place in freestyle at 145 pounds with two tech falls.

Cadet

Clyde Boyd Middle School’s Carter Young (12-0 FS, 9-0 GR) took first place in both styles at 106 pounds. He teched all three of his opponents in Greco and two in freestyle, then wrapped up his fourth-straight perfect weekend with a 7-2 decision against teammate Zachary Keal.

Texas State Champion Parker Decker took first place in both styles at 113 pounds. He defeated all six of his opponents by tech fall, giving up only one point altogether.

Skiatook freshman Jeran Seabolt took first place in freestyle at 160 pounds with a tech fall and a 16-14 decision over Jacob Rogers.

Zachary Keal took second place in freestyle at 106 pounds. He defeated his first two opponents by tech fall, but was defeated 7-2 by teammate Carter Young.

Skiatook State Qualifier Cale Glover took second place in freestyle at 145 pounds. He pinned his first opponent, then scored a pair of 12-2 tech falls before falling 17-7 to Spencer Schickram, a State-placer from Ponca City.

Kansas State Qualifier Austin Keal took second place in Greco at 113 pounds, but failed to place in freestyle. He teched his first two opponents 11-0 in Greco, but fell 10-0 to teammate Parker Decker in the finals.

Skiatook’s Josh Taylor took second place in freestyle at 126 pounds, but failed to place in Greco. He won an 11-2 decision and a 10-0 tech fall in freestyle before falling in 4:42 to freshman State Qualifier TJ Long.

Preston Decker took fourth place in freestyle and third in Greco at 126 pounds.

Cleveland Junior High’s Bryar Lucas took fourth place in freestyle at 138 pounds, pinning Micah Bynum in 1:09.

Schoolboy

Cole Brooks (6-1 FS, 5-1 GR) took first place in both styles at 91 pounds with four tech falls and two pins.

Kaden Glass (6-0 FS, 3-0 GR) took first place in both styles at 190 pounds with four falls and two tech falls. He pinned three opponents in under a minute apiece with his fastest coming in sixteen seconds against Cameron Timmons.

Christian Forbes (10-0 FS, 1-3 GR) took first place in freestyle at 84 pounds for the third-straight week, teching all four of his opponents.

Bryce Fisher (4-1 FS) took first place in freestyle at 136 pounds. He pinned Gavin Koehler in 2:35, then scored a 7-3 tech fall over Jose Flores.

Rhett Peak (5-3 FS, 1-0 GR) took first place at 84 pounds in Greco, teching his sole opponent 10-0. In freestyle he placed second with two tech falls and a 7-0 decision before falling 14-3 to teammate Christian Forbes.

Clay Gates (5-9 FS, 0-1 GR) took second place in Greco at 84 pounds, losing his sole match 10-0 to Rhett Peak. He placed fourth in freestyle with a pin of Zachariah Jones in 2:24.

Jim Mullin (5-2 FS) took third place in freestyle at 91 pounds. He lost his opening match, but scored two tech falls and topped Hunter Waits 10-7 in the consolations.

Braden Anderson (6-6 FS, 4-4 GR) took third place in freestyle at 112 pounds, but failed to place in Greco. He lost his opening match of freestyle in a close 12-10 decision, but defeated his next opponent 11-6, then scored a 12-2 tech fall.

Intermediate

Dian Fix (2-1 FS) took second place at 65 pounds in freestyle. He lost his first match 10-0, but rebounded with a pair of close decisions. He defeated Caleb Thompson 9-8 and Kale Fruits 9-8.

Nation Johnson (4-3 FS, 6-3 GR) took second place in both styles at 80 pounds. He drew only one opponent in freestyle and was teched twice by Jake Miller, but split wins in Greco with a 16-4 victory over Bodie Adams.

Promised Johnson (10-3 FS, 6-5 GR) competed in both styles at 70 pounds, taking second in freestyle and third in Greco. He was pinned in both styles by Brody Mills, but teched two opponents and pinned Bobby Brockman in 0:46 in freestyle. In Greco he was defeated by Ryder Seago, but teched Isaiah Jones 12-0.

Bantam

Legend Johnson (0-2 FS, 1-1) GR took second place at 55 pounds in both styles. He drew only one competitor in freestyle and was teched twice in a best-of-three series, but went 1-1 in Greco with a pin of Williams Corde in 1:07.

Novice

Clayton Giddens (8-0 FS) took first place in freestyle at 70 pounds. He teched all three of his opponents and didn’t give up a single point for the third-straight week.

Balance Johnson (7-1 FS, 3-1 GR) took first place in both styles at 100 pounds. In freeestyle he won three tech falls and a 12-10 decision over teammate Abraham Flores. In Greco he topped Abraham 11-9, pinned Adrian Flores in 1:04, and teched Ty Vinson.

Robert Burke (5-1 FS, 4-3 GR) took second place at 65 pounds in both styles. He was pinned by Stockton Allen, but teched Ezekiel Smith 10-0 in freestyle. Allen was his only opponent in Greco, and the Spartan won the best-of-three series with a pair of pins.

Abraham Flores (7-1 FS, 5-3 GR) took second place at 100 pounds in both styles. His only losses were to teammate Balance Johnson, both by close decisions. He recorded three tech falls between the two styles.

Jaxon Trotter (1-1 FS, 0-2 GR) took third place at 90 pounds in both styles. He was defeated twice in Greco, but split wins in freestyle with an overtime decision against Gavin Salt.

Adrian Flores (2-5 FS, 1-5 GR) took fourth place at 100 pounds in both styles. He pinned Tyler Hockett in freestyle.

Kagen Foster (0-2 FS, 1-2 GR) failed to place in freestyle, but took fourth in Greco at 75 pounds with a 10-0 tech fall against Tanner Winesburg.

Laira Mullin (0-2 FS) competed in freestyle at 60 pounds and drew only one competitor. She was teched twice by Ava Roe in a best-of-three series.

Sand Springs Team Big wrestling brings home 9 gold medals from Catoosa

By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

The Sand Springs Team BIG wrestling club recently competed at the Catoosa OKUSA tournament, bringing home nine gold medals and five silver.

Team BIG meets and trains in the Charles Page High School wrestling room and is coached by Derek Fix, Chris Corbes, TeDon Fleischman, and Kyle Waag. It is mostly Sand Springs students, but anyone is welcome.

Junior

CPHS sophomore State Champion Riley Weir (2-0 FS) took first place in his first freestyle tournament of the summer with a pair of tech falls against Johnathan Warford (Sapulpa) and Skylar Galloway (Team Big).

CPHS senior Michael Ritchey (5-0 FS, 3-0 GR) took first place for the second weekend in a row with a pair of 10-0 tech falls and a 5-3 decision over two-time State Runner-Up Vincent Eremita in 138 Freestyle. He also won Greco with two pins and a 3-1 decision against Eremita.

Kaleb Tabor (2-1 FS, 0-2 GR) took third place at 160 pounds in Freestyle with a pair of pins.

Cadet

Carter Young (6-0 FS, 6-0 GR) took first place in both styles at 106 pounds for the second week, winning all six of his matches by tech fall.

Union sophomore Jalen Hernandez joined Team Big for the weekend and took first place at 145 pounds in Freestyle with three 10-0 tech falls.

Zachary Keal (3-1 FS) took third place in 106 Freestyle with two tech falls and a decision.

Austin Keal (0-2 FS, 2-1 GR) took second place in 113 Greco with a pair of close 7-6 decisions, but fell to State Qualifier TJ Long from Union. He failed to place in Freestyle.

Kyle Tucker (2-2 FS, 1-3 GR) took fourth place at 120 pounds in both styles with three pins.

Sam Harris (2-2 FS, 1-2 GR) took fourth place at 126 pounds in Freestyle with a tech fall and a close 15-14 decision.

Schoolboy

Christian Forbes (3-0 FS, 1-3 GR) made his season debut with a first place finish at 84 pounds in Freestyle, and fourth place in Greco. He won three matches by tech fall and one by major decision, but forfeited three matches in Greco.

Ethan White (3-0 FS) took first at 120 pounds in his first Freestyle tournament of the season. He pinned all three of his opponents in 2:00, 0:28, and 0:22.

Jim Mullin (2-1 FS) came in runner-up at 91 pounds in Freestyle with two pins.

Cole Brooks (3-1 FS, 2-1 GR) came in runner up in Greco at 91 pounds with a pin and a tech fall, and placed third in Freestyle with a pin and two tech falls.

Braden Anderson (2-3 FS, 4-2 GR) took third place at 112 pounds in Greco with one pin and two decisions, but failed to place in Greco.

Rhett Peak (2-2 FS) took fourth place finish at 84 pounds in Freestyle, winning two decisions.

Novice

Andrew Mullin (2-0 FS) made his season debut with a first place finish at 120 pounds in Freestyle, pinning his foes in 35 seconds and 1:48.

Grady Mittasch (4-3 FS, 2-5 GR) had a rough go, suffering an injury in the second round of the Freestyle competition, causing him to forfeit the remainder of his matches. He took fourth in Greco Roman and fifth in Freestyle.

Sand Springs wrestling club brings home 13 gold medals from Bixby Tournament

By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

The Oklahoma USA Wrestling spring season kicked off earlier this month and several Sand Springs wrestlers made it out to opening weekend at Bixby High School. While wrestlers spend the winter competing in Folkstyle competition, which is mostly native to American high schools and colleges, in the summer they get to hone their skills in the two Olympic styles: Freestyle and Greco-Roman. 

The Team BIG wrestling club meets and trains in the Charles Page High School wrestling room and is coached by Derek Fix, Chris Forbes, TeDon Fleischman, and Kyle Waag. They have put forward several international wrestlers in recent years, including Youth Olympic Silver Medalist Daton Fix, Pan-American Champion Carter Young, and Pan-American Silver Medalists Christian Forbes and Jack Karstetter just to name a few.

Junior

CPHS senior Michael Ritchey (2-0 FS) competed in his first event since the 2017 OSSAA State Tournament in February and took first place at 138 pounds in Junior Freestyle with a pair of technical falls.

Jenks junior Austin Daniels joined Team BIG and took third place at 145 lbs in Junior Freestyle with a pin and two tech falls.

Cadet

Skiatook 8th grader Brian Pollard competed at 170 lbs Cadet in both styles and took first in each. He won Freestyle with three tech falls and a thirty second pin, then won Greco with a tech fall and a twelve second pin.

Clyde Boyd Middle School 8th grader Carter Young (3-0 FS, 2-0 GR) competed at 106 lbs Cadet in both styles and took first in each. He won freestyle with two tech falls and a pin and won Greco with a tech fall and a forfeit.

Skiatook 8th grader Josh Taylor competed at 126 lbs Cadet in both styles and took second in each. He won a tech fall in Freestyle and pinned Union sophomore State Qualifier TJ Long (Team NEO) in 1:32 in Greco.

Mannford freshman State-qualifier Colby Jerome competed at 182 lbs Cadet in both styles and took third in each. He won a tech fall in Freestyle and received a forfeit in Greco.

Schoolboy

Ryker Collins (2-0 FS, 2-1 GR) competed at 160 lbs Schoolboy in both styles and took first in each. He won Freestyle with a tech fall and a decision. In Greco he drew only one opponent but won the best-of-three series for first place with a pair of decisions.

Braden Anderson (1-1 FS, 1-1 GR) competed at 112 lbs Schoolboy in both styles and place second in each with a pair of close decisions.

Clay Gates (0-2 FS) competed at 91 lbs Schoolboy in Freestyle and lost a pair of close decisions.

Intermediate

Nation Johnson (2-0 FS, 3-1 GR) competed at 80 lbs Intermediate in both styles and medaled in each. He took first place in Freestyle with a forfeit and a tech fall, then placed second in Greco with a pin, a tech fall, and a forfeit.

Promised Johnson (3-1 FS, 2-2 GR) competed at 70 lbs Intermediate in both styles and medaled in each. He came in second in Freestyle with two decisions and a technical fall, then placed third in Greco with a tech fall and a pin.

Novice

Clayton Giddens (2-0 FS) competed at 70 lbs Novice in Freestyle and took first place with one forfeit and one tech fall.

Robert Burke (2-0 FS, 1-1 GR) competed at 65 lbs Novice in both styles but drew only one competitor for each. He defeated Christopher Kiser twice by decision for first place in Freestyle, but Kiser won in Greco.

Balance Johnson (1-1 FS, 2-0 GR) competed at 112 lbs Novice in both styles. He placed second in Freestyle with a tech fall and a loss to teammate Abraham Flores, but defeated Flores twice in a best-of-three for first place in Greco.

Grady Mittasch (3-0 FS, 2-2 GR) competed at 75 lbs Novice in both styles and medaled in each. He took first place in Freestyle with two pins and a tech fall, then took third in Greco with two tech falls.

Abraham Flores (2-0 FS, 0-2 GR) competed at 112 lbs Novice in both styles. He won Freestyle with a tech fall and a decision over teammate Balance Johnson, but Johnson the best-of-three in Greco.

No. 1 CPHS Wrestling leads State Championship after first round with 8 semifinalists

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:

1. No. 1 Sand Springs (25)
2. No. 2 Choctaw (21.5)
3. No. 3 Broken Arrow (21)
4. No. 13 Norman North (11)
5. Midwest City (10)
   No. 8 Stillwater (10)
6. No. 4 Edmond North (9)
7. No. 6 Ponca City (8)
   No. 5 Yukon (8)
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.