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.

Youth Wrestling: Sandites crown six champions at Oklahoma National Team Qualifier

Several members of the Sand Springs Team Big wrestling club competed at the USA Oklahoma National Team Qualifier this weekend at Union High School. The Sandites brought home seven first-place medals.

Christian Forbes (7-0 FS, 6-0 GR) took first place in Cadet in both styles at 94 pounds with four tech falls.

Kaden Glass (6-0) won the 182-pound Cadet Freestyle bracket with three technical falls and a pin.

Clayton Giddens-Buttram (6-0 FS, 2-0 GR) breezed through the 77-pound Schoolboy Freestyle bracket with a trio of tech falls, outscoring his opponents 34-2. In Greco he pinned one opponent in 25 seconds and defeated Caydon Miller 8-2 in the finals.

Abraham Flores (12-1) dominated the 114-pound Schoolboy Freestyle bracket with three tech falls and a pin, topping Jaxen Wright 16-6 in the finals.

Grady Mittasch (18-6) won the 78 pound Novice Freestyle bracket with a first-period pin, a technical fall, and a 6-5 finals decision over Miles Velasquez.

Adrian Flores (7-18) won a best-of-three series against Garrett Henry for the 135-pound Novice Freestyle title with a 37-second pin and a 10-0 tech fall.

Riley Weir (21-5) came in runner-up in Junior Freestyle at 126 pounds, teching Jakob Lyons 13-2 and Thaddeus Long 17-4 before injury forfeiting to Ryder Ramsey. Long (4-1) placed third, teching three opponents and pinning one.

Carter Young (35-6) came in runner-up in Cadet Freestyle at 113 pounds, teching his first three opponents by a cumulative 33-1 before falling 13-8 to Tucker Owens in the finals.

Cameron White (6-7 FS, 7-6 GR) placed second in Schoolboy Greco at 110 pounds and third in Freestyle. In Greco he pinned his first foe in only fourteen seconds and in Freestyle he teched Alec Little 14-2.

Bryce Fisher (22-2) placed third in Schoolboy Freestyle at 165 pounds, falling in his opening match before winning a pair of 10-0 tech falls.

Ethan White (19-7) placed fourth at 136 pounds in Schoolboy Freestyle. He fell by pin in his opening match but rebounded with a pair of 10-0 tech falls before falling 10-2 to JP Martinez in placement.

Youth Wrestling: Kaden Glass wins Flo National Championship

Pictured: Clayton Giddens took fourth place at the Flo Tulsa Nationals.

Sand Springs Team Big wrestling club member Kaden Glass (8-0) picked up his second National Championship title of the month this past weekend. After going 4-0 in the U.S. Junior Open Championship, he repeated the feat at the Flo Tulsa Nationals, winning the 200-pound bracket in the fifteen-and-under division.

After scoring a 17-2 technical fall against Frank Lucero (Albuquerque) in 1:44, Glass’s next three matches were a lot closer. He defeated Nathan Wemstrom (Buffalo Grove) 7-2, only giving up escape points, but he had to come from behind in his next match. He scored first on Kyle Hobill (Chandler), but Hobill reversed to tie it up, then took a 5-2 lead in the second period with an escape and a takedown. Glass reversed with only five seconds left in the second period, then scored a takedown midway through the third to secure the 6-5 decision.

In the finals Glass scored first against KJ Miley (House Springs) and gave up an escape to start the second period up 2-1. Miley reversed for the lead and stayed out front till fifteen seconds before the end of the match when Glass scored a takedown for the 4-3 decision.

Clayton Giddens (15-2) placed fourth at seventy pounds in the twelve-and-under division. He pinned Joey Hutchins (Medford) in 1:18 and Cole Frost (Gilbertville) in 41 seconds, then defeated DJ Bonam (Omaha) 5-2 before falling 2-1 to Jackson Blum (Otsego) in an ultimate tie-breaker. In consolation he defeated Sam Herring (Memphis) 4-3 but fell 2-0 to Davis Motyka (Kingston) in the finals.

Jaxon Trotter (18-6) placed fourth at 100 pounds in the ten-and-under division. He lost his opening match to Kyle Harrall (Geary), but won five-straight in consolation. He pinned Gregory Moore (Omaha) in 0:57 and Daxton Williams (Omaha) in 1:00, then won a 6-1 decision over Percie Hatfield (Moyock), a 2-0 decision over Gabriel Goode (Paola), and a 4-1 decision over Devan Parn (Brookfield) before falling to Danny Zmorowski (Twinsburg) in the finals.

Asher Giddens (14-4) took fifth place at 46 pounds in the six-and-under division. He fell 13-7 to Casey Bittner (Salinas) in the opening round, but worked his way through the consolation bracket by defeating Andres Esparza (Commerce City) 10-1, Easton Rodgers (Bixby) 6-2, and Cru Foster (Chickasha) 2-1 before falling 5-0 to Elias Faith (Evansville) in the consolation semifinals. In the placement round he defeated Santino Martinez (Albuquerque) 6-3.

Youth Wrestling: Dariuz Black, Kaden Pope, Henry Hill win Team IceFighter Tournament

Eight members of the Sand Springs Team Big wrestling program competed at the Team IceFighter Tournament in Tulsa recently and three brought home first-place medals.

Dariuz Black (7-1) won his second-straight tournament in Division Four at 92 pounds. He pinned Walker Upton (Tuttle) in 57 seconds and scored a 7-2 decision against Cael Eremita (Catoosa).

Kaden Pope (5-2) won the 64-pound bracket in Division Three easily, scoring a 16-1 tech fall against Kason Delgado (OWA), and pinning Ari Jones (Claremore) in 46 seconds.

Henry Hill (2-0) won the Division Three Novice 64-pound bracket, majoring Urah Hooks (Oologah) 11-2 and pinning Andrew Xiong (Oologah) in 0:32.

Ethan Norton (5-8) placed second in Division Five at one-hundred pounds. He fell 3-2 to Allison Hynes (Broken Arrow), but defeated Cameron White (Sapulpa) 10-5.

Youth Wrestling: Four Sandites win gold at U.S. Junior Open Championship

Four members of the Sand Springs Team Big wrestling club won first place titles at the United State Junior Open Championship in Oklahoma City earlier this month. The Sandites placed fourteenth out of 175 teams. The Oklahoma Wrestling Academy, located in Edmond, won the tournament with ten champions.

Division 5

Kaden Glass (4-0) breezed through his competition at 200 pounds. He pinned Michael McCain (Hinton) in 34 seconds and Brody Cannon (Warner) in 58 seconds, teched Tieler Cummings (Henryetta) 15-0, and won a 5-2 decision over Kyle Hobill (Davenport) in the finals.

Owen Martin (9-1) had only two competitors at 75 pounds, but handled both for his third-straight tournament title. He defeated Caden Holman (Choctaw) 1-0 and pinned Boog Jeffries (Choctaw) in 2:27.

Blake Jones (5-2) placed fourth at 113 pounds. He defeated Darrius Dixon (Hard Knox) 4-1 and pinned Nicholas Denson (OKC) in 54 seconds before falling 10-8 to Reese Davis (Tuttle) in sudden victory overtime. In consolation he majored Aidan Rutnarak (NB Elite) 11-0, defeated Bk Seago (Threestyle) 3-0, and pinned Tyson Stevens (Blue T Xtreme) in 2:00 before falling 4-3 to Braden Anderson.

Division 4

Clayton Giddens-Buttram (11-0) won his third-straight tournament, handily pinning all five of his foes at seventy pounds. He took down Jackson Bodine (StandFast) in 2:34, Jace Province (OWA) in 0:31, Gage Walker (Jay) in 1:01, Colt Collett (Checotah) in 2:26, and Cash Holman (Choctaw) in 0:42.

Jaxon Trotter (10-4) placed third at 100 pounds. He pinned Clete Gilbert (Sulphur) in 2:13 and Andrew Williams (Hard Knox) in 2:19 before falling 5-3 to Kyle Harrall (Geary). He won consolation by pinning Jon Broehl Li (Tulsa) in 2:43 and Jessiah Baeza (Woodward) in 1:00, but fell to Ritson Meyer (Chickasha) in the second-place challenge round.

Division 3

Will Meredith (5-2) lost his opening match 4-2 to Cason Craft (Spiro) but won three-straight in consolation. He defeated Carlos Chay (Harrah) 4-0, Cooper Jackson (Tuttle) 6-5 in a tie-breaker, and teammate Jaxon Grigsby 7-1 before falling 2-0 to Lane Walters (Salina) in the finals for fourth place.

Grigsby (8-2) teched Chay 15-0 and pinned Dylan Ota (Team Punisher) in 2:41 before falling 7-2 to Talon Verbeck (Ark City). In consolation he was defeated 7-1 by Meredith, then won a 6-1 decision over Colt Fox (Maverick Elite) for fifth place.

Division 1

Asher Giddens (10-2) placed third at 46 pounds. He pinned Nate Edmonson (C4) in 57 seconds and scored a 16-0 technical fall against Ty Chavez (Woodward) before falling 6-0 to Easton Rodgers (RAW). In consolation he majored Nick Beidelschies (Paola) 11-2 and Cru Foster (Chickasha) 10-1.

Novice 4

Chase Kelley (5-7) placed second at 110 pounds. He majored Brett Reed (C4) 16-4 and won a 7-1 decision against Kareli Cadena (Maverick Elite) before falling to Luke Leonard (OWA) in the finals.

Novice 3

Lane Bailey (6-0) won his second straight tournament, taking first place at 61 pounds. He pinned Brannon McDonald (Spiro) in 2:13 and won decisions of 6-2 and 10-7 against Carver Barnett (Bristow), and Evan Notley (Tulsa), respectively.

Youth Wrestling: Six Sandites win First Place at Pryor Tournament

Six members of the Sand Springs Team Big wrestling club won their brackets at the recent Gage Underwood Memorial Tournament in Pryor. 

Division 5

Owen Martin (7-1) won his third tournament of the season. He drew only one competitor at 76 pounds and won a best-of-three series with a 15-0 technical fall and a 12-2 major decision against Bradley Vanblaricom (McAlester).

Wyatt Meredith (4-1) drew only one competitor at 84 pounds. He pinned Keynon Encinas (Pryor) in 3:49 and 1:26 for his first tournament championship of the season.

Division 4

Abraham Flores (9-1) won his third-straight tournament at 110 pounds. He drew only two competitors and pinned Joseph Robbins (Pryor) in 3:46 and scored a 16-0 technical fall against Alex Enfield (South Central).

Division 3

Matthew Moore (9-2) won his first tournament of the season at 64 pounds with three pins and a technical fall. He took down Joseph Ketcher (Pryor) in 1:24, Elijah Wilson (Claremore) in 1:04, and Bodie Elam (Pryor) in 2:01. He also scored a dominant 16-0 tech fall against Aiden Machado (16-0).

Division 2

Jayden Bussell (8-4) won his second tournament of the season at 64 pounds. He pinned Hagen McHenry (Catoosa) in 2:29 and won a 6-0 decision against Kolby Wickham (Jay) to make his way to the finals. In the first place match he pinned Luis Flores (Sapulpa) in 2:05.

Novice 3

Connor Beals (10-4) won his fourth tournament of the season at 76 pounds. He pinned Braxton Snow (Bentonville) in 1:57, won a 10-5 decision against Braxton Cook (Coweta), then pinned Drake Blue (Sperry) in 2:19 in the finals.

Novice 2

Brayden Grimes (2-1) placed second at 61 pounds, pinning Zachariah Dooley (Del City) in seventeen seconds, and Shelby Correa (Cushing) in 2:21 before falling to Carter Williams in the finals.

Novice 1

Spencer Grimes (1-1) placed second at 37 pounds, winning a 5-3 decision over Aubrey Holman (Sand Springs), but falling to Hutch Landrum (Broken Arrow).

Cooper Ellenburg (10-4) placed third at 52 pounds. He lost his opening match to Eli Phillips (Jay), but pinned his next three foes and received one forfeit. He took down Max Brown (Claremore) in 0:34, Madden Richenberger (Bentonville) in 2:41, and Hudson Williams (Pryor) in 0:54.