Wrestling Roundup: Junior High Lady Sandites Place 2nd at Home Tourney, Keystone Kids 2nd at State

Chanute, Kansas edged out No. 5 Westmoore 211.5 to 207 to win the second annual Sand Springs girls high school wrestling tournament Saturday at Clyde Boyd Middle School.

The defending champions, Springdale Har-Ber, slipped to 17th this year while host No. 10 Sand Springs placed 21st in the field of 42 teams.

In junior high action the Sandites finished runner-up to Norman by a margin of 228 to 214.5 after calling down a pair of varsity freshmen. Defending junior high champion Perry tied for third place with Bixby at 173 points. 37 schools participated in the junior high tournament.

Sand Springs went 3-1 in the finals while Norman was 1-2, but the Tigers had the edge in consolation with seven top-five placers to the Sandites’ five.

High School Girls

Kelsi Hilton led the varsity team with a fourth place finish at 140 pounds, with both of her losses coming to Har-Ber’s Kinalisa Lokot. Hilton previously pinned Lokot for first place at the Diamond State Invitational in December, but the junior State placer got the upper hand this time with a pair of second period falls.

Laila Mirza went 5-2 at 115 for fifth place, with all of her wins coming via fall. Trinity Owens placed eighth at 110, Audree Robinson placed 10th at 125, and Emily Ambriz placed 10th at 235.

Junior High Girls

Kenzie Johnson won at 89 pounds with two falls and an 8-7 semifinal decision. In the finals she pinned Ponca’s Bailey Ward in 4:10.

Bailey Copeland won at 96 pounds, pinning her first four opponents before dominating Cleveland’s Hannah Stephenson 8-0 in the finals.

Ambrielle Chambers won at 102 pounds, pinning all five of her foes. In the finals she stuck Norman’s Rylie Hillis in 2:41.

Copeland and Chambers, both freshmen, usually wrestle with the varsity team.

Rylee Allen was runner-up at 117, pinning her first four opponents before getting pinned by Norman’s Claire Lancaster in the finals.

Kyla Crittenden placed third at 73, Faith Humble placed sixth at 117, Collby Garrison placed seventh at 145, Lyla Waldren placed eighth at 102, Cailey Miller placed eighth at 155, Brylee Smith placed ninth at 145, Audrey Pride placed ninth at 117, Rowen Hull placed tenth at 138, Savannah Taylor placed 11th at 110, and Sawyer Briscoe placed 12th at 102.

Junior High Boys

The junior high boys competed at the 82nd annual Ted Anderson tournament in Edmond and took fifth place with two champions.

Griffin Sensintaffar won at 86 pounds for his fourth title of the season. He pinned his first three opponents before closing out with a pair of decisions. In the finals he wont 3-0 against Broken Arrow’s Bryson McQueen in a rematch of last week’s semifinals. Sensintaffar pinned McQueen last weekend en route to a tournament title at Perry.

Freshman Jaxon Grigsby won at 126 pounds with two pins and two decisions before taking down Edmond North’s Brooks McCollom in the finals. Grigsby scored a takedown with 15 seconds left to tie it at 3-3. He scored a takedown in overtime but McCollom had a pair of escapes to tie it at 5-5 before Grigsby scored a reversal in the third overtime period for the 7-5 win.

Kasen McAffrey placed third at 140, Kaden Pope placed fifth at 132, Rowdy Ash placed sixth at 80 pounds, Corbin Wooley placed sixth at 155, and Hunter Fields placed sixth at 170.

Youth Wrestling

The Keystone Kids Wrestling Club competed at the OKUSA State Championship and took first place in Division I and Division II and second place overall. Head coach Kyle Waag was named the OKUSA Coach of the Year for the east side of the state.

Madden Moore, Jett Galloway, and Raylee Dawes won gold in Division I and Holden Yingst was runner-up.

Patrick Sanchez and Hagan Wolfenberger won gold in Division II, Hudson Waag was runner-up, and Maddix Spencer placed fourth.

In Division III Ty Galloway and Autumn Foust placed third and Sutton Hawley placed fourth.

Maddox Pope won gold In Division IV while Karson Waag and Bryson Pope were runners-up. Wes Wilson and Zander Pope placed fourth.

Kayden Worthington won gold in Division V.

In the Novice divisions: Landon Replogle and Carter Randall won gold; Gage Fadenrecht and Maverick Spencer placed third; and Hunter Sims, Brayden Replogle, Nakona Eaglin, and Joseph Satoe placed fourth.

Keystone Kids Place 3rd at Coweta with 9 Champions

The Keystone Kids wrestling club took third place at the Rumble in the Jungle tournament in Coweta this weekend, bringing nine tournament titles back to Sand Springs.

Girls Results

Raylee Dawes won the 49-pound bracket in 6U, pinning both of her opponents in under a minute.

Saylor Eaglin won the 55-pound bracket in 8U, pinning both of her opponents in a combined 50 seconds.

Kambyr Lee won the 145-pound bracket in 12U with two decisions.

Boys Results

Jayce Parks won the 61-pound bracket in 10U-Novice, pinning all three of his foes in a round-robin.

Kason Wolfe won the 70-pound bracket in 10U-Open with three pins and a decision. He also wrestled up to 12U-Open and won a 4-2 decision over Broken Arrow’s Briggs Mattson in the finals.

Ryder Richardson won the 73-pound bracket in 12U-Open with two pins and an 11-3 major decision in a round robin.

Kayden Worthington won the 145-pound bracket in 15U-Open with two pins and an 11-0 major decision against Coweta’s Jes Mason.

Carter Randall won the 105-pound bracket in 8U-Novice with two pins and also finished as runner-up in the Open division with a 17-second pin.

Daxten Freeman was runner-up at 37 pounds in 6U-Novice, winning two decisions before falling in the finals.

Matthew Parks was runner-up at 46 pounds in 8U-Novice with one pins before falling in the finals.

Juan Holmes was runner-up at 52 pounds in 8U-Novice with one pin.

Derek Brix was runner-up at 61 pounds in 8U-Novice with two pins and an 11-0 major decision before falling in a close 9-7 sudden victory finals match against Collinsville’s Luke Minihan.

Declan Todd was runner-up at 67 pounds in 8U-Open with two decisions before falling in the finals.

Landon Replogle was runner-up at 70 pounds in 8U-Novice with three first-period falls before falling in a close 4-2 decision to Coweta’s Christopher Villanueva.

Kydon Harness was runner-up at 140 pounds in 12U-Open with one pin.

Wes Wilson placed third at 64 pounds in 12U-Open, going 2-2 with two decisions in a round-robin.

Mason Londo placed third at 64 pounds in 10U-Open, winning three consecutive first-period falls after losing his first match in a decision.

Rixon Hathaway lost his first match in a 4-3 decision in the 10U-Open 67-pound bracket but bounced back with two pins for third place.

Legend Dentis placed third at 75 pounds in 8U-Open with one pin.

Brayden Replogle placed third at 90 pounds in 10U-Novice with three consecutive wins and two first-period falls after losing a 4-0 decision to open the day.

Ty Galloway placed third at 110 pounds in 10U-Open with two pins and a 7-5 decision against teammate Rylan Hamby in the consolation finals, only losing a close 6-2 decision in the semifinals. Hamby placed fourth with three first-period falls.

Ryker Dawes went 2-2 for fourth place at 70 pounds in 10U-Open with one pin.

Royce Hefele went 2-2 for fourth place at 105 pounds in 8U-Novice with one pine.

Virginia Beach Duals

Three Keystone Kids competed on Team Oklahoma at the VACW Elementary School National Holiday Duals in Virginia Beach this weekend.

Oklahoma went 1-3 in Pool H and was relegated to the Copper bracket where the Outlaws went 5-2 for fourth place.

Hagan Wolfenberger went 9-1 at 52 pounds with six pins. Karson Waag went 8-2 at 60 pounds with three pins. Hudson Waag went 4-6 at 48 pounds with two falls.

Keystone Kids Crown 5 Champions at Battle for the Buckle

Five members of the Keystone Kids wrestling club won their divisions at the Battle for the Buckle tournament in Tuttle last weekend.

Hudson Waag won the 43/46-pound bracket in the 8U division handily, pinning two opponents while majoring two others, including a 10-0 shutout of Chickasha’s Ivan Torres in the finals.

Jett Galloway won the 60/66-pound bracket in the 6U division, pinning two of his three foes in the first minute while notching a 17-7 major decision in the semifinals. In the finals he pinned Cashion’s Grey Edgeman in only 49 seconds for his second tournament title in the past two weeks.

Sutton Hawley won the 64-pound bracket in 10U, pinning his first opponent in only 36 seconds before winning a 14-0 major decision in the semifinals. In the championship match he pinned Myles Turner in 2:21 for his third gold medal in the past two weeks.

Kasen McAffrey won the 15U 145-pound bracket with two falls and a major decision, pinning Denymn Friday in 33 seconds in the finals.

Maverick Spencer placed second at 55 pounds in 6U Open, pinning one opponent while losing a close 10-8 decision to the other. He took first place in the Novice division, pinning his first two opponents before winning a 16-2 major decision against Blanchard’s Tucker Dickerson in the finals.

Maddix Spencer placed second at 67 pounds in 8U, winning a 2-0 decision in the semifinals before falling a close 4-0 to Mustang’s Brady Boles.

Kason Wolfe placed second at 70 pounds in 10U with an 18-2 tech fall and a third-period pin before losing a 6-2 decision to Zeke Jansing in the finals.

Mason Londo placed third in 10U at 67 pounds with two falls and a decision, pinning Bronc Fletcher in 1:27 in the placement round.

Carsten Reiss placed third in 10U at 70 pounds, losing his first match before winning out with two falls and a decision. In the placement round he pinned teammate Ryker Dawes in 1:06.

Dawes pinned his first foe in only 38 seconds. He suffered a semifinal fall but eked out a 1-0 decision against Guthrie’s Maverick Knox before falling to Reiss.

Ty Galloway placed third at 110 pounds in 10U, losing his first match before earning a 7-5 decision and pinning teammate Rylan Hamby in the placement round. Hamby pinned his first opponent in 1:20 en route to the consolation finals.

Brody Wilson placed third in 15U at 120 pounds, going 1-2 with a 9-3 decision in the second round of the round-robin.

Karson Waag placed fourth at 64/67 pounds in 12U, winning a decision before falling in the semifinals. He pinned his first-round consolation opponent before falling 6-0 in the placement round.

Laila Mirza Becomes First-Ever Girls Tournament Champion from Sand Springs

Laila Mirza is officially the first ever regular-season tournament champion for the Sand Springs girls wrestling program.

The junior 120 pounder won the Joe Cole Classic in Cleveland, helping her team to a program-best 2nd place finish. All five Lady Sandites placed top-four in their divisions.

“I found her in the weight room because I help coach (Kevin) Avey with the girls weightlifting,” said head coach Ty Bowling, who started the girls’ program this year.

“She tries to get as much extra work (during free period) or during weightlifting period when they’re not lifting weights, and she’ll stay after practice.”

“She’s one that gets here early and stays late,” said Bowling.

Mirza pinned her first two opponents without giving up a single point, then received two forfeits in the round-robin bracket.

“She’s run cross country and she’s ran some track, and she told me at the beginning of the year that she had never ever won a medal.”

“That preseason tournament she went to she got first, then she took sixth (at Jay) and got a medal there, and then she got first here, so she’s kind of three for three on the medals in wrestling.”

Kelsi Hilton placed third at 140 pounds with three pins, only losing in a close 8-5 decision to the tournament champion.

Addily Shotwell placed third at 170 with one pin. Kreedence Behnke placed third and Madison Chambers was fourth at 100 pounds.

“Our girls are working hard,” said Bowling. “Wrestling’s not an easy sport and they’re in here every day doing it exactly like the boys are doing.”

“We’re not trying to put too much pressure on them, but we’re telling them how they’re going to be forever remembered as the girls that started (the program) and have a chance to be the first ever Sand Springs girls State qualifiers.”

The junior varsity boys placed fourth at the tournament despite mostly facing varsity competitors.

Kase Skaggs won the 113-pound bracket and four other Sandites also medaled.

Skaggs outscored his opponents 51 to 13 with a pin and two major decisions before earning a 4-2 decision over State qualifier Daxtyn Davis.

Peyton Callis was runner-up at 165 with three pins; Cash Lucas was runner-up at 285 with three pins; Jesse Moore placed third at 144 with four pins; and Logan Childers placed fourth at 113 with three pins.

The junior high boys team placed 12th with two total medalists and the junior high girls placed 14th with one medalist.

Gage Gunn placed fourth at 132 with three pins; Dallas Flores placed fourth at 155 with five pins; and Rylee Allen placed fourth at girls 117 with two pins.

The Keystone Kids wrestling club had no problem winning the Sand Springs Slam tournament over the weekend with 28 champions, nearly tripling the score of runner-up Barnsdall.

Jase Morgan, Maddix Spencer, Hagan Wolfenberger, Kason Wolfe, Acetyn Hart, Sutton Hawley, Zander Pope, Rylan Hamby, Ty Galloway, Samuel Moore, Joshua Compton, Griffin Sensintaffar, Ayreson Reiss, David Ritchey, Matthew Moore, Kasen McAffrey, Samuel Reichel, Jaxon Trotter, Brenntly Taylor, Jayce Parks, Caemon Young, Ryker Dawes, Collin Randall, Hunter Sims, Colt Combs, Kydon Harness, Gage Buchanan, and Saylor Eaglin all won their divisions.

The varsity boys and girls will return to action Tuesday, December 20th with home duals against Sapulpa at 6:00 p.m.

Jenks-Transfer Corbin Wooley Having Successful Season in Sand Springs

When Corbin Wooley was five years old, he wanted to play football. But after getting hit by a car as he was crossing the street, he missed signups while he recovered.

Following his uncle’s advice, he signed up for wrestling instead. Nearly ten years later and wrestling has long since replaced football as his passion.

“It’s like a daily ritual for me,” says Wooley. “I train almost every single day. The only day I don’t practice is my tournament days.”

In addition to wrestling with the Clyde Boyd Middle School junior high team, he also trains with the Keystone Kids wrestling club, Team Tulsa, and the Threestyle Wrestling club.

That commitment has paid off for the eighth-grader, who has already won three tournaments this November, with runner-up finishes in two others.

Wooley originally lived in Jenks before making the move to Sand Springs for middle school. He has fit right in as a Sandite and has also found a place on the conference champions eighth grade football team, playing safety and receiver.

Just as an injury helped Wooley find wrestling as a child, an injury also took him away from the sport this past year.

One year ago, at the Bixby Thanksgiving Classic, Wooley suffered a season-ending injury. His elbow was both broken and dislocated, requiring surgery and physical therapy.

“When it first happened I had a lot of things going through my head,” said Wooley. “I was definitely scared. I had so much adrenaline that it didn’t feel real.”

Fortunately, he has mostly recovered from the injury and hasn’t lost much mobility.

“There are definitely some occasions where I’ll be scared of something happening and I’ll have to give up a hold or something because of positioning, but besides that I really don’t worry too much about it.”

Prior to his injury, Wooley won a dozen tournaments in 2021, including OKUSA novice state titles in both freestyle and greco-roman.

This year he has already won the Bixby Junior High Open, the Union Open, and the Bixby Thanksgiving Classic. He was also runner-up at the Mat Gear Monster Brawl and the TTWC Veterans Day Classic.

Over those five tournaments he has gone 19-2 with 16 pins, outscoring his opponents 67 to 12.

“I feel like I’m doing pretty good this season,” said Wooley. “I’m hoping I can just keep this streak going. I know there’s definitely going to be some good kids in my bracket. I don’t worry too much about it, I just want to wrestle as best as I can.”

“He’s a good kid,” says Sand Springs junior high coach Cody Karstetter. “He didn’t get to compete as a seventh-grader, so he kind of missed out on that year, but I know he’s been working hard in the offseason and with his club team and on his own time, trying to get back from that injury.”

“He’s grown, he’s matured a little bit physically. I think right now we’ve just got to get him in the right mental spot and the sky's the limit for him.”

Because of his in-state success, he has also been selected to compete on the Oklahoma junior high team at the Holiday Duals National Tournament in Virginia Beach this December, but he needs a little help getting there.

The Wooleys are looking to raise $500 to help with the cost of travel before they leave on December 5th. Anyone looking to help can cashapp Rachelle Wooley at $ihav2angels or can email her at rachelleWooley@hotmail com.

The youth and junior high wrestling programs in Sand Springs have a lot more stars than just Wooley, and seven other Keystone Kids won their brackets at the Thanksgiving Classic.

“I expect to have a pretty good year,” said Karstetter. “We’ve got a lot of older guys and some younger guys who have kind of stepped into a little bit of a leadership role.”

“We’re starting to kind of click as a team. This week we get all of our freshmen in the room and those guys make a huge difference as well.”

Hagan Wolfenberger, Wes Wilson, Camon Martin, Ayreson Reiss, Kasen McAffrey, Ryker Dawes, and Brackton Upton all placed first in their divisions.

Carsten Reiss, Blaze Ingram, Karsen Waag, Collin Randall, Na’Kya Canady were runners-up; Kayden Worthington, Colt Combs, Gage Buchanan placed third; and Ty Galloway, Joshua Compton, Landon Replogle, Grayson Shoopman placed fourth.

Sand Springs will host its annual junior high home tournament December 2-3 at the middle school.

Mitchell Smith wins Cushing Tournament, Sandites undefeated in duals

This story was originally written for the Sand Springs Leader.

The Charles Page High School wrestling team (3-0) is off to a hot start in 2022, winning duals against Jenks and Perry in dominant fashion. 

The Sandites steamrolled Jenks 67-9 with nine pins on Tuesday, January 4th, then sabotaged 3A No. 11 Perry’s homecoming 60-12 on Thursday before competing at the Cushing Tiger Invitational over the weekend.

Junior standout Mitchell Smith secured his second tournament title of the season, three other Sandites medaled, and the team earned 11th place out of 31 teams.

Smith (16-2) has won 13 matches in a row since a fourth-place finish in the season-opening Perry tournament, including taking first place and the Outstanding Wrestler accolade at the Cabot tournament last month.

“I think he’s going to surprise somebody at the end of the year,” said fourth-year head coach Jarrod Patterson. “There’s a lot of really tough wrestlers around his weight, but he’ll surprise one of those guys. He’s a beast on top. He’s got a little work to do on bottom, but overall he’s gotten a whole lot better over the last year.”

With the postseason only a month away, Smith has his eyes set on the State tournament. 

“I’ve qualified two years in a row and I haven’t placed yet, so I really just hope to place this year,” said Smith. 

For the first time since 1998, the Sandites didn’t have anyone medal at last year’s State tournament, despite qualifying four. “We’re definitely all motivated to go get it this year,” Smith said.

At Cushing, Smith pinned his first two foes in the first period, then built a 7-0 lead against Skiatook State Runner-Up Isaac Long before pinning him in the 145-pound semifinals. He wrapped up the tournament with a 5-4 decision over Sperry State Champion Brady Benham.

“If it weren’t for (Coach Patterson) I don’t think I’d be where I am right now on my feet,” said Smith. “He’s probably the best technician coach in the state in my opinion.”

Smith also credits his training partner Ethan Norton with pushing him to the next level, as well as his dad, Kelly Smith, for helping him on the mat.

Eli Kirk, a two-time State-placer from Guthrie, put an end to Zander Grigsby’s undefeated start to the season. The sophomore bounced back in the 120-pound consolation bracket, however, and pinned Cushing’s Daniel Herndandez for third place.

Jaxon “Scout” Trotter took fourth place at 138 and Mason Harris placed fifth at 285, pinning Blackwell State qualifier JD McCleary in only 39 seconds.

The Sandites have been leaning heavily on their underclassmen this season. 

“It’s a good group of kids,” says Patterson. “I enjoy coaching them. They all come in and work hard, and you can already see the improvement throughout the year. I’m excited for that group.”

Next week will prove even tougher for the Sandites, who host No. 3 Bixby (1-1) on Thursday before hosting the 57th annual Bobby Lyons Invitational Friday and Saturday.

“Our tournament’s real tough. We’ll have Bixby, Owasso, Stillwater, and district duals coming up, so we’ve got a tough road ahead of us,” said Patterson. 

“They’re working hard and wrestling good, so we’ll see. A couple of the kids were out sick, so if we can get them back on the mat and get everybody healthy, we should be alright.”

The Junior Varsity team placed 22nd at the Inola Tournament, led by Jesse Moore in fourth place and Ayreson Reiss in sixth place.

For the Keystone Kids wrestling club: Hudson Waag, Jase Morgan, Maddix Spencer, Ty Galloway, Mylum Ache V, Ryder Black, and Ryley Kester all won their divisions at the Bedlam Battle in Stillwater.