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.

Sand Springs Softball grads making waves at college level

CPHS graduate Sydney Pennington is one of the leading batters for Oklahoma State University this season.

Charles Page High School Class of 2017 graduate Sydney Pennington has been tearing it up this season as a true freshman at Oklahoma State University. The No. 27 ranked Cowgirls (28-11) are currently third in the Big 12 with a 7-2 record.

Pennington holds a .306 batting average, .515 slugging average, and .342 on-base percentage. She has recorded 41 hits, seven doubles, seven home runs, 22 runs, and 35 RBI on 134 at-bats and holds a .961 fielding percentage as an infielder. She is fifth in the Big 12 in RBI. Mallory Goodman (2014) has also seen one at-bat with the Cowgirls.

Jessica Collins (2017) has played thirty games this year at Connors State College (23-9). The Cowgirls are 10-8 in the Oklahoma Collegiate Athletic Conference. The freshman is .411 at the plate with 37 hits, seven doubles, a team-high seven home runs, 21 runs, and a team-high 29 RBI on ninety at-bats. She has pitched four innings and holds a 3.5 ERA, and is .909 in the field.

Stella Millican (2016) has seen action in nineteen games this season with Mid American Christian University. The Evangels are 23-9 overall and fourth in the Sooner Athletic Conference with an 8-6 record. The sophomore is .300 at the plate with nine hits, three doubles, four RBI, and four runs on thirty at-bats. She is .971 in the field, alternating between catcher and first base. 

Kennedy "Goose" Salyers (2016) has played 42 games this year at Southeastern Oklahoma State University (26-17). The Savage Storm is currently third in the Great American Conference with a 20-10 record. Salyers is batting .239 with 28 hits, four doubles, one triple, sixteen runs, and thirteen RBI on 117 at-bats. She holds a .913 fielding percentage as an outfielder.

Jessica Schuler (2016) has played all 43 games this season at Northeastern State University (25-18). The RiverHawks are 11-7 for sixth place in Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association standings. Schuler is .289 at the plate with 39 hits, eight doubles, nine home runs, fifteen runs, and a team-high 35 RBI on 135 at-bats. She is a perfect 1.00 in the field as a first baseman. 

CPHS Senior Destanie Garrett is signed with Southwestern Christian University for the upcoming school year. Three juniors have made verbal commitments. Kimi Presnell committed to Rogers State University, Cameron Clemons committed to Southern Arkansas University, and Jacie Taber committed to the University of Northern Iowa.

NJCAA Wrestling: Karstetters qualify for National Championship

View fullsize

Jack Karstetter competes at the OSSAA 6A State Championship in 2017.

Charles Page High School graduates Jack and Cody Karstetter recently qualified for the National Junior College Athletic Association Championship after making the finals in the West Central District Championship.

Cody, a redshirt sophomore, won the championship. Jack, a freshman, came in runner-up. Both wrestle for Northern Oklahoma A&M in Miami. Jack is currently ranked fourth in the country at 133 pounds, while Cody is ranked third at 141.

Jack Karstetter (27-3) recently came in fifth at the Roger Denker Open, pinning Von Gray in twelve seconds before falling 13-6 to Isaac Jacquez. In consolation he defeated Corey Muniz 11-5 and pinned Weston Cronan in 49 seconds. He took first place at the Golden Norsemen Open, pinning Chris Hansen in 4:38 and Terrell Banuelos in 2:36, then defeating Jet Taylor 13-6 and Corbin Nirschl 12-4. At the West Central District Championship he majored Garret Wild 12-4 and pinned Ottis Rollins in sixteen seconds before falling 8-7 to Gage Gomez in the finals.

Cody Karstetter (26-5, 33-10) won both of his matches at the recent UNK Midwest Duals, pinning Conner Mares-Ballard in 5:36 and topping Scott Cook 4-3. At the District Championship he received a forfeit in the first round, then defeated Alec Castillo 11-3 and Keaton Sander 6-4 for first place.

The Norsemen took first place at the UNK Duals, the Golden Norsemen Open, and the District Championship. They placed third at the Roger Denker Open behind the Universities of Missouri and Nebraska. They claimed the No. 1 ranking in the latest NJCAA poll.

The Karstetters will return to action Friday, February 23rd at the Mid-America Center in Council Bluffs, Iowa. Jack will rematch Garrett Wild in the first round, while Cody will take on Tre Pone.

NCAA Wrestling: Daton Fix wins first tournament over two conference finalists

Charles Page High School Class of 2017 graduate and Oklahoma State University freshman Daton Fix won his first collegiate title last month at the prestigious Reno Tournament of Champions. 

After going undefeated for four-straight State Titles in high school, Fix is off to a great start in his college career with a 5-0 record. Despite being the number-one recruit in the country, Fix took a redshirt his freshman year, leaving the 125-pound spot to All-American No. 8 ranked Nick Piccininni. However, he was able to wrestle unattached at the RTOC.

In the first round he scored an 18-2 technical fall against Highline College sophomore Jacob Mendoza in 2:45, then followed it up with a 17-2 tech against Eastern Oregon sophomore Caballa Mhar in 4:24. In the quarterfinals Fix majored Wyoming sophomore Drake Foster 19-5 with seven takedowns, giving up only escape points.

The semifinals were a close one as Fix went head to head with two-time Pac 12 finalist Ronnie Bresser of Oregon State. Neither scored on offense, remaining neutral throughout the first period. Fix escaped 27 seconds into the second, Bresser escaped with 28 seconds left in the third, and Fix was awarded the win on riding time. 

In the finals the young Sandite went up against ACC-finalist No. 3 ranked Sean Fausz from North Carolina State. The two stayed neutral through the first period but Fausz escaped twelve seconds into the second. Fix elected to start the third period neutral and scored a takedown with ten seconds left for the 2-1 decision. 

The Cowboys are currently ranked fifth in the country by the NCAA and hold an 8-1 dual record. They will return to action Saturday in a home non-conference dual against undefeated No. 3 Missouri (15-0).

NJCAA Wrestling: Karstetter brothers make waves at No. 2 NEO

Brothers Jack and Cody Karstetter have been ripping up the NJCAA circuit since arriving at the No. 2 ranked Northeastern Oklahoma A&M College (NEO) this past fall. The Charles Page High School graduates are among the winningest members of their team and Cody is currently ranked third in the country at 141 pounds.

From the CPHS Class of 2017, Jack Karstetter (18-1) is a true freshman with three tournament titles and a 5-1 dual record. Competing at 133 pounds, he has won the Oklahoma City University Open, the Drury University Open, and the Reece Wright-Conklin Jet Invitational.

The Sandite started his college career with fifteen straight wins before falling 5-4 to Erique Early in a dual against Indiana Tech University. Indiana Tech is an NAIA school, meaning Karstetter is still undefeated in the NJCAA division, and he holds a 14-4 major decision over No. 5 ranked Taylor Jeffries of Northwest College.

Cody, a Class of 2015 Sandite, took a less direct route to NEO and is currently a redshirt sophomore. As a true freshman he wrestled two tournaments unattached at the University of North Carolina and went 6-3. He then transferred to the University of Oklahoma and went 1-2 in his first tournament after suffering a season-ending injury.

The NJCAA has been a fresh start for the promising Sandite, and he has had an impressive year with a 26-5 record, bringing his collegiate career to 33-10. He has yet to win a tournament, but he placed third in the Swede Open and Oklahoma City University Open, fourth in the Lindenwood Open, and most recently he came in runner-up at the Drury Open. At the Swede Open he pinned No. 5 ranked Keaton Sander.

At the National Collegiate Wrestling Association Multi-Divisional National Duals, the Golden Norsemen steamrolled their way to the finals before being defeated 27-14 by No. 1 Clackamas Community College, out of Oregon City, Oregon.

In the first round they won their third shutout of the season, 54-0 against Colby Community College. Cody majored Chris Deters 13-5. In the quarterfinals they defeated No. 11 Southwestern Oregon 42-3 and Cody pinned Seth Lowen in 5:23. He pinned Jake Thompson in 55 seconds for a 36-9 semifinal win over No. 6 Western Wyoming, and he won a 5-3 decision over No. 4 Ralph Tovar in the finals. He was one of only three teammates to win their matches in that dual.

The Norsemen will compete at the University of Nebraska Kearney Duals this weekend. The NJCAA West-Central Qualifier will be held February 10th in Goodland, Kansas.

CPHS Softball: Destanie Garrett signs with Southwestern Christian University

View fullsize

Charles Page High School senior softballer Destanie Garrett signed a letter of intent Wednesday morning to play collegiate ball for Southwestern Christian University in Bethany, Oklahoma.

The Eagles are part of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) and compete in the Sooner Athletic Conference (SAC). They also compete in the National Christian College Athletics Association (NCCAA) Division One. 

The Southwestern softball team went 11-39 in the 2016-2017 season and finished last in the SAC. They are led by seventh-season head coach Kent Williams who has amassed an 80-209 record in his time with the program.