Junior High Wrestling: Clayton Giddens-Buttram wins State Championship, Sandites place 5th
/The Sand Springs wrestling team recently came in sixth place overall at the Junior High Allstate Wrestling Tournament in Oklahoma City. They placed sixth in the sixth and seventh-grade division with one champion, and twelfth in the eighth and ninth grade division with two runners-up.
The tournament is arguably tougher than the high school State Championship because the schools aren’t broken up by school classification. Wrestlers from more than 120 schools converged at Jim Norrick Arena, and Choctaw swept both divisions.
8th and 9th Grade
Christian Forbes (14-3) came in runner-up at 87 pounds. He pinned Ethan Crowe in 2:46 and Riddick Nash in 1:45, then defeated Gaige Stock 19-3, Riley Hunter 8-2, and Case Rich 5-2. In the finals he was defeated 3-1 by Catoosa’s Guy Cleavenger.
Kaden Glass (13-1) came in runner-up at 200 pounds. He pinned Antoine Thomas in 0:59 and Brody Cannon in 0:38, and defeated Cruz Partain 13-3, Luke Winningham 6-3, and Caleb Phillips 3-2. In the finals he was pinned by Elgin’s Issiah Wolf.
6th and 7th Grade
Clayton Giddens-Buttram (25-2) won the 72-pound bracket with ease, pinning his first three opponents. Boog Jeffries fell in 0:56, Caden McElroy fell in 1:37, and Jackson Bodine fell in 2:50. In the finals he defeated Treshaun Tecson 3-0.
Owen Martin (18-7) placed fourth at 76 pounds. He pinned Logan Stephens in thirty seconds, teched Zoey Freeman 16-1, and defeated Christian Belford 6-0 before falling to Cael Hughes. In consolation he defeated Jaxson Humphries 2-0, but fell 7-0 to Landyn Sommer in placement.
Rhett Peak (11-5) placed fifth at eighty pounds. He defeated Ethan Rodriguez 8-1, Christopher Garrett Jr. 2-1, and Brantz Bateman 2-0, and pinned Gant Browning in 1:07 before falling 4-0 to William Heger. In consolation he was defeated 6-4 by Jude Randall, but he won a 1-0 rematch with Bateman in placement.
Carter Goodman (5-3) came in sixth at 105 pounds, winning his first three and losing his last three. He pinned Colson Marth in 2:28, then topped Isaac Moore 11-9 and Dayton Cross 8-0 before falling to Jaxen Wright, Chance Gruenwald, and James Leake.
Drake Fain (4-2) placed eighth at 161, pinning Nick Jones in 1:16, Caiden Wright in 1:08, and Brady Conder in 1:39. He defeated Brody Todd 9-2, but fell by pin to Coal Mountain Madison and 10-0 to Kasen Vanbuskirk.
