Jack Karstetter takes Silver Medal at Pan American Championship in Peru

By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

Charles Page High School senior Jack Karstetter continues to show the world how deep the talent runs in Sand Springs. The 2016 OSSAA 6A State Runner-Up finished his junior year with a 39-8 record in high school folkstyle wrestling and is preparing for his senior year with some international competition.

In April Karstetter won the USA Oklahoma East Regional Freestyle Championship at Broken Arrow and advanced to the Junior Freestyle State Tournament in Cushing in May. After going 2-2 at Freestyle State he headed to Akron, Ohio for the United World of Wrestling National Championships where he won Silver in Greco-Roman. 

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Medaling at Akron qualified Karstetter for the Pan-American Championships this past weekend in Lima Peru.

In Greco-Roman he defeated Argentina's Lautaro Pereyra with an 8-0 tech fall, then scored a 3-0 decision over Jose Davila Cabello of Peru before falling to Gerardo Oliva Montes 10-0 in the finals. Claiming a Silver Medal, Karstetter helped his team to a first place finish over Peru for the Pan American Team Championship.

Team USA also claimed the first place trophy in Freestyle where Karstetter took ninth place after a close 11-8 decision to Oscar Calvopina of Ecuador.

Next up for Karstetter is the USA Wrestling Nationals in Fargo, North Dakota from July 16th through the 23rd.

 

Nathan Estrada makes claim to fame in professional wrestling

Photo: EMIGH

By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief
With: Virgil Noah, Marketing Director

Sand Springs has a long history of wrestling greatness in the high school arena, but Charles Page High School 2012 graduate Nathan Estrada is making a name for himself on a different kind of mat.

Every Friday night the spandex-clad Spanish Fly entertains a packed house of professional wrestling fans at Tulsa’s premier wrestling arena. Located at 49th and Sheridan inside the Perfect Practice Athletic Center, Compound Pro Wrestling promises an electric atmosphere with WWE-level entertainment.

Photo: EMIGH

The Oklahoma X-Division Champion is frequently the star of the show, but it hasn’t always been that way. His first appearance at Compound wasn’t in the ring, it was in the crowd. When Estrada was about twelve years old he attended his first match and was instantly hooked. Raised on WCW and WWE, there was nothing like a live match to draw him into the life for good.

About a year after graduating CPHS, Estrada heard a radio promo on 103.3 The Eagle for Compound Wrestling and decided to try out. He made his debut in March of 2014 under the name The Spanish Fly. From there he met tag-team partner Michael Wolf, and together Spanish Wolf was born.

Estrada spent a lot of time earning his way up through the trenches before becoming a headliner, and at times it wasn’t pretty. In his first ever Heavyweight title match he broke his thumb and was unable to finish the match. Another time he received a gnarly gash above the eye after being hit with a crutch, and it wasn’t even his match. He was an innocent bystander when the crutch went flying.

Photo: EMIGH

Wrestling has changed Estrada’s life in many ways. Not only does he spend more than twenty hours a week in training and developing new moves, it also led him to love.

Estrada first met Skylar Slice in 2014 and the two were engaged in September the next year. By March of this year they were married, but you wouldn’t know it from watching them in the ring. While they’ve been tag-team partners at times, they’ve also been known to end up in opposite corners too.

The duo have done quite a bit of traveling for the sport as well, competing in Lawton, Oklahoma City, Nebraska, Tennessee, and Louisiana.

Photo: EMIGH

The long hours and constant practice paid off when Estrada laid claim to the Oklahoma X Division Belt two years after his debut. For six months, Killista Deva held the belt before being defeated by Slice in December of 2015. This past April, Killista won it back from Slice, but didn’t hold it for long. That same night, Estrada pinned Killista for the Championship.
Since then he’s defended the belt against Skyler Fayden, Abel, Wade Argento, Giganto, and more.

The goal is to one day wrestle for WWE, and Estrada is taking the next step toward that goal in the summer of 2017. The couple already has plans to move to Houston, Texas to train at Booker T. Huffman’s Development Camp. Under the direction of 2013 WWE Hall of Fame inductee Booker T, Estrada aims to prepare for the next level at the Reality of Wrestling Development Camp.

Lady Sandites Dye, Eardley, Foster win State Cup, head to Regionals in NC

By: Virgil Noah, Marketing Director

Despite not making the playoffs this year for the Charles Page High School girls soccer team, three Sandites are still racking up some hardware.

Missouri University of Science and Technology signee Kayla Foster, Oral Roberts University signee Brooklyn Eardley, and Northeastern State University signee Madison Dye each play for West Side Alliance club team '98 Girls Red. Their team went 6-2-1 on the season, which placed them second in the Regional Premier League and they won the State Cup 2-1 over Oklahoma FC '98.

Next up are the Southern Regionals in South Carolina. West Side Alliance has been a fixture in the soccer community since 1992, and has divisions throughout Northeast Oklahoma and the greater Tulsa Metro area including a division in Sand Springs, located at the River City Parks.

Foster said, "I'm so proud of my team and all that we have accomplished throughout our soccer careers. We started at the bottom and finished as state champs...I would like to thank my coach Ryan Bush as well for sticking with us and putting up with our attitudes. He's the best coach in the state...Thank you to my WSA family for building me into the person I am today."

Bush was an All-State performer and four year letterman for Charles Page, and currently coaches the ORU Men's soccer team where he was a two-year standout. Bobby Behrens, the two-year Sandite Girl's soccer coach and Class of 2010 Sand Springs graduate, will be headed to join Bush's staff as an assistant coach.

Foster and Eardley were also selected to the 2016 Oklahoma Soccer Coaches Association 6A All-State soccer team. Foster was unable to play due to a hamstring injury she has been nursing, but Eardley was able to play and represent Charles Page. The game resulted in a 3-3 draw. 

Greatest Ever? Daton Fix reaches #1 ranking in the USA

By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

Flowrestling released their first updated national rankings since the last high school season concluded. After removing graduates and factoring summer Freestyle and Greco-Roman competitions, several Oklahomans have moved up or entered the rankings for the first time. Sand Springs's Daton Fix is now the top wrestler in the nation at 120 pounds.

Fix spent the entirety of last season in the number two spot behind New Jersey's Nick Suriano, who will be headed to Penn State in the fall. Fix and Suriano have a split record with one win each. Suriano won the most recent match, which also happens to be the longest match ever. Hopefully we'll get to see a rematch one day at the collegiate level.

Speaking of college, Fix recently release his college shortlist. The soon-to-be senior is currently considering offers from Oklahoma State, North Carolina, Penn State, Ohio State, and Nebraska.

Here's a look at Fix's wrestling record.

Before ever reaching the High School level in 2013, Fix already had quite the impressive resume. In 2011 he won the USA Wrestling Kids Schoolboy National Championship in both Freestyle and Greco-Roman, amassing a 58-2 record for the year. His only losses were to Hunter Marko and Eric Hong, both of which he defeated in best-of-three rounds. Marko is now at the University of Minnesota and Hong will be at the University of Pennsylvania this fall.

In 2012 Fix placed Runner-Up in the USA Wrestling Kids Folkstyle Schoolboy Nationals after a 2-1 loss to Chad Red. Red finished his high school career ranked #1 and is headed to Nebraska this fall. That would be the only loss of the year for Fix, who went on to finish 79-1 with USAW National Championships in both Freestyle and Greco-Roman, as well as the Cliff Keen USAW Preseason National Middle School Championship. 

2013 was the summer before Fix's freshman year and he continued to rack up the hardware. He came in Runner-Up at the FILA Cadet Freestyle Nationals after a 13-2 loss to Spencer Lee who is a multi-time World Champion at both the Cadet and Junior levels. Fix got payback on Lee with a pair of victories in 2015. Fix won the USAW Cadet Nationals in both Freestyle and Greco Roman and finished the summer 37-2. His other loss was 15-11 to Kyle Bierdumpfel who is headed to Harvard this fall.

In the fall of 2013, Fix embarked on one of the most impressive high school careers in State history. He finished the season 33-0, an undefeated State Champion for CPHS.

Springboarding from the High School success, Fix traveled the world in the summer of 2014. He swept the USAW Cadet Folkstyle Nationals, then traveled to Brazil for the Pan American Championships, which he won in both Freestyle and Greco. Returning to America, Fix won the FILA Freestyle Nationals with a 1-1 decision over Suriano. At the Junior Freestyle Nationals in Fargo, North Dakota, Fix won yet another National Championship to earn his way to the World Championships in Slovakia, where he placed tenth. At the 2014 Youth Olympic Games in Nanjing, China, Fix won a silver medal with his only loss being a 7-6 decision to Mukhambet Kuatbek of Kazakhstan. 

After returning to America, Fix accepted an invitation to the Who's #1 event where he got a rematch against Suriano. This time the Jersey wrestler came out on top with a 3-1 sudden victory decision after wrestling the longest match in history. The Who's #1 event had no overtime-limit and Suriano didn't get the victory till 32 minutes and 12 seconds in. Fix came in second at the Super 32 event that year with a 5-0 loss to Yianni Diakomihalis, who is currently ranked number one at 138 pounds.

In his sophomore year at Charles Page, Fix went undefeated once again with a 40-0 record for his second-straight 6A State Championship.

Summer of 2015 saw a Junior Folkstyle National Championship, a Junior Freestyle National Championship, a Cadet Freestyle National Championship, and an undefeated streak at the Junior Freestyle Duals where he helped Team Oklahoma to a National Title. At the United World of Wrestling Junior World Team Trials, Fix lost twice to Northwestern University freshman Stevan Micic, whom he had just defeated 10-0 for his Junior Freestyle Title a month earlier. Despite the losses to Micic, Fix didn't slow down in rebuilding a massive streak that didn't come to an end till the Cadet World Championships in Sarajevo, Bosnia where he took bronze.

Fix's junior year placed him in the most elite club of Sand Springs wrestlers as the first wrestler since, and only wrestler besides, David McGuire to win three State Championships. For the third straight year, he did it undefeated with a 45-0 record.

Since the school session ended, Fix's winning streak hasn't. Twenty-three straight summer wins brings his overall streak to 68-straight with a 46-0 record for 2016. He won the UWW Junior Freestyle Nationals and went undefeated with the Oklahoma Junior Freestyle Dual team. 

On the horizon for Fix now is a senior level competition in the Spanish Grand Prix, followed by the Fargo Nationals and the UWW World Championship in Macon, France.

Fix has already earned his way into the annals of Sand Springs, Oklahoma, and even USA wrestling history, and he hasn't even started his senior year of high school. The young stud claims the Twitter handle "Greatest Ever," and needless to say, all of Sand Springs is rooting for it to be true.

Overall, Oklahoma boasts a roster of thirteen nationally ranked high schoolers.

Canon Randall of Westmoore is ranked #14 in 106.
Colt Newton of Choctaw is ranked #16 in 113.
Paxton Rosen of Edmond North and Jet Taylor of Sallisaw are ranked #9 and #18 respectively in 120.
Roderick Mosley of Heritage Hall is ranked #16 in 132.
Kaden Gfeller of Heritage Hall and Tanner Litterell of Tuttle are ranked #2 and #13 respectively in 138.
Brik Filippo of Tuttle and Ty Lucas of Plainview are ranked #14 and #15 respectively in 145.
Jaryn Curry of Choctaw is ranked #15 in 152.
Dan Baker of Sulphure is ranked #16 in 182.
Brey Walker of Southmoore is ranked #2 in 285.

Riley Weir/Daton Fix place seventh in nation with Team Oklahoma

By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

Despite not defending their National Championship title, the Oklahoma Outlaws still have much to be proud of in their seventh place finish at the Junior Freestyle Duals. After dropping early losses to Minnesota (fourth), Illinois (second), Iowa (sixth), and New Jersey (third), Oklahoma got back in the win column with a dominating 56-15 finish over Michigan.

Jaxen Gilmore pinned Trent Lashuay in 1:32, Wyatt Sheets teched Dustin Gross 10-0, and Dayton Garrett teched Bret Fedewa 20-9. Brik Hilippo, Drew Hinkle, Dan Baker, Zach Marcheselli, Gunner Cash, Trenton Lieurance, and Daton Fix all received forfeits.

Alex Fields won a 14-8 decision over Devon Johnson and Michigan didn't win their first match till they were already trailing 46-2 and Ravon Foley teched Wyatt Adams 10-0. Michigan won a second match in a 3:53 pin of Jacob Butler by James Whitaker. 

Sand Springs sophomore Riley Weir made his first appearance since the high school State Championship after recovering from an elbow injury. Weir didn't get the all-clear from the doctor till two days before the tournament and still had to wrestle in a splint. Despite the obstruction and four month leave from competition, he still went 2-1 in the tournament and had some impressive wins. He lost his first match 13-2 to Northern Plains Champion Matthew Petersen, but came back with a 13-2 tech over Cobe Siebrecht and pinned Thomas Gordy in 1:18.

Sand Springs senior Daton Fix improved his winning streak to 68 straight matches after going 8-0 in the dual tournament. He teched South Dakota State Champion Brandon Carroll 11-0 and Iowa State Runner-Up McGwire Midkiff 10-0, then pinned Utah State Runner-Up Tanner Benedict in 0:18. From there he teched Minnesota State Champion Jake Gliva 12-0, Fargo National Champion Gabriel Townsell 10-0, and Iowa's Dante Tacchia 11-0. His most exciting match of the tournament was with nationally ranked No. 20 Zachary Sherman of New Jersey, but even there he barely broke a sweat in scoring a 10-0 tech fall. Fix just recently won the UWW Junior Freestyle Nationals in April and will soon compete at the Spanish Grand Prix, the USAW Junior Nationals, and the UWW World Championship. 

Oklahoma pulls off several upsets in dual with New Jersey

By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

Oklahoma got off to a great start against the heavily favored New Jersey Friday morning at the Cox Business Center in Tulsa, but Jersey came from behind to win it in the third-to-last match. 

Jersey brought an incredible roster featuring twelve wrestlers nationally ranked by Flowrestling, but that didn't phase the two-time Junior National Champions from Oklahoma.  

Sand Springs's National Champion Daton Fix had tough competition in No. 20 Zachary Sherman, but scored a 10-0 tech fall shortly into the second period in the first match. Jaxen Gilmore followed it up with a 4:15 pin of Nicholas Farro.

Jersey got on the board with a 10-0 tech fall by No. 11 Requir Van Der Merwe over Beau Guffey, but Oklahoma returned the favor with an 8-3 decision from Wyatt Sheets over No. 19 Andrew Merola. 

No. 7 Kyle Bierdumpfel handed Dayton Garrett a 13-2 tech fall, Christian Bahl put up a good fight against No. 4 Brandon Dallavia before going down 9-3, and No. 12 Joseph Grello teched Bear Hughes 13-3. Brandon Kui took down Zach Marcheselli 13-0 and No. 5 Kevin Mulligan pinned Gunner Cash in 0:44. Trenton Lieurance went the distance with No. 1 Chase Singletary and lost 6-1 for a 28-16 Jersey lead. 

Alex Fields got Oklahoma back in the race with a 10-0 tech fall over Thomas Fierro in only 0:41 but No. 7 Michael Colaiocco won a 16-6 tech fall over Colt Newton to clinch the dual. Oklahoma came up big with a Jet Taylor 14-3 tech fall over No. 3 Sebastian Rivera and Jersey wrapped things up with a 15-4 tech fall from No. 8 Ty Agaisse over Dalton Duffield for a final score of 41-27. 

Oklahoma will be wrestling for seventh place against Michigan Blue which features four nationally ranked wrestlers in Ben Freeman, Jelani Embree, Brandon Whitman, and Trent Hillger.