Sandite of the Week: Trace Fleischman
/By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief
This week Sandite Pride would like to recognize CPHS Senior Trace Fleischman (6-2) as Sandite of the Week, with notable mention to Beau Bratcher, Daton Fix, and the entirety of the varsity wrestling team.
Friday saw the Sandites' first trip to Dual State since 2012, and they were headed there with the No.1 ranking in the state after going 11-0 in regular season duals and defeating 5A No.1 Collinsville and previous 6A No.1 Broken Arrow.
In the quarterfinals the Sandites narrowly fended off an upset by No.7 Westmoore 28-25, then dominated No.4 Union 48-6 to earn their first ever Dual State Championship finals appearance against No.3 Choctaw who had just upset No.2 Broken Arrow in their semifinals match. Unfortunately fate would give Choctaw the 41-18 upset and the previously undefeated Sandites would settle for State Runners-Up.
Trace Fleischman was a critical component in all three duals, and was one of only two Sandites who would wrestle all three duals undefeated.
Fleischman made his first appearance since January 9th when he was injured in the Geary Invitational and was pitted against Westmoore's #9 Deven Brewer whom he defeated 6-2 at 170 pounds. Next he majored Union's Elijah Tomlin 15-5 and finished out the finals with a 6-4 decision over Choctaw's #9 Kalob Blackwell.
Beau Bratcher also went undefeated in the tournament with three decisions, and Daton Fix was undefeated but received forfeits at the last two duals and only got to wrestle against Westmoore. Cody Mathis was undefeated but only wrestled against Union. Payton Scott won both of his matches but the team forfeited his weight against Choctaw as it was too late to make a comeback and they didn't want to risk injuring him.
Fleischman was also a crucial member of the State Runner-Up football team this fall. He was the starting wide receiver with 35 receptions for 754 yards and 8 touchdowns, averaging 22 yards per reception. He also carried 21 times for 111 yards on the ground and 1 touchdown. He led in kickoff returns with 18 for 447 yards, an average of 25 per. Very few players are allowed to play both sides of the ball under Coach Kinard, but Fleischman is one of the few exceptions and began playing defense in the 10th game of the season and delivered a total of 10 tackles over his four games in the secondary.
Fleischman is 16-4 over the last two season of wrestling and last year he was the 6A East Regional Champion and placed 3rd at the State Championship.
Sandite of the Week is a weekly recognition given to any one person with significant ties to the Sand Springs community who accomplishes remarkable achievements during the Sunday through Saturday week preceding the award. Prior achievements may be noted in the article, but do not bear direct influence on the selection committee which only considers prior week accomplishments. Candidates may be nominated by anyone by emailing SanditePrideNews@gmail.com. Bylaws prevent the giving of the award to anyone for two consecutive weeks, but any recipient may be nominated and awarded again in the future, so long as the weeks are not consecutive. Final selection is made by a majority vote of a three-person staff committee.
Businesses or organizations seeking to sponsor the Sandite of the Week award may contact the above email for inquiries.
