CPHS senior Jack Karstetter comes in Runner-Up at National Championship

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By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

Charles Page High School senior Jack Karstetter picked up some of the most impressive wins of his career in Akron, Ohio this weekend at the University of Akron. 

In the United World of Wrestling Cadet Greco-Roman Nationals Karstetter came in runner-up after falling to Wyoming Seminary junior Jack Davis in the finals. The Blue Knights finished the high school season ranked second in the nation by FloWrestling.

Karstetter secured a pair of impressive victories in the early rounds with a 5-4 decision over Theorius Robison, and a 4-1 decision over Rylee Molitor, both of whom hold multiple national titles. In the semi-finals he defeated PJ Gohn 5-0 and went to a best-of-three championship series against Davis.

Davis won the first match with a 5-2 decision, but Karstetter came out amped in the next battle for a dominating 12-5 victory. It came down to the wire in the final round but Davis got the 3-2 edge for the National Title.

In the Freestyle tournament Karstetter breezed through the early competition, scoring a pair of 10-0 tech falls. He defeated 2015 ASICS National Runner-Up Phillip Moomey and Georgia Freestyle State Champion Davion Fairley without allowing a single point. 

The next match wouldn’t be nearly as easy as he went into an ultimate tie-breaker round against Missouri State Champion Andrew Gamble. Karstetter came out with the 8-8 win, however, after riding out the final round and advanced to the quarter finals.

The winning streak finally came to an end in a 12-2 tech fall to USAW 2015 Cadet Freestyle National Champion Sammy Sasso. In the next round, Karstetter was pinned in 0:55 by Marco Regalbuto and eliminated from contention. 

 

This story was originally published in the Sandite Pride News Weekly Sunday edition.

Daton Fix qualifies for World Championship in France

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By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

Charles Page High School junior Daton Fix has been in three states in the last month competing in summer Freestyle wrestling, and the three-time undefeated OSSAA State Champion hasn't slowed down a bit since the high school wrestling season concluded.

Last month in Las Vegas, Nevada, Fix won his sixteenth National Tournament. Two weeks later he won the OK USA Junior Freestyle State Tournament in Cushing, and just last Thursday he wrestled Iranian Champion Kheyrollah Ghahramani in an outdoor exhibition in the middle of Times Square in New York City. Sunday he traveled to Irving, Texas for the United World of Wrestling Junior Freestyle World Team Trials. 

Illinois State Champion Austin Gomez is one of the biggest names in wrestling and is currently ranked fifth in the nation at 120 pounds. At the World Team Trials he breezed through the competition with multiple shutout tech falls to make the finals, where he would go up against Fix. Fix got a free ride to the finals after winning the UWW National Championship in Vegas.

Fix and Gomez had already met in the Vegas quarterfinals where Fix, who is ranked second in 120 nationally, didn't allow even a single point in his dominating 10-0 tech fall victory over the Iowa State University bound three-time Fargo National Champ.

Needless to say, Gomez was looking for a different outcome in Irving, but he would be disappointed. Not only did Fix get the win, but he did it twice. The two battled in a best-of-three series for the ticket to Worlds and Fix dominated with a pair of 10-0 tech falls. 

This will be far from Fix's first international voyage. In May of 2014 he won the Pan American Championships in Recife, Brazil. That July he made his World Championship debut in Slovakia where he placed tenth, and in August he won a Silver medal at the Youth Olympics in China. Last summer he found himself in Sarajevo, Bosnia where he defeated Uzbekistan's Abbos Rakhmonov for a Bronze medal at Worlds. 

If you would like to support Fix's "Quest for Gold" you can donate at this LINK.

To see Fix's 14-3 tech fall victory over Iranian Champion Kheyrollah Ghahramani click HERE.

Daton Fix breezes through Iranian Champion in Times Square

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By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

Charles Page High School junior Daton Fix added another big name to his list of quality wins last night in New York City.

Wrestling at the "United In The Square" event in Times Square, the outstanding athlete became the first junior-level wrestler to ever compete on the main card at the annual Beat the Streets gala. Fix's Team USA allies included Olympic Gold Medalist Jordan Burroughs and NCAA Champion J'den Cox as well as a smattering of 2016 Olympic Qualifiers and World Champions.

His opponent was Kheyrollah Ghahramani, who, like Fix, is a World Championship Bronze Medalist. The Iranian also holds a Silver Medal from the Asian Championship. Fix scored a quick takedown in the first minute of the match and followed it with a turn, holding a 4-0 lead as the first period expired. Ghahramani put points on the board early in the second period, but by the 4:25 mark Fix had scored another takedown and wrapped up the tech fall with a series of turns for a 14-3 finish.

Fix will have only two days to prep for the World Team Trials Monday in Irving, Texas, where he aims to earn his spot at the World Championships in Macon, France later this summer. After securing a title at the UWW Junior National Championship in Las Vegas a few weeks ago, Fix won't have to wrestle the entire bracket and instead gets to compete against the 55 KG finalist in a best-of-three series. 

Fix first made the Cadet World Championship in 2014 when he competed in Slovakia and placed tenth after falling 6-3 to Iran's Rahmatabadi Kaveh. That same summer he competed at the Youth Olympics in China and earned a Silver Medal. Last year he went 4-1 at the World Championships in Bosnia and brought home Bronze after defeating wrestlers from Armenia, Georgia, Moldova, and Uzbekistan. 

Anyone who would like to contribute to Fix and support his quest for Gold can make a donation by clicking HERE. 

CPHS junior Daton Fix competes in NYC Times Square at Olympic-level dual

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CPHS Junior Daton Fix celebrates after winning his third OSSAA State Championship. (Photo by: Scott Emigh)

By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

Charles Page High School junior Daton Fix is no stranger to big matches on big stages. As one of the most heavily decorated athletes in Sand Springs history, Fix has claimed titles all over the planet.

In 2014 he won the Pan American Championship in Recife, Brazil, placed tenth at the World Championships in Snina, Slovakia, and claimed a Silver medal at the Youth Olympic Games in Nanjing, China. Last year he claimed five different US National titles and took the Bronze medal at the World Championships in Sarajevo, Bosnia. 

This year Fix is undefeated at 41-0 and has already ran up an impressive series of championships less than halfway into the year. February saw Fix's third-consecutive undefeated State Championship. Just three weeks ago he traveled to Las Vegas and won his sixteenth National Championship.

The three-time Greco-Roman National Champion, three-time Folkstyle National Champion, eight-time Freestyle National Champion, and two-time Freestyle Dual National Championship team-member now has his sights set on New York City.

Thursday evening at 5:30 Oklahoma time, FloWrestling.com will be live streaming the 2016 Beat the Streets Gala in Times Square, New York City, where Fix will compete alongside some of the greatest names in wrestling. Fix's opponent is Iran's 2013 Cadet World Championship Bronze medalist and 2012 Asian Cadet Silver medalist Kheyrollah Ghahramani. 

The Team USA vs Team Iran "United in the Square" exhibition is an annual showcase hosted by Beat the Streets, a nonprofit organization that "works with middle and high school students in all five NYC boroughs and seeks to provide a safe and positive atmosphere for disadvantaged and at-risk youth to learn the essential life lessons of personal responsibility, physical fitness, education, and teamwork."

Fix's teammates will include University of Minnesota-signed Junior National Champion Mitchell McKee, Penn State University-signed Junior National Champion Mark Hall, Arizona State University Junior National Champion Zahid Valencia, 2012 Olympic Champion and three-time World Champion Jordan Burroughs, 2016 Olympian and two-time NCAA Champion J'Den Cox, 2016 Olympian and three-time World Champion Adeline Gray, 2016 Olympian and 2015 World Champion Helen Maroulis, and 2016 Olympian and two-time World Bronze Medalist Andy Bisek. 

After his New York match, Fix will have only three days to prepare for the Junior World Team Trials in Irving, Texas. If Fix makes the team for the third year in a row, he will get to add a new country to his resume when he travels to Macone, France in late August for the UWW World Championships. 

Naturally, flying across the world is expensive, and wrestling is "amateur" in classification. There are no cash rewards for winning these competitions. Anyone who would like to contribute to Fix and support his quest for Gold can make a donation by clicking HERE. 

3X Sandite of the Week: Daton Fix

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By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

This week Sandite Pride would like to recognize Charles Page High School junior Daton Fix as Sandite of the Week for his outstanding performance at the United World of Wrestling Junior Freestyle National Championships in Las Vegas, Nevada. 

Fix traveled to Vegas this weekend to defend his 2015 UWW Junior National title, and defend it he did, defeating some of the top names in the game. The 126 pound grappler is ranked second in the nation in his weight class and is riding a 54-straight win streak with 21 pins and 20 tech falls, only winning two matches since October by less than eight points. 

The tournament featured some tough competition. Fix defeated University at Buffalo sophomore Kyle Akins 14-4, and two-time Illinois State Champion Kristopher Williams 10-0. In the semi-finals he scored a 10-0 tech fall over Austin Gomez, who is ranked fifth in the nation in 126 and just finished the high school season with a 40-1 record and a State Championship. The final match was Fix's closest battle since October, but he still came out with the win, defeating Gavin Teasdale 6-5 for the Championship. Teasdale is ranked first in the nation in class 113. 

This is Fix's third time being featured as Sandite of the Week. Some of Fix's titles include:

  • 2011 ASICS/USAW Kids Freestyle Schoolboy National Championship
  • 2012 ASICS/USAW Kids Folkstyle Schoolboy National Runner-Up
  • 2012 ASICS/USAW Schoolboy Freestyle National Champion
  • 2012 ASICS/USAW Schoolboy Greco-Roman National Champion
  • 2012 Cliff Keen USAW Preseason National Middle School Champion
  • 2013 FILA Cadet Nationals Freestyle Runner-Up
  • 2013 USAW Cadet Greco-Roman National Champion
  • 2013 USAW Cadet Freestyle National Champion
  • 2013 Kansas City Stampede Champion
  • 2014 OSSAA 6A State Champion
  • 2014 Cliff Keen USAW Cadet Folkstyle National Champion
  • 2014 Cadet Freestyle Pan American Champion
  • 2014 Cadet Greco-Roman Pan American Champion
  • 2014 ASICS/FILA Cadet National Freestyle Champion
  • 2014 USAW Junior Freestyle Dual National Champion (Team Oklahoma)
  • 2014 World Freestyle Championship 10th Place
  • 2014 Youth Olympic Games Freestyle Silver Medalist
  • 2014 Super 32 Runner-Up
  • 2014 Kansas City Stampede Champion
  • 2015 OSSAA 6A State Champion
  • 2015 Junior Folkstyle FloNationals Champion
  • 2015 UWW Junior Freestyle National Champion
  • 2015 UWW Cadet Freestyle National Champion
  • 2015 Junior Freestyle Dual National Champion (Team Oklahoma)
  • 2015 USAW Junior Freestyle National Champion
  • 2015 Cadet World Championship Bronze Medalist
  • 2015 Kansas City Stampede Champion
  • 2015 Geary Invitational Champion
  • 2016 OSSAA 6A State Champion

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.

CPHS Junior Daton Fix wins National Championship in Las Vegas

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By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

Charles Page High School junior Daton Fix traveled to Las Vegas, Nevada this weekend to compete in the United World of Wrestling Junior Freestyle Nationals, and won his second-consecutive UWW Junior Freestyle Championship.

Fix had little difficulty in tech-falling his way through his first three competitors, handing University at Buffalo sophomore Kyle Akins a 14-4 loss in round one.

In the quarterfinals Fix was pitted against two-time Illinois State Champion Kristopher Williams and didn't give up even a single point en route to a 10-0 tech fall.

The Sandite drew tough competition in the semi-finals in Austin Gomez, who is ranked fifth nationally in 126 by FloWrestling. Gomez just finished the high school season with a 40-1 record and a State Championship, but he was no match for Fix who dealt him a 10-0 tech fall.

Fix has won his last 54-straight matches, but his UWW finals match against Gavin Teasdale was his closest battle since a 5-3 decision over nationally ranked Requir Van Der Merwe at the Geary Invitational in January. 

Fix dropped weight from 126 pounds to 121 for the tournament, while Teasdale wrestled up from 113. Both wrestlers are highly ranked by FloWrestling, with Fix sitting at second in 126 and Teasdale topping the chart at number one in 113. Teasdale has racked up four national championships while Fix's 6-5 win gives him thirteen national titles over the three disciplines. 

Up next for the young stud is a trip to New York City where he will join Team USA against Team Iran in the middle of Time Square on Thursday, May 19th.