Nathan Estrada makes claim to fame in professional wrestling

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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

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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. 

Iowa tops Oklahoma 41-26 at Freestyle Dual Nationals

By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

Oklahoma suffered another close loss in the second round of Freestyle Friday morning. The Outlaws battled hard, but Iowa Red pulled out all the stops and put together a tough team featuring six nationally ranked contenders.

Sand Springs’s own National Champion Daton Fix kicked off the dual with an 11-0 tech fall over Dante Tachia, but Iowa swept the next seven-straight matches.

Brock Rathbun took down All American Jacob Butler 10-0, Jaxen Gilmore took a 12-2 loss to No. 8 Carter Happel, and Brik Filippo lost 10-0 to Nelson Brands. Matt Malcomb scored a surprising 15-8 upset over No. 11 Wyatt Sheets, Marcus Coleman teched Christian Bahl 12-1, and Max Lyon teched Dan Baker 10-0 before the Outlaws finally managed to get back on the board.

Bear Hughes broke up the win streak with a 25 second pin of Donavon Doyle, then Iowa went right back at it as No. 14 Wyatt Wriedt teched Gunner Cash 16-6. Trenton Lieurance put up an impressive battle against No. 11 Carter Isley but lost by a close 3-1 decision.

Sand Springs’s Riley Weir won a 13-2 tech fall over Cobe Siebrecht and Wyatt Adams received a forfeit, but the last two bouts belonged to Iowa. No. 4 Kyle Biscoglia won a 12-10 decision over Colt Newton and No. 9 Jack Wagner wrapped things up with a 21-15 decision over Jet Taylor to win the dual 41-26.

Up next for Oklahoma is a tough New Jersey team whose only losses were a close 34-33 Pool A finals bout with Ohio and a 35-30 dual with Illinois. Jersey boasts an incredible twelve nationally ranked wrestlers. 

Oklahoma out of contention for the title, but still impressing at Freestyle Nationals

By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

The Oklahome Outlaws got off to a great start Friday morning at the Junior Freestyle Duals, but saw their shot at threepeating for the Title fall short. The back-to-back defending National Champions had no problem blowing past South Dakota 55-11, Iowa Blue 52-17, and Utah Blue 47-18, but met their match in the top-seeded Minnesota Red team.

Beginning at 106 pounds, Oklahoma went on a run in the low weights taking a 16-1 lead with wins from Wyatt Adams, Colt Newton, Dalton Duffield, and Daton Fix. Minnesota battled back, however, as Brent Jones teched Jacob Butler 13-2 and Mitchell Mckee won a huge victory in taking down nationally ranked No. 4 Kaden Gfeller with a 7-4 decision. Alex Crowe also overcame one of Oklahoma’s biggest contenders in a 4-3 decision over Beau Guffey.

Jaryn Curry broke up the win streak with a 12-2 tech fall over Ryan Epps, but Minnesota got right back on the horse with a huge 11-7 win over Wyatt Sheets from Jake Allar. Lucas Jeske got the upper end of a 24-20 shootout with Dayton Garrett, Taylor Venz teched Bear Hughes 12-2, Owen Webster teched Zach Marcheselli 14-3, and Keegan Moore teched Gunner Cash 10-0.

Trenton Lieurance won a 4-4 decision over Sam Erckenbrack, but Matthew Peterson finished up the battle for Minnesota with a 13-2 tech fall over Riley Weir and Oklahoma was defeated 35-31.

In the first round of the Gold/Silver pool, the Outlaws were trumped once again, this time by Illinois.

Louie Hayes won a high-scoring 16-12 decision over Jet Taylor to start the dual. Duffield took the lead for Oklahoma with a 12-1 tech over Travis Piotrowski and Fix added to it with a 10-0 defeat of Gabriel Townsell.

Illinois surged right back to the top with a 7-2 decision from Jaime Hernandez over Jaxen Gilmore and A.J. Jaffe teched Guffey 10-0. Wyatt Sheets took down Shayne Oster 10-10 to reclaim the one-point lead but Illinois went on a run with wins over Curry, Baker, Marcheselli, Matt Smith, and Gage Johnson. With the dual clinched, Illinois forfeited the final three weights for a 37-31 victory.