Eight Sandites take first place at Gage Underwood Memorial Wrestling Tournament

By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

Thirty-one members of the Sand Springs elementary and junior high wrestling teams competed at the Gage Underwood Memorial Tournament recently in Pryor. Twenty-nine placed in the top four in their divisions and eight took first place. 

Dariuz Black (17-12) competed in both Division Three and Division Four Open at 73 pounds. He took first in Division Three and second in the older division. In Division three he pinned Aidan Wolfe (Pryor) in 2:06, received a forfeit from Kenyon Encinas (Pryor), then scored a 23-8 technical fall over Andrew Haynes (Glenpool). In Division Four he pinned Riley Kuder (Broken Arrow) in 0:40 and scored a 22-7 tech fall over Encinas, but was pinned in 1:06 by Corban Zugelder (Catoosa). 

Jaxon Trotter (18-15) competed in both Division Three and Division Four Open at 85 pounds. He took first place in Division three, majoring Jaxon Turner (Vinita) 10-1 and defeating Jake Miller (Threestyle) 4-2. In Division Four he majored Dakota Allphin (Glenpool) 12-0, but was pinned in 2:23 by Lane Wheeler (Glenpool). 

Jaxon Grigsby (18-3) competed in Division Two Open at 49 pounds and took first place. He received a forfeit from Ethan Boyd (Claremore) then pinned his next three opponents. He pinned Tommy Parker (Pryor) in 0:36, Malaki Venetoff (Berryhill) in 3:55, and Parker Lapham (Owasso) in 0:45.

Grady Mittasch (32-7) competed in Division Three Open at 70 pounds and took first place. He defeated Jaxson Humphries (Catoosa) 4-0 and Logan Hargrove (Catoosa) 6-0, then pinned teammate Hunter Jewell in 0:36. 

Clayton Giddens (27-1) competed in Division Four Open at 67 pounds and took first place. He pinned Andrew Havens (Sperry) in 1:11, Caydon Miller (Sapulpa) in 1:06, and Jackson Willingham (Glenpool) in 3:28. 

Abraham Flores (13-7) competed in Division Four Open at 96 pounds and took first place. He defeated Chad Herbert (Owasso) 12-7 in sudden victory overtime, then teched Kevin Lund (Glenpool) 16-0.

London McGinnis (14-7) competed in both Division One Novice and Division One Open at 46 pounds and took second place in each. In Novice he defeated Corde Williams (Bristow) 12-5 and pinned Cash Pope (Glenpool) in 0:56 before falling 5-4 to Blake Ketcher (Pryor). In Open he lost his opening match 7-4 to Braylon Freeman (Cleveland), but rebounded with a 9-0 major decision over Ketcher, then topped Aiyden Robertson (Claremore) 8-2.

Hunter Spencer (13-6) competed in Division Two Open at 61 pounds and took second. He lost his opening match 9-2 to Javon Freeman (Cleveland), but won his next two handily. He majored Gunner Murray (Claremore) 10-0 and Seth Kysar (Cleveland) 9-0.

Zander Grigsby (18-5) competed in Division Three Open at 61 pounds and took second. He defeated Isaiah Jones (Glenpool) 11-1 and Jagen Jones (Sperry) 4-0 before falling 1-0 to Gage Walker (Jay) in the finals. 

Adrian Flores (14-11) competed in Division Three Open at 100 pounds and took second place. He pinned Kole Lamont (Broken Arrow) in 2:31, but was pinned in 1:06 by Bryson Kelley (Cushing). 

Carter Wood (11-5) competed in Division Two Open at 70 pounds and took third place. He lost his opening match 0-0 to Jake Wassom (Pryor), but scored a 20-4 tech fall over Eli Warer (Pryor) and received a forfeit from Jackson Vaught (Threestyle).

Robert Burke (15-5) competed in Division Three Open at 67 pounds and took third place. He was pinned in 1:20 by Bryson Humphries (Catoosa), but received a forfeit from teammate David Ritchey and defeated Elijah Green (Broken Arrow) 9-7. 

Asher Giddens (8-7) competed in Division One Open at 43 pounds and took fourth place. He defeated Daxen Delacerda (Bristow) 9-7 in the opening round, but was pinned in 0:28 by Roman Tyler (Berryhill). In the consolations he pinned Camden Reid (Pryor) in 0:19, but lost a rematch in the final 6-4 to Delacerda in sudden victory overtime. 

Matthew Moore (14-3) competed in Division Three Novice at 61 pounds and took first place. He scored a 10-2 major decision over Wiley Welch (Glenpool), pinned Justin Kendall (Sapulpa) in 0:28, and teched Jarrett Graves (Pryor) 16-0.

Skyler Wood (10-1) competed in Division Two Novice at 64 pounds and took first place. He scored a 1-0 decision over Jase Loftis (Pryor) and a 10-2 major decision over Ethan Oglesbee (Coweta). 

Jesse Moore (9-5) competed in Division Three Novice at 76 pounds and took second place. He pinned Eli Phemister (Glenpool) in 1:56 and Teryn Kegley (Pryor) in 1:59, but lost a close 5-4 decision to Clay McKiddy (Cushing). 

Jeziah Boatman (4-5) competed in Division Four Novice at 76 pounds and took second place. He was pinned in 1:51 in his first match by Xavier Wolfe (Pryor), but snapped back with a 6-4 sudden victory decision over Hudson Sams (Collinsville) and decisioned Jacob Taylor (Cleveland) 5-2.

Samuel Moore (18-8) competed in Division One Novice at 49 pounds and took third place. He pinned Jordyn Garrett (Owasso) in 0:21 and Isaiah Wilkerson (Claremore) in 1:59, and received a forfeit from Karson Johnson (Berryhill). He was pinned in 2:35 by Bentley Mefford (Pryor), but majored Ryker Eichelberger (Pryor) 15-2 in the consolation finals.

Dayne Ficken (8-5) competed in Division Two Novice at 55 pounds and took third place. He defeated Jameson Allen (Sperry) 6-0, but was sent to the consolation bracket after an 18-2 tech fall loss to Josiah Hall (Oologah). He bounced back with a pin of Hayden Smith (Blackwell) in 0:42 and majored Carter Williams (Pryor) 10-1.

Jareb Boatman (9-2) competed in Division Two Novice at 52 pounds and took third place. He pinned Dylan Cook (Coweta) in 0:15 and scored a 1-0 decision over Slade Theriot (Berryhill), but was pinned in 1:50 by Jonas Howell (Oologah) and in 2:23 by Caleb Kendall (Sapulpa).

Daton Fix and Payton Scott win Geary Invitational; Sandites place fourth

By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

Team Scores

173.00 Blair Academy (National No. 1)
131.50 Tuttle (National No. 11)
96.00 Broken Arrow (OK 6A No. 3)
86.00 Sand Springs (National No. 16)
77.00 Lawton MacArthur (OK 5A No. 1)
70.00 Choctaw (National No. 18)
57.00 Norman North (OK 6A No. 12)
55.00 Tulsa Union (OK 6A No. 8)
51.00 Altus (OK 5A No. 4)
41.00 Arkansas City, KS
41.00 Randall, TX
38.00 Rio Rancho, NM
37.50 Collinsville (OK 5A No. 3)
34.00 Geary (OK 3A No. 4)
23.00 Arlington Martin, TX
17.00 Midwest City
14.00 Westmoore (OK 6A No. 6)
11.00 Tascosa, TX
6.00 Duncan (OK 5A No. 7)
2.00 Del City (OK 5A No. 10)

Champions

106 TJ Long (Union)
113 Trevor Mastrogiovanni (Blair)
120 Mike Madara (Blair)
126 Chris Cannon (Blair)
132 Daton Fix (Sand Springs)
138 Tanner Litterell (Tuttle)
145 Brik Filippo (Tuttle)
152 Payton Scott (Sand Springs)
160 Jaryn Curry (Choctaw)
170 Leo Tarantino (Blair)
182 Gavin Potter (Broken Arrow)
195 Zach Marcheselli (Broken Arrow)
220 Chase Singletary (Blair)
285 Gage Johnson (Norman North)

The No. 1 ranked Charles Page High School varsity wrestling team (3-0) continued their nationally-recognized season with a fourth place finish at the oldest high school tournament in the country. The Sandites, who are ranked sixteenth in the nation by FloWrestling.com, traveled to the 72nd Annual Geary Invitational Tournament this weekend and fell by 87 points to the No. 1 team in the country, Blair Academy. 

Undefeated Oklahoma State University-signed senior Daton Fix took first place for the second-straight year and junior Payton Scott won his bracket for the first time. Six total Sandites placed in the tournament that featured all-star talent from across the country. Delvin Jordan took second place, Michael Ritchey and Beau Bratcher took third, and Cody Mathis took sixth.

The Geary Tournament uses a blind draw instead of seeding the brackets, and also features a second-place challenge match for consolation winners who didn't already wrestle the runner-up.

Nationally ranked No. 11 Tuttle came in second, while Oklahoma 6A No. 3 Broken Arrow upset both Sand Springs and Choctaw for third place. Blair Academy has held the No. 1 spot in the country since knocking off Wyoming Seminary nearly a year ago. The Buccaneers won national prep titles in both 2015 and 2016.

The Sandites' performance is made even more impressive by their incomplete roster. State Runner Up Jack Karstetter (5-1, 78-16) and State-placer Zane Basma (4-1, 66-26) sat out with injuries, and the Sandites didn't wrestle anybody at the 170 or 195 weight classes.

Daton Fix (19-0 season, 137-0 career) competed at 132 and scored a trio of dominating tech falls to earn his way to the finals. He defeated both Connor Manderfield (Arlington Martin) and State-qualifier David Hunter (Duncan) 23-7 each, then teched State-qualifier Sam Avant (Norman North) 20-4. In the championship round he had his closest win of the season, 7-3 over nationally ranked No. 6 Zach Sherman, a University of North Carolina commit.

Payton Scott (18-1, 39-9) competed at 152 and won his first two matches with close decisions over tough competitors. He topped USAW Preseason National Runner-Up Dustin Plott, a freshman from Tuttle, 8-6, then defeated two-time New Mexico State Champion Ryan Rochford of Rio Rancho. In the semifinals he pinned Tascosa freshman Sam Mora in 2:51, setting himself up for a finals bout with Willy Kaiser of Blair Academy. He prevailed 3-1 in overtime for his second tournament championship this season. 

Delvin Jordan (18-2, 49-14) competed at 220 and continued his pin streak with a 1:12 fall over Georgia State-qualifier Josue Arroyo (Altus). He met his match in the semifinals, however, in a 16-1 tech fall to nationally-ranked No. 1 Chase Singletary (Blair). In the consolation bracket he pinned Micah Walker (Union) in 0:45 and won a rematch with Arroyo 9-3. In his challenge match he scored a 15-8 decision over State-placer Dion Brown.

Michael Ritchey (14-7, 43-31) defeated Dylan Morris (Duncan) 5-0 in the first round of 120, but fell 6-3 to Mike Madara of Blair Academy. In the consolations he scored a 2-0 decision over Quinton Smith (MacArthur), then defeated Choctaw's Andy Schlaepfer 5-0 in the finals. He was pinned in the first period of his challenge match by two-time State Champion Rhett Golowenski (Tuttle).

Beau Bratcher (16-5, 107-28) competed at 145 and won two impressive matchups on day one. He scored a 10-0 major decision over Blake Muse (Choctaw), then pinned State-qualifier Brady Mattioda (Broken Arrow) in 4:39, setting himself up for his toughest opponent of the season. He put up an impressive effort, but eventually fell 6-1 to nationally-ranked State Champion No. 18 Brik Filippo of Tuttle. In the consolations he handily defeated Dillan Rowland (Lawton MacArthur) 7-0, then pinned Jermaine Harring (Union) in 2:38 in the finals. In his challenge match he gave up a close 6-2 decision to State Champion Nate Keim (Collinsville).

Cody Mathis (7-5, 25-19) competed at 138 and drew a tough competitor to start. He was pinned in 4:42 by nationally-ranked No. 7 Malcolm Robinson of Blair Academy, but worked his way up through the consolations. He defeated New Mexico State-placer Zak Vigil 3-1 and Cameron Traylor (Union) 8-5 before falling 5-2 to David Reyes (Arlington Martin) in the consolation semifinals. In the placement round he forfeited to Jack Hammond (Collinsville).

Riley Weir (14-6, 35-18) lost his first round match at 106, but the closeness of the loss was impressive. Blair Academy's Nick Incontrera is currently ranked ninth in the nation according to FloWrestling.com, but Weir hung close and only lost 4-1. The sophomore resoundingly won his next match with an 8-0 major decision over Luke Garcia (Arlington Martin), then scored a 16-1 tech fall over Alex Emmer (Rio Rancho), before falling 13-4 to Johnathon Ortegon (Randall). 

Tanner Ward (13-6, 89-18) won his first match at 113, pinning Alec Ramirez (Tascosa) in 1:24, but gave up a 12-8 decision to Union's Caron Watson in the quarterfinals. In the consolations he defeated Will Hicks (Duncan) 7-2, but was edged out 6-5 by Daniel Vargas (Rio Rancho).

Blake Sargent (14-6, 66-20) scored a 7-0 decision over Ryder Ramsey (Tuttle) in the first round at 126, then lost a close 7-5 match to two-time State Runner-Up Connor Holman of Choctaw. In the consolations he pinned Landon Holt (Geary) in 0:40, but lost a 3-2 decision to Texas State Champion Xavier Torres (Randall).

Noah Almy (8-9) competed at 160 pounds and was eliminated after the first day. He was pinned in 4:16 by State-placer Ryce Haymaker (Collinsville) and in 2:20 by State-placer Ross Shawnee (Geary). 

Hayden Cramer (1-3) competed at 182 and was eliminated after a pair of close losses to tough competition. He was defeated 4-1 by Jacob Base (Geary) and 5-3 by Brady Worthington (Blair Academy).

Gage Fain (12-6, 25-28) competed at 285 and was pinned in 0:42 by two-time State-placer Trenton Lieurance of Broken Arrow. In the consolations he scored an 8-3 decision over Baylor Walker (Tascosa), but was pinned in 1:49 by Michael Pope (Del City). 

Sand Springs wrestlers compete at Virginia Duals on Team Oklahoma; two attain All-American status

By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

Team Results

18th Place - Oklahoma Outlaws Elementary (6-4)
31st Place - Oklahoma Energy Elementary (5-5)
50th Place - Oklahoma Lightening Elementary (6-5)
(60 Teams Participating)

19th Place - Oklahoma Storm Middle School
38th Place - Oklahoma Tornadoes Middle School
47th Place - Oklahoma Thunder Middle School
(60 Teams Participating)

Several Sand Springs elementary and middle school wrestlers recently joined Team Oklahoma at the Virginia National Holiday Duals. Clayton Giddens and Carter Young both attained All-American status by going undefeated through the entire tournament.

Clayton Giddens (24-1) went undefeated at 64 pounds for the Oklahoma Outlaws elementary team and earned All-American status. Giddens outscored his ten opponents by a total 56-8 with one pin and one tech fall. He scored an 18-3 tech fall over Maryland State Champion Morgon Corwine, and was only one point shy from a tech fall when he defeated North Carolina State Champion Jax Forrest 14-0. He also topped USJOC Runner-Up Christian Fretwell 7-0. Giddens went into a tie-breaker round against Nevada State Champion Muhammad Badery and came out 1-0, then defeated USJOC Champion Shawn Ryncarz 2-1 in a sudden victory round. The Outlaws competed against Team Ohio Scarlet for fifth place in the Silver bracket but fell 44-30. Giddens defeated his final opponent, Jace Jett 1-0 for a perfect tournament record. 

Carter Young (20-2) went undefeated at 92 pounds for the Oklahoma Storm middle school team and earned All-American status. Young outscored his nine opponents 72-14 with two pins and one technical fall. He defeated Freakshow Runner-Up and Flo Reno Worlds Runner-Up Drew Lang (Utah) 5-0, and Southeast Regional Champion David Panone (Minions Black) 7-3. In the seventh place match the Storm defeated Terps Express 50-26 and Young overcame Ohio State Champion Richard Delsanter 4-1 to complete his undefeated streak. 

Christian Forbes (7-6) competed at 70 pounds for the Oklahoma Storm middle school team. He went 5-4 overall and it could have easily been 6-3 as one of his loses was an overtime tie-breaker. 

Rhett Peak (16-8) competed at 76 pounds for the Oklahoma Outlaws elementary team. He went 5-5 in the tournament overall with two major decisions and three decisions. He scored an 11-0 major decision over Maryland State Champion Alexander Rodrigues, a 7-3 decision over Southeast Regional Champion Lane Foard, and a 4-0 decision over USAW Preseason National Runner-Up Carson Thomas. Luke Burdette (14-7) also competed for the Outlaws and went 4-6 with three forfeits and one decision. He defeated Caleb Beaty 4-0. 

Grady Mittasch (29-7) competed at 68 pounds for the Oklahoma Energy elementary team. He went 5-5 in the tournament overall, recording three pins, and scored a 13-6 decision over Georgia State Champion Colin Dragon. Three of his loses were by three points or less and he was never pinned nor defeated by technical fall. In the final dual of the tournament the Oklahoma team competed against Team Morrison Fitness for seventh place in the Bronze bracket and prevailed 57-21. Mittasch went into sudden victory overtime against Southeast Regional Champion Tyson Sherlock, but fell 4-2. 

Josh Taylor (10-5) competed at 112 pounds for the Oklahoma Tornadoes middle school team and went 4-5. He pinned two opponents and two of his losses were by a single point. Sam Harris (9-14) competed at 119 for the Tornadoes and went 2-7. He scored a 4-0 decision over Reno Worlds Champion Ryan Rutherford (California Black) and pinned Gavin Gregory (Michigan Select Red) in 0:30. 

Dariuz Black (12-11) competed at 72 pounds for the Oklahoma Lightening elementary team. He went 2-9 overall, but four of his losses were by three points or less and two were by a single point. Both of his victories were by fall, including 1:15 over Virginia State Runner-Up Anthony Lucchiani.

Ethan White (4-13) competed at 112 pounds for the Oklahoma Thunder middle school team. He didn't win any matches, but two of his losses were by two points or less and he took on some of the toughest competitors in the country.

No. 1 Sandites top No. 10 Stillwater 59-9, win nine of eleven matches

By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

It was another dominating win Thursday evening at the Ed Dubie Field House as the No. 1 ranked Sand Springs Sandites (3-0) continued their undefeated start to the season with their second-straight win over a top-ten team. The tenth-ranked Stillwater Pioneers (3-2) boast an impressive roster of powerful wrestlers, but it wasn't enough to stop the tidal wave that is the nationally recognized Charles Page team. Sand Springs, which is ranked 17th in the country by FloWrestling, rolled to a 59-9 victory with only two losses. The junior high team also prevailed 45-21 over Stillwater.

The Sandites started off with a 6-0 lead as Riley Weir (12-4 season, 33-16 career) received a forfeit at 106 pounds. Senior State-qualifier Tanner Ward (11-4, 87-16) took on Skylar Lancaster at 113 and made quick work of his opponent. He was working on a pin when the first period expired and had to settle for near-fall points. Lancaster started the second period neutral, trailing 7-1, setting Ward up for a takedown and pin at the 3:19 mark.

Stillwater forfeited the 120 and 126 pound weight classes to Michael Ritchey (11-5, 40-29) and Blake Sargent (12-4, 64-18), respectively, giving the Sandites a 24-0 lead. Sophomore Irwin Portillo (1-0, 4-3) made his season debut at 132 and picked up a huge win over John Ritchey. It was a close match, but Portillo led 2-1 after the first period and never trailed. He held off his Stillwater challenger throughout the third period and prevailed 8-5 for a 27-0 team score.

Oklahoma State University-signed senior Daton Fix (15-0, 133-0) continued his undefeated career with a incredible win at 138 pounds. Stillwater's Tyler Dieringer is no joke of an athlete. The three-time State-qualifier and two-time State placer went a combined 66-27 over the last two seasons, but Fix worked him over just like everyone else the Sandite stud takes on for a technical fall in only 4:25. Dieringer started out tough and only trailed 4-1 after the first period, but gave up eight takedowns in the second period and ultimately lost 26-11. 

Beau Bratcher (12-3, 103-26) drew a tough opponent in two-time Louisiana State Champion, one-time Oklahoma State-placer Kendon Lee and suffered his third loss of the season. Bratcher defeated Lee 4-2 last year for the Regional Title and 7-2 at Perry, but Lee dealt Bratcher a 4-2 loss in sudden victory last month at the Kansas City Stampede. This time around the pair were once again perfectly matched. The duo entered the third period tied 0-0 and Lee chose bottom to start. Bratcher had to cut Lee loose immediately and went to work looking for points. Instead it was Lee who padded his lead with a minute left. Bratcher got the reversal with ten seconds left and cut Lee loose again, but was unable to take the lead and fell 4-2. 

The Pioneers had put their first points on the board, but were behind 32-3 with seven matches to go. At 152 pounds Payton Scott (14-1, 35-9) made easy work of Parker Nichols, building a 6-2 lead before pinning the Pioneer in 1:41. Trailing 38-3, the Pioneers would need to win every single match by fall to win the dual.

One match where the Pioneers were likely to put up points was 152 pound State-qualifier Connor Wilcoxen versus sophomore Noah Almy (8-7), but the first-year starter had other plans. Almy hasn't had much varsity experience yet, but he's undefeated in duals and made sure to remain that way in a nail bitter overtime performance. The duo ended the first period scoreless and each scored a single escape point in the following periods. The sudden victory round ended scoreless and both wrestlers scored a single escape point in the tie-breaker rounds. Tied up 2-2, Almy started the first ultimate tie-breaker round on top. Wilcoxen was like an angry bull, doing anything he could to try and get Almy off, and had a few close calls where he nearly won it. But the Sandite was resilient and got the win after a frustrated Wilcoxen accidentally kicked Almy in the head and lost on a penalty. 

The dual was officially locked up in the Sandites' favor by this point, but there were still matches left to wrestle. The Pioneers managed to cut into the deficit a little bit with a 1:09 pin by State Champion Christian Bahl over Mikey Burns (0-1) at 170, but their second match win would be their last match win.

At 182 sophomore Luke Bratcher (2-0) took a quick 5-2 lead over Jakob Ogden after the first period and held on for an 8-2 decision. 

Freshman Hayden Cramer (1-1) picked up his first win of his high school career at 195, and he went the distance to do it. After a scoreless first period, Cramer took a 1-0 lead over Aaron Veselak with an escape to start the second. Veselak did the same to start the third and caught Cramer by the leg. The Sandite was hobbling on a single leg for nearly thirty seconds before he managed to escape off the edge of the mat. Veselak was unable to catch him off guard again, and they went into sudden victory. With three seconds left Cramer got the takedown for the 3-1 victory. 

Gage Fain (11-4, 24-26) got to wrestle close to his own weight for once, and it made a world of difference. The 207 pound junior has wrestled at 285 this entire season and 80% of last season due to the lack of a true heavyweight for the Sandites. Used to far heavier competitors, Fain easily took down Mason Fedderson ten seconds in and pinned the Pioneer in 0:23. 

This time Delvin Jordan (14-1, 45-13) took the heavyweight position, giving up 63 pounds to his competitor, but the All-State linebacker had no problem in continuing his pinning streak. Jordan took a 4-1 lead before recording his twelfth pin of the season in 1:21. His average match has lasted a mere 2:08 so far this season. 

The Sandites will return to action with another top-tier competition at the 73rd Annual Geary Invitational. Geary is the country's oldest high school wrestling tournament and will pit the Sandites against the toughest competitors in the country. The No. 17 nationally ranked Sandites will be joined by No. 18 Choctaw, No. 11 Tuttle, and No. 1 Blair Academy. The top-ranked team in the nation will be making the pilgrimage from New Jersey to defend their back-to-back Geary Titles. The Sandites placed fifth at Geary last year.

No. 1 Sandite Wrestling steamrolls undefeated No. 8 Ponca City 51-12

By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

The No. 1 ranked Charles Page High School varsity wrestling team (2-0) hosted the No. 8 Ponca City Wildcats (3-1) in their home debut Tuesday night at the Ed Dubie Field House, but from the score you wouldn't think it was a top-ten matchup between undefeated teams.

While the visitors had rolled to dominating performances over their first three opponents, they were in a whole different league with the Sandites. Sand Springs is currently ranked seventeenth in the nation by Flowrestling.com and boasts the largest squad of returning State Qualifiers and Placers in Oklahoma 6A. And some of the Sandite starters didn't even wrestle.

The Sandites won eleven of fourteen matches, forfeited one, and lost only two, despite missing a pair of starters. State-placers Jack Karstetter and Zane Basma both sat out with minor injuries.

Sand Springs is currently tied with Choctaw (1-0) for first place in the OSSAA rankings, though the Sandites received more first-place votes than the defending State Champions. They will return to action Thursday when they host No. 10 Stillwater (2-1).

The dual started off at 106 pounds and if you blinked you could have missed it. Sophomore  Riley Weir (11-4) pinned Martezz Carnes in a mere 15 seconds. Senior Tanner Ward (10-4) wasn't far behind with a 48 second pin of Jacob Swenson.

Senior Michael Ritchey (10-5) had a tough opponent at 120 in Karson Bellmard and only held a 2-0 lead after the first period. The Sandite scored another takedown in the second period and rode the Wildcat throughout, then did the same in the third for a 6-0 decision.

State Qualifier Spencer Schickram took a 2-0 lead over junior Blake Sargent (11-4) at 126 midway through the first, but couldn't hold the Sandite for long. Less than thirty second later Sargent reversed and took a 3-2 lead into the second period. Sargent took the down position to start and escaped in the first thirty seconds, but the Wildcat tied it up soon after. Sargent was on the verge of a reversal but Schickram caught him off balance and nearly pinned him before the Sandite powered his way out of bounds with his shoulder inches away from the mat the whole time. Schickram took a 9-5 lead into the third, then made it 10-5 with an early escape. Sargent scored a takedown as time came close to expiring but couldn't get the pin and Ponca found a 10-7 decision for their first points of the night.

Leading 15-3 the Sandites sent in their big dog in nationally ranked No. 1 Oklahoma State-signed senior Daton Fix (14-0) against Dylan Schickram. The Wildcat put up major effort and only trailed 8-3 after the first period, but Fix worked him over for a 2:18 pin.

Cody Mathis cut weight to fill in for Jack Karstetter at 138 and gave one of the most intense performances of the evening. He scored an early takedown in the first period over Dawson Hunt. The Wildcat reversed, then Mathis reversed right back and took a 5-4 lead into the second. An escape point to start and a quick takedown made it 8-4, but the slippery Wildcat reversed once again and held the Sandite till the buzzer. Mathis started the third period on top and was reversed for a tie that lasted all the way through the sudden victory round. In the first tie breaker round Mathis started on bottom and took an 11-8 lead with an escape and a takedown. Hunt scored an escape in the second TB round but Mathis stayed on his feet for an 11-9 victory to make the score 24-3.

State Runner-Up Beau Bratcher (12-2) pinned Nenebah Biggoose in 1:07 without giving up any points for a 30-3 advantage. Junior Payton Scott (13-1) was caught off guard by Zeke Rubio and gave up two, but quickly reversed for near fall points and ended the period 6-3. By the end Scott was up 12-4 before pinning his fellow State Qualifier in 3:42.

Sophomore Noah Almy (7-7) and his opponent took more shots at each other than the first several matches combined, but they were equally matched through the first period and neither could take control. By the end of the second period Almy was up 4-3, a lead he held on to till the end to make the team score 39-3. 

Luke Bratcher (1-0) made his varsity debut at 170 and put up numbers quickly, leading 5-0 over Cody Miller after the first with a takedown and near-fall points. His opponent cut it to 6-2 soon after but could only focus on containing the explosive Sandite and never got to work on a pin. Bratcher started the final period on top and quickly cut the Wildcat loose. He was unable to score another take down but recorded a 6-3 decision to make it 42-3. The Sandites forfeited 182, handing the Wildcats six points, the but dual had long been decided.

Freshman Hayden Cramer (0-1) made his varsity debut at 195 and was the first to score in the match, but his Wildcat counterpart soon reversed and scored nearfall points for a 4-2 lead. Cramer secured an escape in the second period but gave up one to his opponent to start the third 5-3. They were all matched up till the final seconds when Cramer made a move to take the lead and ended up on bottom instead for a 7-3 loss.

Senior Delvin Jordan (13-1) picked up his eleventh pin of the season, taking down State Qualifier Austin Fry in 1:29.

Gage Fain (10-4) wrestled at heavyweight and was outmatched in size, but not skill. He gave up a takedown to start but quickly escaped. The second period ended with the Wildcat up 5-2, but Fain pulled ahead in the third with an escape and three takedowns for a 9-7 decision.

All nine Sand Springs wrestlers at Collinsville Classic place in top three

By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

Nine members of the Sand Springs Elementary and Junior High wrestling teams competed at the Collinsville Christmas Classic this past weekend and all nine placed in the top three within their divisions. Five wrestlers made the finals and three won their brackets.

Grady Mittasch (22-2) competed in Division Three Open at 70 pounds and took first place. He scored a 5-3 decision over Logan Hargrove (Catoosa), pinned Daniel Cohen (Bentonville) in 0:22, Tristen Goodno (Collinsville) in 0:46, and Elijah Green (Broken Arrow) in 0:42. 

Jareb Boatman (7-0) competed in Division One Novice at 52 pounds and took first place. He pinned Roper Campbell (Sperry) in 0:16 and Kaden Ford (Collinsville) in 1:24, then scored a 16-0 technical fall over Tynan Justice (Cleveland). 

Jeziah Boatman (2-4) competed in Division Four Novice at 73 pounds and took first place. He drew only one opponent and won a best-of-three series with Blaze Sams (Collinsville). He was pinned in 1:17 in the first match, but scored 4-3 and 4-2 decisions in the next two rounds. 

Sammy Naugle (13-10) competed in Division Four Open at 88 pounds and took second place. He pinned Cameron Smith (Bristow) in 0:31 and Harry Henslick (Collinsville) in 2:13, and majored Brock Roberts (R.A.W.) 11-0, but fell 12-0 to Kaden Rush (Collinsville). 

Jaxon Trotter (15-14) competed in Division Three Open at 85 pounds and took second place. He defeated Tyler McCall (Catoosa) 8-3, then pinned Blake Hurt (Tulsa) in 3:38, but was majored 12-0 by Jacob Martin (R.A.W.).

Dariuz Black (10-2) competed in Division Three Open at 73 pounds and took third place. He defeated Ryder Seago (Sperry) 4-1 in the opening round, then was defeated 7-1 by Camden Webb (Muskogee). In the consolation bracket he pinned Logan Osborn (Claremore) in 1:43, then rematched Seago for third place and prevailed 6-0.

Zander Grigsby (16-4) competed in Division Three Open at 61 pounds and took third place. He pinned Jack Hope (Bentonville) in 1:00 in the opening round and was in turn pinned in 0:48 by Cole Smith (Skiatook). In the consolations he received a forfeit from Mason Lapham (Owasso), then majored Isaiah Jones (Glenpool) 15-2. 

Jaxon Grigsby (14-3) competed in Division Two Open at 52 pounds and took third place. He received a forfeit from Revin Fipps (Cowboy WC) in the first round but was majored 11-0 by Kru Vance (Catoosa). In the consolations he majored Karson Hopkins (R.A.W.) 10-2, and Jaycob Graves (Pryor) 15-5.

Santana Naugle (2-8) competed in Division Five Open at 145 pounds and drew only two competitors. He was pinned in 0:46 by Bryce Mattioda (Broken Arrow) and in 1:23 by Brayden Gilkey (Collinsville) for third place.