Clayton Giddens places second at National Championship, Christian Forbes takes third

Two Sand Springs middle school wrestlers competed at the USA Wrestling Kids Freestyle Nationals last weekend in Atlanta, Georgia.

Held at the Georgia World Congress Center, the event attracted more than 600 competitors from forty states. No team scores were kept, but Florida led the way in total National Champions with six, followed by Nebraska with five. Oklahoma crowned two national champions in Mason Burnham (Intermediate) and Jordan Williams (Schoolboy).

Clayton Giddens (25-1) took second place in Novice at 65 pounds. He breezed his way through the early competition, defeating Cooper Hilton, Noah Kubala, and Christian Fretwell all by technical fall. After a finals loss to defending three-time National Champion Luke Lilledahl, he rebounded with a 10-0 tech of Nore Turner for second place.

Christian Forbes (23-5) took third place in Schoolboy at 77 pounds. He won a tough 9-8 decision over Coy Hammack, then received a forfeit before scoring a pair of 10-0 tech falls over Maddox Khalimsky and Cole Hunt. He met his match in Christopher Martino in the finals, then lost the second-place challenge match to Dylan Gilcher.

The USAW Cadet and Junior Nationals will be held next weekend at the FargoDome in Fargo, North Dakota.

CPHS Wrestling: Daton Fix selected as All-Tulsa World Player of the Year Finalist

Charles Page High School Class of 2017 graduate and Oklahoma State University freshman Daton Fix was selected as one of three finalists for the All-Tulsa World Wrestler of the Year award. Fix is considered to be one of the greatest wrestlers in Oklahoma High School history, and is currently ranked first in the nation pound-for-pound.

Before ever hitting the high school varsity mat, Fix already had a series of Junior High State Championships and was a three-time USA Wrestling National Champion in both Freestyle and Greco-Roman.

As a freshman he went undefeated and won titles at the Perry Tournament of Champions, the Kansas City Invitational, the Bobby Lyons Invitational, the Jay Hancock Invitational, the Junior High State Championship, the Regional Championship, and the 113-pound 6A State Championship.

In 2014 he won the USAW Folkstyle National Championship, the Cadet Freestyle and Greco-Roman Pan-American Championships in Brazil, the UWW Cadet Freestyle National Championship, and was a member of the Oklahoma USAW Junior Freestyle Dual Team that won a National Title. He traveled to Slovakia for the Freestyle World Championships and placed tenth, then won a silver medal at the Youth Olympic Games in China. He also went 32 minutes into overtime with current Penn State sophomore Nick Suriano to set a world record for longest high school match.

As a sophomore he won the Perry TOC, the KC Stampede, the Jerry Billing Invitational, the Jay Hancock Invitational, the Regional Championship, and the 120-pound 6A State Championship.

In 2015 he won the UWW Junior Freestyle Nationals, the UWW Cadet Freestyle Nationals, the USAW Junior Freestyle Nationals, and went undefeated on the USAW Oklahoma Junior Dual team that repeated for the title. He also won bronze at the Cadet Worlds in Bosnia.

He continued his undefeated streak during his junior year with wins at the Perry Tournament, the KC tournament, the Geary Invitational, the Bobby Lyons Invitational, the Jay Hancock Invitational, the Regional Championship, and the 126-pound State Championship.

In 2016 he won the UWW Junior Freestyle Nationals, defeated an Iranian National Champion during an exhibition match in Times Square, New York City, then won Junior Bronze at the World Championships in France.

He concluded his undefeated high school career with a 168-0 record, winning the Perry Tournament, KC Invitational, Geary Invitational, Jerry Billings Invitational, the Regional Championship, and the 132-pound State Championship. He also helped the Sandites to their first State Title since 1971 and their first-ever Dual State Title.

This summer he won the U.S. Open Freestyle Nationals and earned a spot on the Junior World Team once again. He will compete in Tampere, Finland this August.

He is a recipient of the National Dave Schultz High School Excellence Award, a USAW All-American First Team member, and a nine-time Sandite of the Week.

Final selection for the Athlete of the Year will be made at the All World Awards dinner on July 8th at Marriott Southern Hills.

9X Sandite of the Week: Daton Fix makes Dual Nationals All-Tournament Team

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Daton Fix pins his foe during a dual against Enid. Click here to view the full gallery.

Two Sand Springs wrestlers competed on the Oklahoma Freestyle Junior Dual Team this weekend at the USA Wrestling Dual Nationals. Daton Fix, a four-time State Champion signed to Oklahoma State University, went undefeated to make the All-Tournament team. Riley Weir, a State Champion with two seasons left in high school, also went undefeated, but didn’t wrestle enough matches to qualify for the All-Tournament Team.

Fix and Weir are two of five folkstyle State Champions from this year’s Charles Page High School wrestling squad. They helped their team attain its first State Title since 1971. Click here to view our special edition magazine commemorating the season.

While folkstyle wrestling is only practiced in American high schools and colleges, freestyle is an international style that can be found in the Olympics.

The 2017 Junior Duals were held at the Cox Convention Center in downtown Tulsa. 36 teams from 26 states competed in the event, and Minnesota claimed the title with a 33-31 victory over Illinois.

Illinois continued their streak of three-straight Runner-Up finishes, while Oklahoma placed fourth. The Oklahoma Outlaws placed seventh last year and won the title in 2015 and 2014.

Oklahoma went undefeated on day one, taking first place in Pool C and earning their way into the Gold Pool.

The Outlaws defeated North Dakota Red 70-2 in their first dual. Weir pinned Devin Schulz in 1:08 and Fix pinned Austin Hendrickson in 1:13. In the next round they prevailed 53-11 over Nebraska Blue and Fix teched Trevor Fauver 10-0. Finally they topped New Jersey 44-13. Both Sandites had nationally-ranked opponents, but neither gave up a single point. Weir teched No. 5 State Champion Anthony Clark 10-0 and Fix teched No. 6 National Champion Zach Sherman 11-0.

In the Gold Pool the Okies soundly defeated Michigan Blue 42-22. Weir pinned No. 16 two-time State Champion Ben Kamali in 1:13 and Fix teched Drew Martin 10-0. Next to fall was Missouri by a final score of 58-9 thanks in part to a 10-0 tech fall by Fix against two-time State Champion Cameron Valdiviez.

The win-streak finally came to an end at the hands of Minnesota, 40-26, despite Weir’s 14-1 victory over Max Crowe, and Fix’s pin of two-time State Champion Brent Jones in 0:51. They lost their next dual as well, 40-23 to Ohio, despite a 10-0 victory by Fix over Hunter Kosco.

Fix is currently ranked first in the nation at the 132-pound weight class and pound-for-pound by Flowrestling. He hasn’t lost a freestyle match since September of 2016 at the Junior World Championships in Macone, France, where he took Bronze. He finished his high school career undefeated.

Click here to view previous Sandites of the Week.

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Weir/Karstetter compete at Greco-Roman National Duals, place 6th

Jack Karstetter competes against a Perry wrestler at the 2nd Annual Ram Duals. (Click to view full gallery).

Two of Sand Springs’s folkstyle State Champions competed on the Oklahoma Junior Dual Team at the USA Wrestling Greco-Roman Nationals. Riley Weir (0-2) and Jack Karstetter (7-7) both won scholastic State Championships this past season for Charles Page High School, helping their team to its first State Title since 1971. Karstetter graduated this year, while Weir will be a junior in the fall.

Click here to view the Sandite Pride special edition wrestling magazine commemorating the 2016-2017 season.

The Greco-Roman style of wrestling differs from high school folkstyle primarily in that it forbids holds below the waist. 

The Junior Duals were held in downtown Tulsa at the Cox Convention Center. Thirty teams from twenty-three states vied to wrestle the title away from Minnesota. The results were a familiar site as Illinois and Minnesota ended up in the finals for the third-straight year. This year it was Illinois’s time to shine with a 41-21 victory. Oklahoma took sixth place for the second-straight year.

The Outlaws got off to a great start, going undefeated in Pool C. They defeated Texas Blue 41-26 with help from Karstetter’s 3-1 decision over Colton Williams. Next to fall was Utah Blue, though neither Sandite won their matches. Weir was defeated 11-0 by Jordan Haskins in the Texas dual and went down in a 26-24 affair with Braydon Mogle in the Utah dual. Karstetter lost his second match 5-2 to Utah State Champion Stockton O’Brien. In the final dual, Oklahoma defeated Nebraska Blue 55-11.

After earning their way into the Gold pool, the competition was far tougher. They lost their first dual 33-29 to Kansas Blue and Karstetter fell by a close 6-6 decision to three-time State Runner-Up Conner Ward. Both the Sandite and his team rebounded with wins against Tennessee. Karstetter won his match 13-0 against Garrett Bowers and the Okies prevailed 52-16.

The next dual was another close one and Minnesota came out on top, 36-33. In the fifth-place dual Karstetter won another tech fall, 10-0 against Hunter Kosco, but Ohio won the dual 33-30.

Karstetter finished with a 3-2 record while Weir went 0-2. 

Fourteen Sandites named to Tulsa Area All-VYPE Teams

Fourteen Sand Springs athletes received accolades in the latest edition of the VYPE Tulsa magazine.

Daton Fix was third in the voting for Tulsa-Area Boys Athlete of the Year, receiving 5.8% of the vote in a poll with fourteen candidates. Fix concluded his high school wrestling career as a four-time undefeated State Champion with a 168-0 record. He will compete for a Junior World Championship this summer in Finland before wrestling this winter for Oklahoma State University. 

Sydney Pennington was fourth in the voting for Tulsa-Area Girls Athlete of the Year, receiving more than 4,700 votes for 5.6% of the vote in a poll with thirteen candidates. Pennington started every game this basketball season and was the leading scorer with 10.77 points per game to help her team to the State Semifinals. She shot 52.38% on field goals and averaged more than five rebounds, two steals, and two assists per game. She was also given an honorable mention on the All-Tulsa Basketball team. 

Pennington will continue her athletic career at Oklahoma State University on the softball team. In the fall fast pitch season she batted .543 with 57 hits, 45 runs, 38 RBI, and 10 home runs. She went undefeated on the mound for a 6-0 record with a 1.41 ERA, 1.135 WHIP, and 29 strikeouts. She gave up only 23 hits and 8 earned runs to aid her team to the State Semifinals.

Cheyenne Walden was also nominated for Girls Athlete of the Year and was named to the All-Tulsa Track Team. Walden concluded her high school career as a nine-time State Champion. She won 28 Cross Country meets with a 5K personal-record of 17:32 and four State titles. In Track she won 29 3200-meter runs, including three State titles and went undefeated for the past three seasons. Her 3200 PR is 10:45.43. She won twelve 1600-meter runs including two State titles, with a PR of 4:57.07. She will run at Oklahoma State University. 

Ashton Persons was named to the All-Tulsa Area Girls Golf Team. She won the Sand Springs Invitational this year and placed 19th at the OSSAA 6A State Tournament.

Carson Griggs was named to the All-Tulsa Area Boys Golf Team. A junior three-time State Qualifier, Griggs won three tournaments this season, including a Frontier Valley Conference title, and was the State Runner-Up by a two-stroke deficit.

Josh Cordell (P), Mack Thompson (SS), Hunter Greathouse (3B), Treyce Tolbert (OF), and Josh Taber (OF) were named to the All-Tulsa Area Baseball Team. 

Cordell pitched a 6-3 record this season with a 3.24 ERA, 1.309 WHIP, and 48 strikeouts. Thompson batted .352 with 43 hits, 34 runs, and 16 RBI. Greathouse batted .350 with 41 hits, 25 runs, 1 home run, and 31 RBI. He pitched a 4-6 record with a 4.37 ERA, 1.850 WHIP, and 32 strikeouts. Tobert batted .381 with 45 hits, 30 runs, 1 home run, 29 RBI, and 14 stolen bases. Taber batted .310 with 39 hits, 26 runs, 15 RBI, and 16 stolen bases. 

Cordell, Tolbert, and Thompson will play for Rose State College, while Greathouse will play for Cowley County Community College.

Jensen Arnold (P) made the All-Tulsa Area Slow-Pitch Softball Team. She batted .418 in the Spring Slow-Pitch season and pitched every game in the team's 11-13 season. 

Colt Savage made the All-Vype Basketball Second Team. Savage was the leading scorer on the team and the second-highest scorer in the entire Frontier Valley Conference with 22.48 points per game. 

Aden Baughman and Colton Washington were both named to the All-Tulsa Track Team. Baughman took first place in seven out of eight track meets in the 800 meter run, claiming his first State Championship with a personal-record 1:53.16. Washington won a Regional Championship in the Long Jump, placed seventh at the State Tournament, and set a PR of 22'01.00".

Sandite of the Week Carter Young goes 11-3 at Dual Nationals

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Incoming Sand Springs freshman Carter Young (27-4 FS, 22-1 GR) was selected as Sandite of the Week for his last week's performance on the Oklahoma Cadet Dual Team in York, Pennsylvania. 

Young, a two-style Schoolboy All-American, made his debut on the Cadet Dual Team and went a combined 11-3 between Freestyle and Greco Roman.

The Oklahoma Outlaws placed seventh in Greco-Roman and fifth in Freestyle.

Some of Young's most impressive wins were against two-style Georgia Champion Tucker Kinsaul, Michigan Freestyle Champion and U.S. Open Runner-Up Sam Freeman, three-style Minnesota Runner-Up Cael Swensen, Junior High Ohio Champion Dustin Norris, and Missouri Champion Korbin Shepherd.

Young was the youngest Sandite of the Week recipient ever when he competed at the Schoolboy Pan American Championship in Colombia last October. He took Gold in Freestyle, Silver in Greco-Roman, and was named the Outstanding Wrestler of the tournament. 

Click here to view previous Sandites of the Week.