Injuries continue to hamper the defending State Champion wrestling team from Class 6A No. 5 ranked Sand Springs, but that hasn’t stopped them from starting 2018 with a trio of dual wins to extend their streak to 25-straight.
Last week the Sandites overcame No. 9 ranked Ponca City (2-2) with bonus points, splitting the matches 7-7, but recording six pins in route to a 39-31 victory. Carter Young, Seth Jones, Blake Sargent, Chris Kirby, Kaleb Tabor, and Gage Fain all recorded falls for the Sandites, while the Wildcats managed only two.
Sand Springs took the lead right out of the gate as Young improved to 15-0 with a first-period pin of Martezz Carnes, and the reigning State Champs never trailed. The Wildcats won three-straight matches to tie it at 18-18 before Kirby broke the streak with a pin of Jalen Haley. Ponca stayed well within reach until the 220-pound match when Fain pinned his foe for a 39-25 lead to clinch the dual.
On Tuesday the Sandites hosted their rivals, the Sapulpa Chieftains (1-4), and easily defended their longstanding Highway 97 Rivalry crown.
The visitors forfeited the opening match to Young, then made their way onto the scoreboard with a 6-0 decision from John Warford over Jacob Rampy in the Sandite’s varsity debut. Defending State Champion Riley Weir was next up, pinning his foe in 52 seconds, then Sargent got a forfeit at 126 for the 18-3 advantage.
Tanner Frew and Nathan Waldrop won decisions for Sapulpa while Scotty Patton won a 9-2 bout with Hunter Skaggs, Tabor pinned Colton Konell in 2:00 to make it 27-9. The Chieftains quickly retaliated, however, as Dylan Jones pinned Jasanee Harjo in 3:18 to keep the dual somewhat close.
Dayvon Taylor pinned Noah Alexander in 2:27 and Riley Magee pinned Aaron Lytle in 1:20 to clinch the dual at 39-15. Fain pinned Braden Birdsong in 43 seconds at 220. Keland Bearpaw and Tyler Jay both picked up wins for the Chieftains, but it was too late to make a comeback.
On Thursday the Sandites headed to Union High School in Tulsa to take on the Redskins (0-4) and throttled their opponents 48-15, winning nine matches and losing three. Both teams forfeited one weight class apiece.
Starting off at heavyweight, Fain pinned Zoen Shannon in a mere fifty seconds to kick off a fall-heavy night for the Sandites. Young easily recorded five takedowns in the first minute against Tayton Gwaltney before sticking his foe at 1:35. Brendon Wiseley received a forfeit and just like that the Sandites were up 18-0.
Jones took on a tough competitor in Caron Watson and scored a takedown at the one-minute mark, but Watson reversed twenty seconds later and rode out the first period. Jones picked up two points in the second period and held on for a 4-3 decision.
Sargent made quick work of Verdell Shoats, pinning the Redskin at 1:52 for a 27-0 team lead.
Irwin Portillo survived a ten-second stretch on one leg before taking down his foe and starting the second period up 2-1. Portillo recorded four total takedowns and an escape for the 9-3 decision.
Jalen Hernandez came up strong for Union with a takedown for a pair of back points against Patton at 138 pounds. The Sandite managed a late escape in the first period and another early in the second, but Hernandez was relentless and ultimately prevailed 11-5 to put points on the board for the home team.
Kirby’s matchup with Blake Ramos was a total shootout from the beginning. Ramos scored an early takedown, Kirby reversed for back points, then Ramos scored a reverse of his own. Kirby added a second reversal and started the second period on top with a 7-4 lead. But lo and behold, Ramos had yet another reversal and cut it back to a one-score deficit. Kirby started the third period on bottom, gave up nearfall points, then reversed for back points of his own for a 12-9 lead before finally pinning the Redskin at 4:54.
Tabor clinched the dual at 152 by pinning Avante Wilkins in 2:41. He actually had him pinned earlier in the match, but the call came half a second after the clock ran out and the buzzer failed to sound. After starting the second period on bottom, Tabor quickly escaped and scored back points for a 9-0 lead. The third time was the charm and Sandites sealed the deal with their fifth fall.
Harjo gave up two takedowns to Bryce Burdick, but after two escapes and a penalty made it a 4-3 deficit he scored his first offensive points with forty seconds remaining to take the lead. Burdick escaped to tie it at 5-5, but Harjo added a second takedown and a trio of back points for the 10-5 decision and his first dual win.
Taylor and Jake Rogers were well matched at 170. Taylor was first on the board with a second-period escape, but Rogers had the first takedown. The Sandite added another escape and they started the third period all tied up. Midway through, Taylor scored a pair of nearfall points and added three more as time ran out for the 7-2 decision.
After trailing 48-3, the Redskins won the last two matches and received a forfeit at 220. Magee fell 10-4 to Darius Boone and Elijah Tomlin won an 8-2 decision over Josh Fincannon.
Both teams will return to action first thing in the morning at the Sandites’ home tournament as they host Bartlesville, Broken Arrow, Cascia Hall, Collinsville, Plainview, Ponca City, Sapulpa, Sperry, and Union in the 53rd Annual Bobby Lyons Invitational.
