State Championship: Sandites and Yellowjackets tied 3-3 after first two matches

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By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

#3 Zane Basma (29-10) kicked things off at 160 with a takedown of #4 Chase King but King escaped for a takedown of his own that added nearfall points before Basma managed to escape. King started the second period on bottom and escaped quickly for a 6-3 advantage. Basma did the same to start the third 6-4 and both battled back and forth before King got a takedown with near-fall points and pushed the match to 12-6 decision.

Choctaw rode a 3-0 lead into the 170 that saw #4 Trace Fleischman (6-2) against #9 Kalob Blackwell. The two were fairly evenly matched for most of the first, but Fleischman scored a takedown with 19 seconds left and maintained control into the second where he started on bottom and scored a quick escape. The Sandite added another takedown midway through the period and cut his opponent loose for a 5-1 advantage. Blackwell added another escape to start the third and nearly got a takedown but lost control on the way down and Fleischman rolled back to his feet. Blackwell did get his first takedown with 11 seconds left, but cut the Sandite loose and he fended off the rally to tie the match up with a 6-4 decision. 

 

#1 Sandite Wrestling headed to State Championship Finals after hammering Union 48-6

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"Are you not entertained?"

Jack Karstetter encourages the crowd's applause after wining his match.

Story and photo by: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

Sand Springs started off hot at 154, winning five straight over the Redskins en route to an incredible 48-6 Dual State Semi-Final win. The still undefeated No.1 team in 6A now has only one dual left between them and the first Charles Page State Championship since the girls' basketball team won it way back in 1994.

152 #3 Payton Scott (13-4) had another narrow decision, defeating Christian Mayhue 4-3, followed by 160 #3 Zane Basma (29-9) who was working on a pin when time ran out and he was stuck with a 7-2 decision over #2 Moses Mayhue for a 6-0 team lead. 

#4 Trace Fleischman (5-2) had no problem taking a commanding 11-4 lead into the final period at 170, then added a takedown before letting Elijah Tomlin out once more. He got another takedown five seconds before the buzzer for a 15-5 major decision.  

At 182 #4 Lane Lettich (12-7) was pitted against #5 Jonathan Waters and the two stalemated through the first. Waters started the second on bottom and scored a quick reverse. Lettich escaped to end the period, then did it again to start the third tied at 2-2. The Sandite got the takedown 40 seconds in, then gave up an escape to look for bonus points. Waters wouldn't give up a pin, but Sand Springs still got the 4-3 decision to remain undefeated in the dual. 

Moving to 195, Sand Springs had a 13-0 lead as they pitted #9 Zach Sims (21-20) against Matt Horrocks. The first period was scoreless but Sims earned a quick escape after starting the second on bottom. At 4:54 Sims picked up the first pin of the night and increased the team lead to 19-0.

220 Delvin Jordan (14-4) started the second in a 2-1 deficit to #4 Seth Mischler but took the lead towards the end of the period with a pair of near-fall points. The Sandite picked up an escape to start the third and held off his foe for a 4-2 decision. 

The Sandite streak came to a close at heavyweight as Gage Fain (11-18) fell by way of 6-0 decision to #4 Elwood Tomlin, but 106 freshman #7 Riley Weir (18-8) got things back on track with a dominating performance over Caron Watson that culminated in a 12-3 major decision.

At 113 #5 Michael Ritchey (19-16) fell to a 2-1 deficit to #4 Mason Naifeh after the first, barely picking up the escape seconds before the whistle. He tied it up after escaping to start the second, but thirty seconds later Naifeh picked up two on a takedown. Ritchey got another escape to narrow things to 4-3 and started the third on top before getting reversed and near-felled for a 9-3 loss.

At 120 #5 Blake Sargent (32-10) and Cordney Chairs went scoreless through the first two periods but Sargent put in major work in the third for a series of near-falls and an 11-0 major decision, effectively cinching the dual victory with a 30-6 lead and only three matches left.

126 #3 Jack Karstetter (32-7) worked it over on Jalen Hernandez and was seconds away from a first period pin when the clock ran out and he had to settle for near-fall points. The Sandite started the second with a reversal for a 7-0 lead then picked up the pin.

Union forfeited 132 to #1 Daton Fix (38-0), then put up Brendon Mudget against #2 Beau Bratcher (36-6) in 138. Bratcher took a 2-0 lead into the second and worked it up to a 7-0 decision.

The final match of the night was 145 Cody Mathis (15-12) vs. #5 Gabe Evans. The two were tied 3-3 going into the third when Mathis scored a takedown for the lead. Evans scored an escape but Mathis advanced the lead for a 7-4 decision for the win.

The Sandites will take on No.3 Choctaw in the finals at 6:30 pm after the Yellowjackets upset No.2 Broken Arrow in their semi-finals match. The Sandites have yet to meet Choctaw this season but the State Championship in softball also pitted Sandites against Yellowjackets, so in a way this is almost a rematch for Sand Springs in their third championship appearance this school year.

Sandite wrestling advances to State Semi-finals with 28-25 win over Westmoore

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By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

The No.1 ranked Charles Page High School wrestling team is still undefeated after going up against the ropes against No.7 Westmoore who battled till the final match.

The two teams spit the dual with each winning seven matches, and it was only through bonus points that Sand Springs pulled off the 28-25 quarterfinal victory at Firelake Arena in Shawnee Friday night. 

"We gotta go wrestle better than that. We only won a single one-point match, they won two or three, got pinned in a spot where we don't ever get pinned, and we didn't get falls in places we always get falls. So what a great opportunity to learn from tonight, and we'll see what happens tomorrow." said head coach Kelly Smith after the dual. 

The dual started off at 126 with #3 Jack Karstetter (31-7) falling into an early deficit to Westmoore's Dalton Duffield, who's ranked #2 in 120 and is last year's State Runner-Up. Duffield had control for the first two periods then took Karstetter down with under a minute left for a 10-2 major decision. 

At 132 the Sandites put up Derek Davis (11-6) against Jacob Benjock who scored a pair of first period takedowns for a 4-1 lead. Davis took control early in the second to narrow it to 4-3, but Benjock quickly reversed control and pinned the Sandite in 3:24 for a 10-0 Jaguar lead. 

Junior Olympic Silver Medalist, World Championship Bronze Medalist, and two-time undefeated State Champion Daton Fix (37-0) did what Daton Fix does and had some fun with 138 #8 Zachary Johnson, tech falling him 25-8 in 4:52 for the first Sandite win of the night.

138 #2 Beau Bratcher (35-6) wrestled up to 145 against sophomore Ryan Swanson and took a 2-0 lead into the second period. He added two more each period and wrapped it up with a 6-0 decision.

152 #3 Payton Scott (12-4) went the distance against #4 Trey Painter and it came down to the wire with a 3-2 decision as the Sandites took their first lead of the dual, 11-10.

160 #3 Zane Basma (28-9) took a 7-0 lead into the second period after a pair of near falls against William Foster, but ran out of steam in the next two, finishing 11-0 for a major decision. 

170 Trace Fleischman (4-2) saw his first action since the Geary Invitational and was pitted against Deven Brewer. They stalemated the first period but the Sandite scored first with a reversal midway through the second. He scored a takedown early in the third and right before the buzzer for a 6-2 decision and a 18-10 Sandite lead.

At 182 #5 Lane Lettich (11-7) fell into a deep hole against #10 Shane Flandemeyer and ultimately fell 7-1 after being ridden for the majority of the match. 

#8 Zach Sims (20-20) went up against #7 Daveon Newton for 195. The two went scoreless for the first period, but Sims started the second with an escape for the lead Newton escaped to start the third, then took Sims down for a 3-1 lead. Sims got another escape, but ran out of time while looking for the takedown and lost 3-2.

At 18-16, the dual continued to be one of the closest of the season for the Sandites.

220 Delvin Jordan (13-4) scored a first period takedown against Jonathan Martinez and escaped to start the second, ultimately pinning his opponent in 2:56 to give Sand Springs their first substantial lead of the night.

Gage Fain (11-17) wrestled up to 285 against Jordan Finn and both remained pretty locked up till the second period when Fain scored an escape for a 1-0 lead. Finn scored an escape to start the third and the two were locked up once again. The pair went into overtime where Finn got the 3-1 sudden victory win to keep the Jaguars hopes alive.

Circling back to 106 it was freshman Riley Weir (17-8) getting in trouble early on to Dominic Derr before turning things around for a 7-0 first quarter lead. He picked up a stalling point in the second and the third and won the match 9-0 for a 28-19 team lead.

113 #5 Michael Ritchey (19-15) was pitted against State Champion Canon Randall and fell to a 6-2 deficit by the end of the second. He started the third period on top and held control to the end to prevent bonus points leaving Westmoore in dire straits as they needed a pin at 120 to tie it.

At 120 Blake Sargent (31-10) took an early 4-3 lead over Wesley Hardin before Hardin pulled some Hollywood level magic to near fall Sargent for a 6-4 third period lead.  Sargent was pumped up coming into the third and took the lead back briefly but ultimately fell 9-8.

"I'm proud of the effort of our kids, but we gotta do better than that. Westmoore out-wrestled us," said Smith.

#1 Sandite wrestling will take on #7 Westmoore in State Quarterfinals

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126 Jack Karstetter pins Collinsville's Pete Flippo in 0:29. Photo by: Virgil Noah

By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

Photo: Virgil Noah, Staff

The No.1 ranked Charles Page High School varsity wrestling team finally found out their first opponent in the Class 6A Dual State Tournament Monday. 

Friday night at 6:00 p.m. the Sandites (11-0) will meet the No.7 Westmoore Jaguars (9-2) at Firelake Arena in Shawnee. Semifinals will be held Saturday at 2:00 and finals will be Saturday at 6:30. 

The Jaguars' only losses are to No.5 Edmond North (9-2) and 4A No.1 Tuttle (14-3). 

At 106 the Sandites will likely be putting up #7 Riley Weir (16-8). However, the freshman has been battling an elbow injury that has sidelined him for a couple of duals this season. His backup is fellow freshman Scott Patton (7-2) who saw action at the District Duals, the Jenks dual, and the Yukon tournament. 

Westmoore has heavy talent at the lowest weights including 106 #2 Canon Randall, 113 #2 Wes Hardin, and 120 #2 Dalton Duffield. 

The Sandites have #5 Michael Ritchey (19-14) at 113, and #5 Blake Sargent (31-9) at 120. Sargent has already met Duffield once this season and was defeated 13-5 at the Geary Invitational.

Sand Springs has the clear edge in the next two weights with 126 #3 State-Qualifier Jack Karstetter (31-6) and 132 2X undefeated State Champion Daton Fix (36-0). Westmoore has 132 #10 Brett Graham. Fix has yet to meet Graham, but he has beaten Duffield three times and 138 #8  Zach Johnson once.

Fix has actually been up at 138 in duals since John Jiminez got hurt so its likely we'll see Derek Davis (11-5) at 132. Meanwhile 138 State-Qualifier #2 Beau Bratcher (34-6) will probably go to 145.

Both teams have excellent options for 152. Sandite sophomore Payton Scott (11-4) is ranked third and Jaguar Trey Painter is ranked #4. Should Painter cut down to 145, Bratcher has already beaten him back in 2014 by 10-0 major decision at the Oklahoma State Freestyle. We could also see Payton go up to 160 as he did against Collinsville and wrestle Cody Mathis (14-12) at 152.

#3 State-Qualifier Zane Basma (27-9) is the typical 160 wrestler for Sand Springs, though he was bumped to 170 at Collinsville, and Westmoore has #9 Deven Brewer.

Bryton Beck (10-14) could come into play at 170, but State-Placer #4 Trace Fleischman (3-2) is finally back in the lineup after battling an injury sustained at the Geary Invitational so barring any big weight change-ups, he'll probably be up against #10 Sean Flandemeyer.

At 182 the Sandites boast State-Qualifier and Southeastern Kansas football-signee #4 Lane Lettich. 

Westmoore has #7 Daevon Newton at 195 while Sand Springs could see either #9 Zach Sims (20-19) or Cole Dixon (4-4).

While Westmoore has ranked wrestlers at both 220 and 285, Sand Springs is lacking in a true heavyweight and has been wrestling Gage Fain (11-16) up for most of the season, though State-Qualifier Delvin Jordan (12-4) stepped into that slot at Collinsville. 

Westmoore's no joke and it's sure to be a great battle, but Sand Springs has been utterly unstoppable this season and its unlikely anyone but #2 Broken Arrow (10-1) or #3 Choctaw (9-2) could really put up much of a stop against a Sandite lineup at near full-strength for the first time this season.