CPHS junior Daton Fix competes in NYC Times Square at Olympic-level dual

CPHS Junior Daton Fix celebrates after winning his third OSSAA State Championship. (Photo by: Scott Emigh)

By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

Charles Page High School junior Daton Fix is no stranger to big matches on big stages. As one of the most heavily decorated athletes in Sand Springs history, Fix has claimed titles all over the planet.

In 2014 he won the Pan American Championship in Recife, Brazil, placed tenth at the World Championships in Snina, Slovakia, and claimed a Silver medal at the Youth Olympic Games in Nanjing, China. Last year he claimed five different US National titles and took the Bronze medal at the World Championships in Sarajevo, Bosnia. 

This year Fix is undefeated at 41-0 and has already ran up an impressive series of championships less than halfway into the year. February saw Fix's third-consecutive undefeated State Championship. Just three weeks ago he traveled to Las Vegas and won his sixteenth National Championship.

The three-time Greco-Roman National Champion, three-time Folkstyle National Champion, eight-time Freestyle National Champion, and two-time Freestyle Dual National Championship team-member now has his sights set on New York City.

Thursday evening at 5:30 Oklahoma time, FloWrestling.com will be live streaming the 2016 Beat the Streets Gala in Times Square, New York City, where Fix will compete alongside some of the greatest names in wrestling. Fix's opponent is Iran's 2013 Cadet World Championship Bronze medalist and 2012 Asian Cadet Silver medalist Kheyrollah Ghahramani. 

The Team USA vs Team Iran "United in the Square" exhibition is an annual showcase hosted by Beat the Streets, a nonprofit organization that "works with middle and high school students in all five NYC boroughs and seeks to provide a safe and positive atmosphere for disadvantaged and at-risk youth to learn the essential life lessons of personal responsibility, physical fitness, education, and teamwork."

Fix's teammates will include University of Minnesota-signed Junior National Champion Mitchell McKee, Penn State University-signed Junior National Champion Mark Hall, Arizona State University Junior National Champion Zahid Valencia, 2012 Olympic Champion and three-time World Champion Jordan Burroughs, 2016 Olympian and two-time NCAA Champion J'Den Cox, 2016 Olympian and three-time World Champion Adeline Gray, 2016 Olympian and 2015 World Champion Helen Maroulis, and 2016 Olympian and two-time World Bronze Medalist Andy Bisek. 

After his New York match, Fix will have only three days to prepare for the Junior World Team Trials in Irving, Texas. If Fix makes the team for the third year in a row, he will get to add a new country to his resume when he travels to Macone, France in late August for the UWW World Championships. 

Naturally, flying across the world is expensive, and wrestling is "amateur" in classification. There are no cash rewards for winning these competitions. Anyone who would like to contribute to Fix and support his quest for Gold can make a donation by clicking HERE. 

3X Sandite of the Week: Daton Fix

By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

This week Sandite Pride would like to recognize Charles Page High School junior Daton Fix as Sandite of the Week for his outstanding performance at the United World of Wrestling Junior Freestyle National Championships in Las Vegas, Nevada. 

Fix traveled to Vegas this weekend to defend his 2015 UWW Junior National title, and defend it he did, defeating some of the top names in the game. The 126 pound grappler is ranked second in the nation in his weight class and is riding a 54-straight win streak with 21 pins and 20 tech falls, only winning two matches since October by less than eight points. 

The tournament featured some tough competition. Fix defeated University at Buffalo sophomore Kyle Akins 14-4, and two-time Illinois State Champion Kristopher Williams 10-0. In the semi-finals he scored a 10-0 tech fall over Austin Gomez, who is ranked fifth in the nation in 126 and just finished the high school season with a 40-1 record and a State Championship. The final match was Fix's closest battle since October, but he still came out with the win, defeating Gavin Teasdale 6-5 for the Championship. Teasdale is ranked first in the nation in class 113. 

This is Fix's third time being featured as Sandite of the Week. Some of Fix's titles include:

  • 2011 ASICS/USAW Kids Freestyle Schoolboy National Championship
  • 2012 ASICS/USAW Kids Folkstyle Schoolboy National Runner-Up
  • 2012 ASICS/USAW Schoolboy Freestyle National Champion
  • 2012 ASICS/USAW Schoolboy Greco-Roman National Champion
  • 2012 Cliff Keen USAW Preseason National Middle School Champion
  • 2013 FILA Cadet Nationals Freestyle Runner-Up
  • 2013 USAW Cadet Greco-Roman National Champion
  • 2013 USAW Cadet Freestyle National Champion
  • 2013 Kansas City Stampede Champion
  • 2014 OSSAA 6A State Champion
  • 2014 Cliff Keen USAW Cadet Folkstyle National Champion
  • 2014 Cadet Freestyle Pan American Champion
  • 2014 Cadet Greco-Roman Pan American Champion
  • 2014 ASICS/FILA Cadet National Freestyle Champion
  • 2014 USAW Junior Freestyle Dual National Champion (Team Oklahoma)
  • 2014 World Freestyle Championship 10th Place
  • 2014 Youth Olympic Games Freestyle Silver Medalist
  • 2014 Super 32 Runner-Up
  • 2014 Kansas City Stampede Champion
  • 2015 OSSAA 6A State Champion
  • 2015 Junior Folkstyle FloNationals Champion
  • 2015 UWW Junior Freestyle National Champion
  • 2015 UWW Cadet Freestyle National Champion
  • 2015 Junior Freestyle Dual National Champion (Team Oklahoma)
  • 2015 USAW Junior Freestyle National Champion
  • 2015 Cadet World Championship Bronze Medalist
  • 2015 Kansas City Stampede Champion
  • 2015 Geary Invitational Champion
  • 2016 OSSAA 6A State Champion

Sandite of the Week is a weekly recognition given to any one person with significant ties to the Sand Springs community who accomplishes remarkable achievements during the Sunday through Saturday week preceding the award. Prior achievements may be noted in the article, but do not bear direct influence on the selection committee which only considers prior week accomplishments. Candidates may be nominated by anyone by emailing SanditePrideNews@gmail.com. Bylaws prevent the giving of the award to anyone for two consecutive weeks, but any recipient may be nominated and awarded again in the future, so long as the weeks are not consecutive. Final selection is made by a majority vote of a three-person staff committee. 

Businesses or organizations seeking to sponsor the Sandite of the Week award may contact the above email for inquiries.

CPHS Junior Daton Fix wins National Championship in Las Vegas

By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

Charles Page High School junior Daton Fix traveled to Las Vegas, Nevada this weekend to compete in the United World of Wrestling Junior Freestyle Nationals, and won his second-consecutive UWW Junior Freestyle Championship.

Fix had little difficulty in tech-falling his way through his first three competitors, handing University at Buffalo sophomore Kyle Akins a 14-4 loss in round one.

In the quarterfinals Fix was pitted against two-time Illinois State Champion Kristopher Williams and didn't give up even a single point en route to a 10-0 tech fall.

The Sandite drew tough competition in the semi-finals in Austin Gomez, who is ranked fifth nationally in 126 by FloWrestling. Gomez just finished the high school season with a 40-1 record and a State Championship, but he was no match for Fix who dealt him a 10-0 tech fall.

Fix has won his last 54-straight matches, but his UWW finals match against Gavin Teasdale was his closest battle since a 5-3 decision over nationally ranked Requir Van Der Merwe at the Geary Invitational in January. 

Fix dropped weight from 126 pounds to 121 for the tournament, while Teasdale wrestled up from 113. Both wrestlers are highly ranked by FloWrestling, with Fix sitting at second in 126 and Teasdale topping the chart at number one in 113. Teasdale has racked up four national championships while Fix's 6-5 win gives him thirteen national titles over the three disciplines. 

Up next for the young stud is a trip to New York City where he will join Team USA against Team Iran in the middle of Time Square on Thursday, May 19th. 

Sand Springs Wrestling Team places 23 champions at Freestyle/Greco Tournament

By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

Clyde Boyd Middle School played host to the OKUSA Team Big Freestyle and Greco-Roman wrestling Tournament Saturday. The tournament drew more than 145 contestants with well over a hundred coming from out of town.

Team Big is a mix of wrestlers from Sand Springs and the surrounding communities who train together year-round at the Charles Page High School wrestling room. Team Big photo galleries can be found at

https://sanditepride.smugmug.com/20152016-Wrestling/Team-Big-Freestyle-and-Greco-T

Grady Mittasch (4-0) placed first in Intermediate Freestyle at 65 pounds with a pair of tech falls: 10-0 against Jax Kiener and 12-2 against Logan Hargrove. He also placed first in Greco with a 20 second pin of Garret Salt and a 10-0 tech of Hargrove.

Balance Johnson (4-0) placed first in Intermediate Freestyle at 112 pounds with a pair of 10-0 tech falls over Easten Doshier. He also placed first in Greco with a pair of 10-0 and 13-2 tech falls against Doshier.

Carter Young (4-0) placed first in Schoolboy Freestyle at 84 pounds, defeating Cutter Sheets 12-5 in round one and teching him 10-0 in round two. He also took first in Greco with a pair of 10-3 and 10-2 decisions over Sheets.

Jacob Adams (4-0) placed first in Schoolboy Freestyle at 98 pounds with a pair of 10-0 tech falls over Noah Smith and Ej Tecson. He also won Greco with a pair of 10-0 and 12-0 tech falls over Jacob Burdette.

Cougar Anderson (4-0) placed first in Schoolboy Freestyle at 136 pounds with a 15-5 tech fall over Killian McGrew and a 3:18 pin of Blake Ramos. He also came in first in Greco with a 17-6 tech fall over Ramos and an 0:43 pin of McGrew.

Riley Magee (4-0) won Schoolboy Freestyle at 160 pounds with a pair of pins over Bryce Jackson in 1:25 and 0:24. He also won Greco with a pair of pins in 0:55 and 2:50 over Jackson.

Ethan White (3-0) placed first in Novice Freestyle at 105 pounds with a pair of 1:01 pins against Daris Mickle. He also placed first in Greco with a 0:45 pin of Andrew Mullin.

Blake Sargent (3-0) placed first in Cadet Freestyle at 132 pounds with three straight shutout tech falls. He defeated Morgan Morrow 11-0, Zach Myles 10-0, and Ricky Turner 10-0.

Draven Rathbun (3-0) won Cadet Freestyle at 160 pounds with  a pair of 10-0 tech falls over Atticus Aguilar and Bryce Burrdick. He also won Greco with a 5:43 pin of Burrdick. 

Owen Martin (2-0) placed first in Novice Freestyle at 65 pounds with an 11-1 tech fall against Clayton Giddens and a 14-4 tech of Dylan Abbott.

Jeran Seabolt (2-0) placed first in Cadet Freestyle at 145 with an 0:55 pin of Diego Maturino and an 0:21 pin of Ryan Stetler. 

Austin Johnson (2-0) won Cadet Freestyle at 152 pounds with a 14-4 tech fall and a 22-15 decision over Wyatt Moyers.

Michael Ritchey (2-0) placed first in Junior Freestyle at 126 pounds with a 10-0 tech fall over Sage Singleton and a 15-5 tech of Taywone McNack.

Daton Fix (2-0) placed first in Junior Freestyle at 132 pounds with a pair of 10-0 tech falls over Cody Wynn and Garrett Wild.

Kaden Gfeller (2-0) placed first in Junior Freestyle at 138 pounds with a pair of tech falls against Dillon Prutch at 11-0 and 10-0.

Sam Harris (6-1) placed third in Schoolboy Freestyle at 112 pounds with three tech fall wins and one loss by decision. He won his opening match against Garrett Wells 11-0, but dropped the next round 4-2 to Bryce Fisher. He rebounded quickly, however, with a pair of 10-0 techs over Blake Salt and Brayden Seago. He won Schoolboy Greco with an 0:27 pin of Jonathan Gatz, a 3-2 decision over Blake Salt, and a 10-0 tech fall against Brayden Seago.

Josh Taylor (5-1) placed third in Schoolboy Greco at 112 pounds with an 0:15 pin of Jonathan Gatz and a 4-2 decision over Blake Salt, but lost 6-0 to Brayden Seago. He won Freestyle, however, with three-straight 10-0 tech falls over Salt, Jacob Burdette, and Bryce Fisher.

Dariuz Black (4-1) placed first in Intermediate Greco with a 2:20 pin and 10-0 tech fall, both against Nation Johnson. He also came in third in Freestyle at 70 pounds. He lost his opening match 14-14 to Kason McGill, but teched Jake Killian and Jaxon Goddard 10-0 each. 

Payton Thomas (4-1) placed first in Novice Greco at 90 pounds with a 2:58 pin of Garrett Reese and a 0:50 pin of Zack Cooper. He also came in third in Freestyle. He lost his first match against Cameron Steed in a 11-0 tech fall, but rebounded with a 3:58 pin of Zack Cooper and a 14-2 tech of Abraham Flores.

Adrian Flores (3-1) won first place in Intermediate Greco at 87 pounds with a 3:34 pin of Aiven Robbins and a 10-0 tech of Gavin Salt. He also came in runner-up in Freestyle, pinning Salt in 1:42, but getting pinned himself in the finals in 1:21 by Robbins.

Braden Anderson (3-1) came in runner-up in Schoolboy Freestyle at 91 pounds, pinning Aidan Kirkland in 3:13, but getting teched 14-4 by Gabriel Fontanez. He also placed first in Greco with a pin over Kirkland and a close 7-6 decision over Buck Shell.

Joseph Jernegan (3-2) placed first in Novice Greco with a 0:28 pin of Jim Mullin, a 1:15 pin of Andrew Manly, and a 22-14 decision over Levi Smith. He also wrestled in Freestyle at 75 pounds but failed to place after falling in 1:52 to Levi Smith and giving up a decision to Mullin. 

Killian McGrew (3-2) placed third in Schoolboy Freestyle at 136 pounds. He won a 10-0 tech fall and an 0:29 pin against Preston Medlin, but dropped a 15-5 tech fall to Cougar Andersen. He also came in runner-up in Greco with a 1:36 pin of Blake Ramos, but was pinned in 0:43 by Andersen.

Christian Forbes (2-1) placed first in Schoolboy Freestyle at 70 pounds, winning two of three matches against Sam Smith. He lost the first round 5-0 but won the next 2-2 and the final 5-0. He also came in runner-up in Greco.

Bryce Fisher (2-1) came in runner-up in Schoolboy Freestyle at 112 pounds after defeating Brayden Seago 10-4 and Sam Harris 4-2, but falling by way of 10-0 tech fall to Josh Taylor.

Aidan Kirkland (2-3) placed fourth in Schoolboy Freestyle at 91 pounds. He defeated Adin Washbourne 12-10 but was pinned in 3:13 by Braden Anderson and went down 15-14 to Buck Shell. He also came in third in Greco with a 9-0 decision over Washbourne, but was pinned by Anderson.

Dian Fix (1-1) came in runner-up in Bantam Freestyle, wrestling at 55 pounds. He defeated Grayson Sellers 12-10 in a spectacular come-from-behind decision, but was defeated in a 10-0 tech fall by Gavin Wallace.

Mitchell Smith (1-1) came in runner-up in Novice Freestyle at 70 pounds, defeating Corban Dugelder 16-7, but giving up a 10-0 tech fall to Landyn Sommer. 

Wyatt Meredith (1-2) placed fourth in Novice Freestyle at 75 pounds. He was teched 15-4 by Eli Rodgers and 14-3 by Jim Mullin, and won a decision over Levi Smith.

Preston Medlin (1-2) placed fourth in Schoolboy Freestyle at 136 pounds. He lost his first match in a 10-0 tech fall to Killian McGrew. He received a forfeit from Tyler Rich, but was pinned by McGrew in the consolation finals in 0:29.

Cale Glover (1-2) placed fourth in Cadet Freestyle at 132 pounds, losing a close 10-9 decision to Ricky Turner and a 12-0 tech fall to Zach Myles, but won a 12-1 tech over Gavin Southern.

Sage Singleton (1-2) placed fourth in Junior Freestyle at 126 pounds with a 15-12 win over Karson Bellmard, a 10-0 tech fall loss to Michael Ritchey, and a close 30-27 decision to Brendan Clarke.

Clayton Giddens (1-3) came in runner-up in Novice Freestyle at 65 pounds after falling 11-1 to Owen Martin, but teching Dylan Abbot 12-0. He also came in second in Greco and was pinned in 1:37 and 3:57 by Corban Zugelder.

Nation Johnson (1-3) came in runner-up in Intermediate Freestyle at 70 pounds, defeating Jaxon Goddard by 20-6 tech fall, but falling 10-0 to Kason McGill. He also came in runner-up in Greco after being pinned in 2:20 and teched 10-0 by Dariuz Black. 

Daris Mickle (0-2) came in runner-up in Novice Freestyle at 105 pounds after giving up a pair of 1:01 pins to Ethan White.

Maranda Dornan (0-2) came in runner-up in Junior Freestyle at 170 pounds, getting pinned in 0:22 and 0:14 by Dylan Garcia.

Abraham Flores (0-4) placed fourth in Novice Freestyle at 90 pounds after giving up a pair of tech falls to Cameron Steed and Payton Thomas at 10-0 and 14-2, respectively. He also placed fourth in Greco after getting pinned in 1:20 by Zack Cooper and teched 12-0 by Garhett Reese.

Promised Johnson (0-4) placed third in Bantam Freestyle at 65 pounds after being pinned in 0:45 by Jake Wassom and teched 14-4 by Legend Ellis. He also placed third in Greco after being pinned in 0:32 by Wassom and 3:11 by Ellis.

Jacob Burdette (0-4) wrestled at 112 pounds in Schoolboy Freestyle and was teched 10-0 and 12-0 by Josh Taylor and Brayden Seago, respectively. He placed second in Greco after getting teched 10-0 and 12-0 by Jacob Adams.

Hunter Gines (0-4) competed at 120 pounds in Schoolboy Freestyle and lost 11-0 and 11-1 to Laif Jones and Blake Hickerson, respectively. He placed fourth in Greco with losses by pin of 0:50 and 2:41 to Auston Whitaker and Devin Graham, respectively.

Clayton Giddens and Bryce Fisher take first at Bixby Tournament

By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

Sand Springs sent three wrestlers to the recent Bixby USAOK Tournament earlier this month. 

Charles Page High School senior Sage Singleton placed 3rd in both Freestyle and Greco-Roman with an overall record of 3-2. Only four wrestlers competed in the 126 pound Junior division. In Freestyle, Brendan Clarke narrowly defeated Singleton by a 19-14 decision, but Singleton received a forfeit from Dalton Major in the consolation finals. In Greco Roman Singleton was pinned in 0:42 by Clarke, but defeated Major with back-to-back decisions of 8-3 and 18-12.

In Novice Greco-Roman, Clayton Giddens took first place with a trio of wins over Ethan Peterson of Sapulpa. He pinned his opponent twice, once in 1:08 and once in 1:36, and scored a 4-0 decision for the victory. He also placed first in Freestyle with a pair of pins over Camden Wicson in 1:44 and 1:29.

Bryce Fisher placed first in Novice Freestyle with a pair of pins at 120 pounds. He defeated Jayce Hitt in 0:59 and Luke Burdette in 0:57.

 

Carter Young takes first at Putnam City Freestyle Tournament

By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

Sand Springs middle-school student Carter Young is at it again, racking up a 3-1 record at the Putnam City Wrestling Tournament earlier this month. The two-time ASICS Kids Freestyle National Champion didn't have many opponents in the small tournament, but he sure had tough opponents.

First, he defeated two-time Division IV United States Junior Open Champion John Wiley of Mustang, Oklahoma by 10-0 tech fall. Then he defeated 2015 Division C US Junior Novice Champion and 2016 Brute Nationals Runner-Up Bradley Ballard 19-4 to take first place in Freestyle. 

In the Greco-Roman bracket he once again teched Ballard, this time 11-0. Unfortunately he had to forfeit to Wiley and settle for runner-up. With the exception of the one forfeit, Young is undefeated thus far in 2016 with twenty wins and six pins.