CPHS junior Blake Sargent goes undefeated in Greco-Roman Nationals Day One

By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

Last week the Schoolboy (ages 13-14) National Duals came to a close with Team Oklahoma placing ninth in Greco-Roman and seventh in Freestyle with four undefeated All Americans, including Clyde Boyd Middle School's Carter Young. The young Sandite was one of only sixteen wrestlers in the country to make the All-Tournament team in both styles. 

Wednesday began the Cadet (ages 15-16) National Duals in York, Pennsylvania, and once again Sand Springs is representing well on Team Oklahoma. Charles Page High School junior Blake Sargent is currently undefeated after day one in Greco Roman and the team placed second in their pool.

Sargent finished his sophomore year with a 39-12 record and placed third in the State Championship. Since then, he's won the Team Big Freestyle Tournament and came in Runner-Up in the OKUSA Freestyle State Tournament in Cushing. 

Oklahoma was pitted against North Carolina in the first round of pool play and devastated their opponents, giving up only one match for a 73-5 victory, the second-largest win of any team in the tournament. Sargent kicked things off with the first match of the dual and pinned his opponent in the first period. North Carolina Greco State Runner-Up Phifer Ozimek went down in 2:11, setting the tone for the rest of the dual. Team Oklahoma won the next thirteen straight matches with nothing but pins and tech falls.

The next dual wasn't quite as big of a blowout as the first, but it was a clear and dominating victory, nonetheless. The Okies won twelve of seventeen matches over Florida for a final score of 55-25. Sargent put the icing on the cake, pinning Florida Greco State Champion Emauni Smithson in 1:27 for the final match of the dual.

Oklahoma finally met its match in the pool finals. Minnesota Storm raised off to a quick advantage with four-straight victories before Oklahoma evened it out with four of their own. The back and forth affair continued right down to the end, but Minnesota got the 39-33 edge. Sargent remained undefeated with a close 12-8 decision over Northern Plains Regional Champion Sebas Swiggum. 

Team Oklahoma will return to action Thursday morning in the Gold Pool against a tough team from Illinois who breezed through their first pool with dominating victories over Kansas Red, Pennsylvania Red, and Missouri Red. From there the Okies will battle Pennsylvania Blue, and New Jersey Red before the placement matches. 

Sandite Wrestling tour de force continues at Schoolboy National Championship Duals

By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

Sand Springs has a long and impressive history when it comes to wrestling, but 2016 is well on its way to becoming one of the best years yet. Dual State Runners-Up, eleven State Qualifiers, six Regional Champions, one State Champion, and that was just during the school year.

As the saying goes, "Summer wrestling makes Winter Champions." Since the school year ended, the Sandites haven't even slowed down. Charles Page senior Daton Fix won a Freestyle National Championship and is headed to the World Championships in France this August. Senior Jack Karstetter came in Runner-Up in Greco-Roman at Nationals and is headed to the Pan-Ams in Peru in July. But it's not just the upperclassmen building up their resumes. Clyde Boyd Middle School eighth-grader Carter Young is working hard on the national scene as well.

After winning the OKUSA Youth Wrestling League State Championship, the Junior High Allstate Wrestling Championship, the OKUSA Freestyle and Greco Roman State Championships, and the Southern Plains Regional Championships in both Greco and Freestyle, Young most recently found himself in Indianapolis, Indiana for the Schoolboy Dual National Championships.

Competing as part of Team Oklahoma Red, alongside fellow Team BIG wrestlers Christian Forbes and Cougar Andersen, Young was one of the most crucial members of the team, going undefeated in both Greco-Roman and Freestyle.

On day one of Greco, the Oklahoma Outlaws dominated Team Idaho, winning eleven of seventeen matches for a 53-23 victory. Young defeated Christopher Martino 10-0 in his match. In the next dual, however, it was Team Washington with the edge on Oklahoma. Young won a 10-3 decision over Kenndyl Mobley, but Washington won ten matches for a 42-31 victory.

Thursday the Outlaws began working their way up through the consolation bracket, winning a pair of tough duals over Missouri and Utah before falling to Pennsylvania Red. The Outlaws had a 45-30 edge on Missouri, winning ten matches including a 10-0 tech fall by Young over Cody Ketchum. The Oklahoma team won eleven matches against Utah and Young picked up yet another 10-0 tech fall over Sage Mortimer for a 47-32 victory.

The Okies met their match in Pennsylvania after leading for most of the dual. It was back-and-forth for the first half and the Outlaws led by as much as 30-16 before giving up a yellow card and six straight matches for a final score of 41-29. Young won his match, however, with an 11-0 tech fall over Sheldon Seymour to remain undefeated in the tournament.

On Friday the Outlaws’ third place finish in Pool A landed them in the Bronze/Copper bracket where they swept the competition with four straight victories.

Young scored a 12-0 tech fall over Zachary Espalin, helping his team to a 44-33 win over Virginia. Next to fall was Indiana Gold 48-30 after the Okies won eleven matches, including a 10-0 tech fall by Young.

The Okies scored another dominating victory over Arizona at 51-29, winning eleven matches yet again. Young continued to breeze through his competition with his sixth-straight shutout tech fall, this time over Nathan Bigelow.

In the finals, the Outlaws got another rematch against Utah and once again came out with the advantage, winning ten matches for a final score of 43-34. Young continued his streak with a 11-0 victory over Mortimer.

The Oklahoma team claimed first in the Bronze/Copper Pool, placing them at ninth in the nation out of thirty-two teams. Three Team Oklahoma wrestlers earned All-American status in Greco, including Young with a final record of 9-0.

In Freestyle the boys did even better, placing seventh out of thirty-five teams.

In round one the Outlaws smoked Tennessee 60-20, losing only four matches while resting Young. The Sandite returned to action in the next round in a 58-19 domination of Utah and Young beat Mortimer for the third time that week 10-0.

Young sat out round three as the Outlaws easily handled Colorado Blue 56-18, and returned to action in the Pool A finals. He defeated Bob Houpt 10-0, but team finally lost their first dual of the tournament 48-27 to Washington.

In the true-second dual Oklahoma earned their way into the Gold/Silver bracket with a 48-29 victory over Missouri, including another 10-0 win over Ketchum from Young.

Young received a forfeit from Illinois in the first round of the Gold Pool as his team won 48-27.

His streak of seven-straight tech falls finally came to an end in a close match with Jett Strickenberger. Young got the 10-6 decision, but Colorado Red defeated the Okies 48-30.

Young didn’t wrestle against New Jersey in the next round, and it may have made the difference as the Outlaws fell 41-38, including a loss in the 77 pound position that Young normally occupies.

In the seventh place match against Arizona, he returned to action with a 10-0 tech fall over Nathan Bigelow and the Oklahoma team finished seventh overall.

Young is currently riding a twenty-two-straight winning streak and a 65-5 record for the year. He was also named an All-American in Freestyle.

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This story was originally published in the Sandite Pride News Weekly Sunday edition.

Carter Young wins Southern Plains Regional Championship

By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

Clyde Boyd Middle School student Carter Young is racking up yet another incredible summer resume and is currently sitting at a 50-5 record in 2016 after a dominating weekend in Dodge City, Kansas.

Saturday Young won a pair of tech falls and pinned one opponent in only 0:45 seconds on the way to his third consecutive Southern Plains Greco Roman Regional Championship. On Sunday he defeated Kansas's Devon Weber 10-0 in the Freestyle semi-finals and teched Colorado's Vince Cornella 12-2 for his third straight Freestyle Championship.

The eighth grade prodigy has been traveling all over since the school season ended, and has won tournaments inBerryhill, Putnam City, Owasso, Cushing, and more. At one point he rode a 26-straight winning streak before it came to an end in the OKUSA Schoolboy Freestyle State Championship. He won the State title in Greco-Roman, but settled for Runner-Up in Freestyle after getting pinned for the first time this year by Jordan Williams in the final round.

Last month Young found himself in Rochester, Minnesota for the Northern Plains Regional. This was the wrestler’s first time at the event and he fared well, dropping only three matches between the Freestyle and Greco tournaments. In Greco-Roman he teched his first two opponents by a combined 21-0, but lost 4-4 in an ultimate tie-breaker round to Landen Parent. He rebounded with a 12-4 win in his next match, but dropped a 14-3 tech fall to Chance Lamer for fourth place. In the Freestyle bracket he had a few close calls, riding out an 8-8 ultimate tie-breaker win over Matthew Hogue, but dropping a 2-1 decision to Iowa’s Matthew Lewis and taking third place.

Back in April, Young came in first place in both styles at the OKUSA National Team Qualifier at Union High School, earning him a spot on Team Oklahoma at the Schoolboy National Duals in Indianapolis, Indiana. That tournament will beginWednesday June 8th and run through Sunday June 12th.

CPHS senior Jack Karstetter comes in Runner-Up at National Championship

By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

Charles Page High School senior Jack Karstetter picked up some of the most impressive wins of his career in Akron, Ohio this weekend at the University of Akron. 

In the United World of Wrestling Cadet Greco-Roman Nationals Karstetter came in runner-up after falling to Wyoming Seminary junior Jack Davis in the finals. The Blue Knights finished the high school season ranked second in the nation by FloWrestling.

Karstetter secured a pair of impressive victories in the early rounds with a 5-4 decision over Theorius Robison, and a 4-1 decision over Rylee Molitor, both of whom hold multiple national titles. In the semi-finals he defeated PJ Gohn 5-0 and went to a best-of-three championship series against Davis.

Davis won the first match with a 5-2 decision, but Karstetter came out amped in the next battle for a dominating 12-5 victory. It came down to the wire in the final round but Davis got the 3-2 edge for the National Title.

In the Freestyle tournament Karstetter breezed through the early competition, scoring a pair of 10-0 tech falls. He defeated 2015 ASICS National Runner-Up Phillip Moomey and Georgia Freestyle State Champion Davion Fairley without allowing a single point. 

The next match wouldn’t be nearly as easy as he went into an ultimate tie-breaker round against Missouri State Champion Andrew Gamble. Karstetter came out with the 8-8 win, however, after riding out the final round and advanced to the quarter finals.

The winning streak finally came to an end in a 12-2 tech fall to USAW 2015 Cadet Freestyle National Champion Sammy Sasso. In the next round, Karstetter was pinned in 0:55 by Marco Regalbuto and eliminated from contention. 

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This story was originally published in the Sandite Pride News Weekly Sunday edition.

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

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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.