Payton Scott clinches 36-30 victory for Team Oklahoma over Florida

By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

The Oklahoma Outlaws got off to a rough start Thursday morning at the Greco-Roman Junior National Duals. After going undefeated in day one, the Okies went down 35-32 to California in a hotly contested battle that wasn't decided till the final match. The Gold may be out of reach for Oklahoma now, but the scrappy team proved their hearts are still in it with a stellar 36-30 victory over Florida in round two.

State Champion Nick Mahan (Lawton) started the dual off with a 19-9 tech fall over Mikall Fundora, State Champ Dan Baker (Sulphur) came out on the winning end of a high-scoring 15-11 decision over Josiah Gittman, and State Champ Bear Hughes (Coweta) dominated Fidel Lara with a 13-0 tech fall for an 11-2 lead.

Florida finally picked up their first win with a 13-2 tech fall by Darius Hamilton over Tanner Hawkins. Broken Arrow's Trenton Lieurance went the distance for a 4-2 decision over Kyron Taylor, then Florida went on a run.

Jacob Cochran won an 18-10 decision over Alex Fields (Guthrie), Elijah Varona teched Wyatt Adams (MacArthur) 12-0, and Malyke Hines picked up a 20-10 tech fall over Alec McDoulett (Little Axe).

National Champion Dalton Duffield (Westmoore) quickly handled Luis Hernandez with a 0:42 pin. Jet Taylor (Sallisaw) went down 11-0 to Jordan Marshall. State Champion Jacob Butler (Elgin) won a 7-1 decision over Marcus Abreu and State Champ Jaxen Gilmore (Yukon) teched Demetrius Anderson 11-0. 

Brik Filippo, a State Champ from Tuttle, put up a valiant effort against nationally ranked No. 16 Anthony Artalona but went down in a 6-1 decision.

With a 30-26 lead and two matches left, Sand Springs's Payton Scott had the chance to clinch the dual, and the pressure was on. The next match would be Ezequiel Rubio (Ponca City) as a heavy underdog against Max Wohlabaugh, who just won the Cadet Greco-Roman National Title in Akron three weeks ago. The Sandite didn't disappoint, and pinned Christian Febus in 3:39 to put the victory just out of reach for Florida. Wohlabaugh won his match 11-1, but Oklahoma won the dual 36-30.

Up next for Oklahoma is the undefeated top-seeded Minnesota Blue team. Minnesota features nationally ranked No. 11 Jake Allar, No. 11 Taylor Venz, No. 12 Lucas Jeske, and No. 13 Owen Webster.

Oklahoma falls by a hair to tough California team in Greco Dual Nationals

By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

The Oklahoma Outlaws saw their dominating win-streak come to an end at the hands of California Thursday morning. The back-and-forth battle was decided by the final match and the Sunshine State came out on top 35-32.

California took the lead right off the bat with an 11-0 tech fall by Andrew Cervantez over Ezequiel Rubio (Ponca City) and a 1:05 pin of State Champion Nick Mahan (Lawton) by Flo World Champion and No. 10 nationally ranked Anthony Mantanona. The Outlaws retaliated with an 11-0 tech of Juan Rosales by State Champ Dan Baker (Sulphur) and a 1:58 pin of Bonifacio Escobar by State Champ Bear Hughes (Coweta) to tie things up, but California quickly regained the edge.

Cristian Ayala, who placed fifth in Fargo last year, pinned State Champ Zach Marcheselli (Broken Arrow) in 0:31 and Flo Worlds Champion Gavin Nye pinned State Runner-Up Gage Johnson (Norman North) in 0:46 for a 19-9 advantage. Southern Plains Champ Alex Fields (Crescent) dealt Moises Duran a 12-0 tech fall, Eric Sanchez paid it back with an 18-7 tech over State Champ Wyatt Adams of MacArthur. 

Oklahoma won the next four straight matches and still had two of their strongest competitors ahead of them and it looked like it would be a clear surge to victory, but California pulled off some surprising upsets for the win.

Alec McDoulett (Little Axe) defeated Oscar Nellis by way of 8-2 decision and National Champion Dalton Duffield (Westmoore) pinned Mason Hartshorn in 0:32. State Champs Jet Taylor (Sallisaw) and Jacob Butler (Elgin) each scored 13-2 tech falls over Chase Zollman and National Champion Patrick Ramirez, respectively. Sitting at a 30-26 lead with State Champions Jaxen Gilmore (Yukon) and Brik Filippo (Tuttle) up next, it seemed like Oklahoma was on the cusp of victory.

Unfortunately for the host team, California had some talent left of their own. Flo Worlds Runner-Up Jaden Enriquez got the 4-3 edge over Gilmore. Filippo hadn't lost a match yet in the tournament, but he met his match in Cadet Greco National Champion Peyton Omania with a 12-0 tech fall. The pressure was on Sand Springs's Payton Scott, but Joshua Kim went the distance for a 7-4 decision to pull of the come-from-behind win. 

Up next for Oklahoma is Team Florida who placed second in Pool B behind Illinois and just lost 47-22 to the top-seeded Minnesota Blue. Florida boasts some big guns in No. 16 nationally ranked Anthony Artalona, Southeast Regional Champion Malyke Hines, Southeast Regional Champion Luis Hernandez, National Champion Anthony Artalona, and National Champion Max Wohlabaugh.

Oklahoma routs Iowa 41-29 to remain undefeated after day one

By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

The Oklahoma Outlaws are sitting pretty after day one at the Junior Greco-Roman Dual Nationals. The host team destroyed Georgia in round one 68-2, pushed past a scrappy Pennsylvania team 38-30 in the semis, and handled Iowa with surprising ease in the Pool D finals Wednesday night to advance to the Gold/Silver Pool Thursday morning.

Team Iowa entered the dual as the top seed in the Pool, but that didn't deter an ambitious Oklahoma team. The Outlaws are the defending National Champions in Freestyle, and they're clearly on a warpath to add Greco to the resume this year. 

The dual started off with a 14-3 tech fall from Brik Filippo, the State Champ from Tuttle, over Nelson Brands. Iowa rebounded with a 22-9 tech fall by Matt Malcomb over Payton Scott of Sand Springs, but Jaryn Curry got the Outlaws back on track with a huge upset. The State Champion from Choctaw came down hard on No. 9 nationally ranked Fargo All-American Colton Clingenpeel for a 10-0 tech fall.

Brandon Haas returned the favor with an 8-0 upset over State Champ Nick Mahan of Lawton MacArthur, but Oklahoma swept the next three straight matches. State Champ Dan Baker of Sulphur teched Bailey Chyma 18-8, State Champ Bear Hughes of Coweta pinned Isaac Bartel in 1:25, and Tanner Hawkins of Weatherford pinned Caleb Ring in 4:50 for a 23-9 lead.

Iowa broke the streak as No. 11 Carter Isley took out State Runner-Up Gage Johnson of Norman North with an 8-0 decision at heavy weight, but Oklahoma continued to push the lead in the lower weights. 

Crescent's Alex Fields picked up a 16-4 tech fall over Cobe Siebrecht and MacArthur's State Champ Wyatt Adams pinned Carter Weeks in 1:53 before Iowa found another win. Drew Bennett pinned Alec McDoulett in 4:35, but Fargo National Champ Dalton Duffield of Westmoore clinched the dual with an 11-0 tech fall over Brenden Baker. Sallisaw State Champ Jett Taylor tacked on the exclamation point with a 0:45 pin of Dante Tacchia to make the score 41-19 and the Okies forfeited the last two weights to finish 41-29.

The Outlaws will return to action Thursday morning against California, Florida, and Minnesota Blue before the placement match. California placed second in Pool C after falling to Michigan Blue in a close 34-33 knockdown drag-out. Florida placed second in Pool B after going down 42-25 to Illinois. Minnesota Blue is the top-seeded favorite and didn't even blink as they bulldozed through the A Pool by a minimum of 38 points per dual. 

Oklahoma fends off Pennsylvania to remain undefeated at Junior Dual Nationals

By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

The Oklahoma Outlaws got off to a great start at the 2016 Junior Dual Nationals Wednesday morning. In the first round of pool play they dominated Team Georgia 68-2, winning every match. Their next opponent would be far tougher, but the home team still got the win 38-30. 

The first match was a slow starter as State Champion Jacob Butler (Elgin) and Cary Palmer seemed fairly matched, but midway through the second period Butler got the tech fall with a massive bomb.

Pennsylvania responded quickly as Wyatt Long went the distance for a 4-2 upset over State Champion Jaxen Gilmore of Yukon. The Keystone State boasted an impressive roster of Nationally ranked wrestlers, but that didn't intimidate Brik Filippo. The State Champion from Tuttle took a small 1-0 lead over No.6 Sam Sasso into the second half and won the match with a 6-1 decision.

Sand Springs junior Payton Scott had a tough match in Will Kaldes and barely led at the half, but a pair of suplexes helped him to a 15-5 tech fall shortly before the end of the match.  

Pennsylvania pulled off a big win as No.17 Trent Hidlay scored a 10-0 tech fall over Jaryn Curry, a State Champion from Choctaw. No.12 Eric Hong followed it up with a 10-0 tech over State Champion Nick Mahan (Lawton) and Pennsylvania took the lead 13-12.

It looked like Oklahoma would find its feet in State Champ Dan Baker (Sulphur) as he took an 8-0 lead over Anthony Welch, but the Pennsylvania wrestler caught up Baker in a surprising 3:52 pin for the upset. 

Edmond's State Champion Zach Marcheselli received a forfeit at 195 and the Okies trailed 18-17. Zane Black bombed Tanner Hawkins (Weatherford) for a 5-0 lead midway through the first period and wrapped it up 11-1 with seventeen seconds left before the half. 

State Runner-Up Gage Johnson (Norman North) finally got the Outlaws back on track, leading Brendan Furman 7-0 at the half and finishing with a 13-2 tech fall with 37 seconds remaining. Southern Plains Regional Champ Alex Fields (Guthrie) received a forfeit and the Okies were back in the lead at 27-23.

No.16 Nationally-ranked Jaret Lane worked over State Champ Wyatt Adams (Lawton MacArthur) for a 12-0 tech fall in 1:58 to tie the dual up. Alec McDoulett (Little Axe) fell into an early 6-0 hole against Northeast Regional Champ Ryan Green, but put in work for a 10-8 decision with two matches left. 

Fargo National Champion Dalton Duffield, of Westmoore, kept the dual alive with a 12-1 tech fall over Northeast Regional Champ Zurich Storm midway through the first period and State Champion Jet Taylor (Sallisaw) finished things off with a 15-2 tech over Brandon Bach to seal the deal. 

Up next for Oklahoma will be a Pool D finals bout with Iowa. The Hawkeye State steamrolled Utah 60-7 in the first round and beat out North Dakota Blue 39-28 in the semis. Last year Oklahoma handed Iowa a solid 42-25 defeat on their way to a fourth-place finish nationally, but a lot can change in a year.

Iowa is seeded slightly ahead of Oklahoma and boasts three nationally-ranked wrestlers.

Oklahoma dominates Georgia 68-2 in Dual Nationals round one

By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

Team Oklahoma got off to a fast start against Team Georgia Blue in the first round of the Junior Greco-Roman Dual Nationals Wednesday morning, building up a massive lead before the wrestling even started.

Jet Taylor, Jacob Butler, and Jaxen Gilmore received forfeits for 126 to 138. Tuttle's Brik Filippo wasted no time in putting points on the board with a 10-0 tech fall over Khyree Alexander, then Sand Springs's Payton Scott took down Dustin Berry 10-0 in thirty seconds flat. Ezequiel Rubio pinned Cole White in a quick twenty then Nick Mahan teched Chandler Miele 13-2.

Bear Hughes continued the winning streak with an 11-0 tech over Devyn Villafane. Zach Marcheselli received a forfeit, Tanner Hawkins picked up a 16-6 tech fall over Richard Walker, then Trenton Lieutance, Alex Fields, and Wyatt Adams all received forfeits.  Alec McDoulett teched Brandon Foster 11-0 and Westmoore's Dalton Duffield wrapped things up with a 12-0 tech of Alex Cain for a final score of 68-2 with no matches lost.

Up next for Oklahoma is Team Pennsylvania who solidly defeated Team Kansas Red 49-12 in round one. 

Jaxon Starling commits to SNU

Jaxon Starling became the fifteenth member of the Charles Page High School Class of 2016 to sign a collegiate letter of intent.

The former Sandite linebacker will play defensive end for the Southern Nazarene Crimson Storm.

Starling was fourth among his team in overall tackles this past season, but led the team in tackles for loss. He racked up 55 total tackles with 23 for loss of 136 yards. 9 of those were sacks totaling a team-high 83 yards. He also forced a fumble in the playoff win over Booker T Washington.

Starling is the fifth member of the football team to commit to collegiate team. Jacob Taber will be playing for Fort Hayes State University. Cole Dixon is signed with Northeastern State University. Parker Taylor and Lane Lettich are both headed to Southwestern College.

SNU is a NCAA Division II team that competes in the Great American Conference. Last season the Crimson Storm won only one game in a 33-32 overtime thriller against Oklahoma Baptist University, but the school has high hopes for the 2016 season after hiring Andy Lambert as the new Head Coach.

The SNU program is young. This upcoming season will be only the seventeenth year of SNU football, and Lambert is only the fourth head coach to take the reigns. He previously spent twelve years at Sterling College in Kansas and amassed a 72-52 record. He was thrice named the Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference Coach of the Year. Previously he was at Trinity International University. Both previous programs were last in their conference the year before Lambert arrived.

Starling will be the first Sandite to play for the Crimson Storm since Shave Devers played Wide Receiver in 2011.