Sandites place fifth in Broken Arrow Tournament, Pennington homers in 3-1 win over BA

By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

The Charles Page High School varsity softball team (5-3) let their bats fly against Broken Arrow Saturday evening at the Arrowhead Softball Complex. Felicity Horn, Sydney Pennington, and Jacie Taber all hit doubles and Pennington added a home run in a 3-1 victory over the tournament's host team. 

After going 3-2 in pool play, the Lady Sandites found themselves competing against the Lady Tigers for fifth place in the sixteen-team tournament. The Sandites defeated Choctaw, Putnam City North, and Edmond North, but lost to Owasso and Durant. Owasso won the tournament.

Sophomore Jacie Taber (2-1) got the win on the mound, giving up six hits against one strikeout. 

Horn, a freshman, got on base in the first plate appearance of the game with a line drive double into left field, and advanced to third on a single from Pennington, but both were left stranded.

The Lady Tigers stranded one in both the first and second innings and threatened heavily in the bottom of the third. Mary Collins and McKenzie Carney singled and Aleigha Brown reached on an error to load the bases with one out. The Sandites pulled out of the tight spot, however, as Pennington caught a fly ball in foul territory and Kimi Presnell scooped up a groundball from Abby Parks to put the runner out at first.

Pennington got the Sandites on the board in the top of the fourth with a lead-off homer, her first of the season. In the top of the sixth, Sabrina Usher reached on a fielder's choice and scored on a double from Taber. Pennington doubled in the seventh to score Jessica Collins. Mary Collins put Broken Arrow on the board with a lead-off home run in the bottom of the seventh, but the next three batters flied out and Sand Springs secured the win.

The Lady Sandites will return to action Tuesday at home with a double-header against Norman beginning at 5:00 p.m. The Highway 97 Rivalry match-up will be a double-header Thursday at home, also at 5:00 p.m.

All-American Jack Karstetter places eighth at USAW National Championship

By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

Two Sandites competed at the 2016 USAW Junior Men's Greco-Roman Nationals in Fargo, North Dakota this week. Charles Page High School senior Jack Karstetter placed eighth in the tournament. Class of 2016 graduate Sage Singleton also competed, but didn't place.

The USA Wrestling event is considered by many to be the most prestigious national tournament a Cadet or Junior-aged wrestler can compete in. 

Karstetter rode an impressive wave of victories into the event. In February he came in Runner-Up at the Oklahoma High School State Championship, then came in Runner-Up at the United World of Wrestling Cadet Greco Nationals in June. Earlier this month he competed at the Cadet Pan-American Championship in Lima, Peru and took Silver.

At Fargo Karstetter stepped up to a higher age-division and competed at the Junior level in the 126 pounds bracket.

The Sandite got off to a great start with back-to-back 10-0 technical falls. The first opponent to fall was two-time Arizona State-Placer Tanner Borneman, followed by Kyle Clough of Illinois. He had a tough quarterfinal matchup in former Flonationals Champion Cole Manley, but prevailed with a 6-2 decision over the Pennsylvanian. 

Karstetter finally met his match in the semifinals against West Virginia University freshman Matthew Schmitt. The two-time Fargo Runner-Up and three-time Missouri State Champion defeated the Sandite by decision and went on to win the tournament. 

Moving to the consolation quarterfinals, Karstetter won a close 10-9 decision over three-time Montana State Champion Clayton Currier. From there he was defeated 7-1 by UWW National Champion Paul Bianchi and 12-8 by four-time Kansas State Qualifier Taylor Jokerst, but secured eighth place and All-American status for the second year in a row. 

Singleton competed at 120 pounds and was eliminated after two matches. In the first round he was pinned in 0:34 by former Fargo Runner-Up Brandon Meikel of Utah. In the consolations he was teched 10-0 by Marquel Parks of Washington. The winner of the 120 bracket was fellow Oklahoma Dalton Duffield of Westmoore High School.

Nathan Estrada makes claim to fame in professional wrestling

Photo: EMIGH

By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief
With: Virgil Noah, Marketing Director

Sand Springs has a long history of wrestling greatness in the high school arena, but Charles Page High School 2012 graduate Nathan Estrada is making a name for himself on a different kind of mat.

Every Friday night the spandex-clad Spanish Fly entertains a packed house of professional wrestling fans at Tulsa’s premier wrestling arena. Located at 49th and Sheridan inside the Perfect Practice Athletic Center, Compound Pro Wrestling promises an electric atmosphere with WWE-level entertainment.

Photo: EMIGH

The Oklahoma X-Division Champion is frequently the star of the show, but it hasn’t always been that way. His first appearance at Compound wasn’t in the ring, it was in the crowd. When Estrada was about twelve years old he attended his first match and was instantly hooked. Raised on WCW and WWE, there was nothing like a live match to draw him into the life for good.

About a year after graduating CPHS, Estrada heard a radio promo on 103.3 The Eagle for Compound Wrestling and decided to try out. He made his debut in March of 2014 under the name The Spanish Fly. From there he met tag-team partner Michael Wolf, and together Spanish Wolf was born.

Estrada spent a lot of time earning his way up through the trenches before becoming a headliner, and at times it wasn’t pretty. In his first ever Heavyweight title match he broke his thumb and was unable to finish the match. Another time he received a gnarly gash above the eye after being hit with a crutch, and it wasn’t even his match. He was an innocent bystander when the crutch went flying.

Photo: EMIGH

Wrestling has changed Estrada’s life in many ways. Not only does he spend more than twenty hours a week in training and developing new moves, it also led him to love.

Estrada first met Skylar Slice in 2014 and the two were engaged in September the next year. By March of this year they were married, but you wouldn’t know it from watching them in the ring. While they’ve been tag-team partners at times, they’ve also been known to end up in opposite corners too.

The duo have done quite a bit of traveling for the sport as well, competing in Lawton, Oklahoma City, Nebraska, Tennessee, and Louisiana.

Photo: EMIGH

The long hours and constant practice paid off when Estrada laid claim to the Oklahoma X Division Belt two years after his debut. For six months, Killista Deva held the belt before being defeated by Slice in December of 2015. This past April, Killista won it back from Slice, but didn’t hold it for long. That same night, Estrada pinned Killista for the Championship.
Since then he’s defended the belt against Skyler Fayden, Abel, Wade Argento, Giganto, and more.

The goal is to one day wrestle for WWE, and Estrada is taking the next step toward that goal in the summer of 2017. The couple already has plans to move to Houston, Texas to train at Booker T. Huffman’s Development Camp. Under the direction of 2013 WWE Hall of Fame inductee Booker T, Estrada aims to prepare for the next level at the Reality of Wrestling Development Camp.

Riley Weir/Daton Fix place seventh in nation with Team Oklahoma

By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

Despite not defending their National Championship title, the Oklahoma Outlaws still have much to be proud of in their seventh place finish at the Junior Freestyle Duals. After dropping early losses to Minnesota (fourth), Illinois (second), Iowa (sixth), and New Jersey (third), Oklahoma got back in the win column with a dominating 56-15 finish over Michigan.

Jaxen Gilmore pinned Trent Lashuay in 1:32, Wyatt Sheets teched Dustin Gross 10-0, and Dayton Garrett teched Bret Fedewa 20-9. Brik Hilippo, Drew Hinkle, Dan Baker, Zach Marcheselli, Gunner Cash, Trenton Lieurance, and Daton Fix all received forfeits.

Alex Fields won a 14-8 decision over Devon Johnson and Michigan didn't win their first match till they were already trailing 46-2 and Ravon Foley teched Wyatt Adams 10-0. Michigan won a second match in a 3:53 pin of Jacob Butler by James Whitaker. 

Sand Springs sophomore Riley Weir made his first appearance since the high school State Championship after recovering from an elbow injury. Weir didn't get the all-clear from the doctor till two days before the tournament and still had to wrestle in a splint. Despite the obstruction and four month leave from competition, he still went 2-1 in the tournament and had some impressive wins. He lost his first match 13-2 to Northern Plains Champion Matthew Petersen, but came back with a 13-2 tech over Cobe Siebrecht and pinned Thomas Gordy in 1:18.

Sand Springs senior Daton Fix improved his winning streak to 68 straight matches after going 8-0 in the dual tournament. He teched South Dakota State Champion Brandon Carroll 11-0 and Iowa State Runner-Up McGwire Midkiff 10-0, then pinned Utah State Runner-Up Tanner Benedict in 0:18. From there he teched Minnesota State Champion Jake Gliva 12-0, Fargo National Champion Gabriel Townsell 10-0, and Iowa's Dante Tacchia 11-0. His most exciting match of the tournament was with nationally ranked No. 20 Zachary Sherman of New Jersey, but even there he barely broke a sweat in scoring a 10-0 tech fall. Fix just recently won the UWW Junior Freestyle Nationals in April and will soon compete at the Spanish Grand Prix, the USAW Junior Nationals, and the UWW World Championship. 

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.

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.