Seven Sand Springs Elementary wrestlers take first place at Cushing Tournament

By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

Several members of the Sand Springs Team Big wrestling team traveled to the Halloween Takedown Tournament in Cushing last month and seven took first place in their respective divisions. The Oklahoma USA Youth Wrestling League event featured five age divisions with Open and Novice classifications in each. 

Christian Forbes (2-0) competed in Division 5 Open, the oldest division, at 76 pounds and drew only one competitor. He pinned Corban Zugelder (Catoosa) twice in a best-of-three competition for first place with times of 3:00 and 1:31.

Owen Martin (2-0) competed in Division 4 Open at 67 pounds and drew only one competitor. He pinned Rhyder Morrow (Cushing) in 0:52 and 0:44 for first place. 

Ethan Norton (2-0) competed in Division 4 Open at 88 pounds and drew two competitors, both from his team. He pinned Jacob Lewis in 1:57 and Sammy Naugle in 3:00 for first place. 

Jackson Martin (2-0) competed in Division 3 Open at 52 pounds and drew only one competitor. He pinned Kevin Mongo West (Ponca City) in 0:46 and 0:54 for first place.

Robert Burke (2-0) competed in Division 3 Open at 64 pounds and drew only one competitor. He pinned Cache Pierson (Bristow) in 2:31 and 1:34 for first place.

Grady Mittasch (2-0) competed in Division 3 Open at 70 pounds and drew only one competitor. He pinned Bo Ware (Cleveland) in 1:16 and 0:55 for first place.

Bently Furr (2-0) competed in Division 1 Novice at 60 pounds and drew only one competitor. He pinned John Harvill (Cushing) in 1:06 and 0:34  for first place.

Jacob Burdette (2-1) competed in Division 5 Open at 113 pounds and took second place. He pinned Teague Fittje (Cushing) in 1:24 and Tyson Rivas (Standfast WC) in 3:00 before falling in 1:18 to Hayden Lemmons (Cushing).

Will Meredith (2-2) competed in Division 2 Open at 46 pounds and took fourth place. He defeated Austin Kennedy (Cushing) by 10-0 major decision before giving up a 4-2 loss to Landon Earp (Chandler). He rebounded with a close 9-8 decision over Ty Yocham (Bristow) but was majored 11-0 by Blake Cooper (Cleveland).

Mitchell Smith (1-2) competed in Division 4 Open at 70 pounds and took third place. He won his first match 4-2 over Kaiser Simpson (Cushing), but was pinned in 3:00 by Landyn Sommer (Cowboy WC) and 2:45 by Corban Zugelder (Catoosa).

Adrian Flores (1-2) competed in Division 3 Open at 110 pounds and took third place. He pinned Paden Diese Pearson (Bristow) in 2:59 in the opening round, but was pinned in return in 1:56 by Bryson Kelley (Cushing) and 3:00 by Shaun Franks (Cowboy WC). 

Blayton Collins (1-2) competed in Division 2 Novice at 55 pounds and took third place. He pinned Cadyn Dodson (Cushing) in 2:31,  but fell in 1:17 to Devyn Main (Cushing) and 3:00 to Jaiden Stibbens (Cushing).

Wyatt Meredith (1-1) competed in Division 4 Open at 76 pounds and won second place. He pinned Rye Henley in 2:19, but was pinned in return by Caiden Poff (Sapulpa) in 1:55.

Sammy Naugle (1-1) competed in Division 4 at 88 pounds and won second place. He pinned teammate Jacob Lewis in 1:57, but was in turn pinned in 3:00 by teammate Ethan Norton.

Sam Harris (0-2) competed in Division 5 Open at 120 pounds and took third place. He fell in 2:35 to Blake Gonzalez (BA) and 3:00 to Michael Harjo (Sapulpa).

Jacob Lewis (0-2) competed in Division 4 Open at 88 pounds and took third place. He fell in 1:57 to teammates Ethan Norton and Sammy Naugle. 

Kaden Glass (0-0) signed up for heavyweight in Division 5 Open but drew no competitors. 

Abraham Flores (0-0) signed up for 100 pounds in Division 4 Open but drew no competitors. 

CPHS senior Michael Ritchey takes first place at Joe Zamora Open

By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

Several members of the Sand Springs wrestling team traveled to Broken Arrow this past weekend for the Joe Zamora/Skyler Holman Open, and seven wrestlers took first place.

Charles Page High School senior Michael Ritchey competed in the high school division at 126 pounds and took first place with a 4-0 record. He won his first match 3-0 over Ernie Chavez of Jenks, then majored Garrett Jarvis of Broken Arrow 8-0. In the semifinals he won another 3-0 decision, this time over Owasso's Tristan Herrera, and wrapped it up with a close 3-2 win over Chase Slatton of Jenks.

Rhett Peak competed in the sixth-seventh grade division at 80 pounds and finished 4-1 for third place. He lost his opening round in a 6-0 decision to Aiden Boyd (Claremore), but finished strong with a 20-10 major decision over Jaden Mathis (Pryor), then pinned his next three opponents in a cumulative 1:27. Kaleb Burns (Sallisaw) went down in 0:12, Denton Degner (Bristow) fell in 0:36, and Bradley Vanblaricom (McAlester) lost in 0:39.

Ryder Barnes competed in the sixth-seventh grade division at 98 pounds and finished 3-0 for first place. He won his opening match with a 10-5 decision over Bradley Saucedo (Broken Arrow), then pinned Rashaud Morgan (Vinita) in 3:26. His final match was a close 2-0 decision over Brock Mattioda (Broken Arrow).

Chase White competed in the sixth-seventh grade division at 113 pounds and finished 2-1 for second place. He won his opening bout with a 1:13 pin over Drake Norfleet (Broken Arrow), then defeated Carson Young (Claremore) by 5-0 decision before falling in 3:56 to Isaac Xiong (Oologah) in the finals. 

Luke Burdette competed in the sixth-seventh grade division at 126 pounds and finished 5-1 for third place. He won his opening match with an 1:21 before falling in 1:53 to Gustabo Ramirez (Bixby). He won out with a 9-3 decision over Jarahmy Blakely (Oologah) and a 2-1 decision over Connor Linam (Oologah), before pinning Jon Lane (Muskogee) in 2:41 and Daltyn Jory (Jay) in 1:21. 

Carter Young competed in the junior high division at 89 pounds and finished 3-0 for first place. He won his opening match 9-3 over Blazik Perez (Broken Arrow) then pinned Grant Edwards (Oologah) in 3:00. The final match was won with a 16-4 major decision over Garett Strickland (Collinsville).

Caden Vaughn competed in the junior high division at 113 pounds and finished 3-1 for third place. He won his opening match with a 1:16 pin of Dayton Hill (Broken Arrow) before giving up a 9-0 major decision to teammate Josh Taylor. He rebounded with a 2-0 decision over Christian Knight (Broken Arrow) and wrapped the tournament up with a 6-1 decision over Kolby Encinas (Pryor).

Josh Taylor competed in the junior high division at 113 pounds and finished 4-0 for first place. He won his opening match with a 2:57 pin of Kaelan Drake (Broken Arrow), then majored Blake Salt (Oologah) 11-1 and Caden Vaughn 9-0 before pinning Pason Dotson (Sallisaw) in 1:38. 

Tyler Rush competed in the junior high division at 126 pounds and finished 4-1 for third place. He was pinned in 2:33 in his opening match by Kohlin Garriott (Jenks), but rebounded with a 1:00 pin over Gunnar Spence (McAlester) and a 1:34 pin of teammate Jared Jenkins. From there he won a close 4-1 decision over Jared Douglas (Cascia Hall) and a 5-2 decision over Christian McIntosh (Pryor).

Caleb Phillips competed in the junior high division at 126 pounds and finished 3-0 for first place. He won his opening match with a 1:02 pin of Eric Wilson, then majored Nate Shaw (Metro Christian Academy) 11-0. In the finals he took down Garrett Weis (Jenks) 8-4.

Christopher Kirby competed in the junior high division at 140 pounds and finished 3-0 for first place. He won his opening match with an 0:31 pin of James Cothran (Bixby), then pinned Devon Vazquez (Broken Arrow) in 0:36. In the finals he majored Caleb Buzzard (Jay) 16-6.

Teagan Campbell competed in the junior high division at 175 pounds and finished 3-1 for third place. He won his opening match with an 0:28 pin of Jonathan Navarro (Broken Arrow), before giving up a 10-3 decision to Bryce Jackson (Oologah). The next two rounds were close, but Campbell prevailed 4-3 over Tyler Bachman (Bixby) and 3-0 over Matt Roach (Bristow).

Kaden Glass competed in the junior high division at 200 pounds and finished 4-0 for first place. He won his opening match in an 0:12 pin of Zach Garrison (Pryor), then won an 8-2 decision over Aaron Lytle (Sapulpa). He finished out with pins of 3:17 over Cameron Johnson (Broken Arrow) and 1:27 over Chad Tinney (Bixby). 

Sandite sophomore Riley Weir competes at prestigious Pennsylvania tournament

By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

Charles Page High School sophomore and State Qualifier Riley Weir traveled to Pennsylvania earlier this month for the Flowrestling Super 32 Tournament, one of the most prestigious events in the country. The rising star competed at 106 pounds against 121 competitors and finished with a 6-2 record with both losses coming to the came opponent. 

In the opening round he met Pennsylvania's Chase Stehman in a brief match that started and ended with a bang. Nine seconds into the first period Weir scored a two-point takedown and worked Stehman over for an 0:22 pin. 

Next to go down was Colorado's Dawson Collins. Once again it was Weir with the opening takedown fifteen seconds in. He scored two more takedowns and a pair of escapes in the match to secure an 8-2 decision.

Weir met his match in two-style All-American Lucas Byrd of Ohio. The USAW Cadet Greco-Roman National Runner-Up scored a pair of takedowns on Weir for a 5-1 lead before pinning him in 2:45, midway through the second period. 

In the consolations Weir took a 4-0 lead over Ohio's Blake Saito before pinning him in 4:26, shortly into the third period. From there he built a 5-1 lead on New Jersey's Kyle Kaiser before pinning him, also in 4:26. In the next round he secured his third straight pin in 0:34, scoring a takedown with nearfall points over Pennsylvania's Frankie Bonura before securing the fall. 

In the next round Weir met Doug Zapf of Pennsylvania in his closest win yet. He took an early 2-0 lead that he held till the third period, then built it up to 6-0 with a reversal for nearfall points. With 1:21 left in the match, Zapf escaped and took down the Sandite with 0:08 remaining, but Weir was able to hold on for the 6-3 decision. 

In the next round, Weir once again met Byrd, who had just lost to Elijah Varona in the quarterfinals. This time Byrd scored three takedowns for five nearfall points to build a 12-0 lead before giving up a point for unsportsmanlike conduct to end the match with a 12-1 major decision.

Byrd went on to win two more matches before falling 6-1 in the consolation finals to Brandon Kaylor for fourth place. Weir was just one round short of placement, essentially finishing in the top ten out of 121 wrestlers. 

Weir is now 31-18 for the year, and 20-10 since the high school season let out. He previously took fourth place in the USAW Junior Men's Freestyle Nationals in July. 

Payton Scott, Team Oklahoma place sixth at Junior Greco Roman Nationals

By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

The Oklahoma Outlaws put up a tough fight, but lost back-to-back duals for a sixth place finish Thursday evening at the Cox Business Center in Tulsa. The USA Wrestling Junior Greco-Roman Dual Nationals featured thirty-four teams from twenty-six states and drew nearly 600 of the best wrestlers in the nation. Last year the Oklahoma Greco team included two Sandites in Kyler Childers and Cody Karstetter, and placed fifth overall. This year Payton Scott was the lone Charles Page student to compete in Greco.

Team Oklahoma got off to a fast start against Team Georgia Blue Wednesday morning and won every weight for a 68-2 finish. Read that story here.

Next to go down was a scrappy team from Pennsylvania who put up a tough battle but ultimately fell 38-30. Read that story here.

In the Pool D finals, Oklahoma pulled off a surprisingly easy 41-29 upset over the top-seeded team from Iowa. Read that story here.

Day two was far tougher for the Outlaws as they faced off against the toughest teams in the nation in the Gold/Silver Pool. Their dominating win streak came to an end at the hands of California in a fiercely contested battle that wasn't decided till the final match. Read that story here. 

Scott had the honor of clinching the win in the next dual, however, as the Okies edged out Florida 36-30. Read that story here. 

The final two duals would not be as kind to Oklahoma, however, as they lost to Minnesota Blue and Michigan Blue back-to-back. 

Trenton Lieurance, Wyatt Adams, Jet Taylor, Jacob Butler, and Jaxen Gilmore all won their matches against Minnesota, but the home team lost 43-22 to the eventual National Champions. Oklahoma can take some solace in the fact that they didn't lose by any more than the eventual Runners-Up from Illinois. Both teams lost by 21 points.

Lieurance won a 9-2 decision over Trenton Rogich, Adams teched Minnesota State Champ Ashton Clark 10-0, and Taylor teched Curtis LeMair 10-0. Butler pulled off a huge 12-10 upset decision over Brent Jones, who placed third at last year's Fargo Nationals. Probably the biggest win went to Jaxen Gilmore who pinned Cadet National Runner-Up Calvin Germinaro in 1:45. 

Scott lost his match by 10-0 tech fall to Southern Plains Regional Champion Travis Ostby. Alec McDoulett put up a great performance against nationally ranked No. 9 Patrick McKee that ended in a close 16-15 decision. Bear Hughes also went the distance for a 14-10 decision to Nationally ranked No. 11 Taylor Venz. 

In the placement match against Michigan Blue, the Okies were noticeably drained after a long day of brutal competition. Dalton Duffield defeated Michigan State Champion Jordan Hamdan with a 16-5 tech fall. Butler finished out the tournament undefeated after holding off Central Regional Champion Nick Freeman for a 3-0 decision. Butler was the only Oklahoma wrestler to go undefeated. Brik Filippo won a 12-0 tech fall over Trent Lashuay and Jaryn Curry pinned Dustin Gross in 1:54. Dan Baker went the distance against Nationally ranked No. 11 Jelani Embree for a 15-8 loss. 

After placing sixth in the country, the Oklahoma team earned All-American status for the third straight year.

Friday morning will begin the Freestyle Dual tournament in which Team Oklahoma is the back-to-back defending National Champions. Thirty-nine teams will be competing, including two from Oklahoma. Riley Weir and Daton Fix will be representing Sand Springs on the Oklahoma Blue team.

OK Blue is the fifth-highest seeded team in the tournament, behind California, Illinois, Iowa Red, and New Jersey, but boasts an impressive roster of nationally ranked wrestlers. Paxton Rosen is ranked 12th in the nation, Fix is ranked second, Kaden Gfeller is ranked fourth, and Wyatt Sheets is ranked 11th. Up first for team Blue is South Dakota at 9:00 am, followed by Texas Blue immediately after.

Photos of Team Oklahoma can be found at this link.

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 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.