Family is top priority for Star Spencer wrestler Lane

Star Spencer's Raymond Lane, top, is 32-1 this season. By Steve Gooch, The Oklahoman Star Spencer wrestler Raymond Lane is 32-1 this season, with his only loss coming to the nationally ranked Tyson Yoder of Weatherford. Lane has a chance to become the school's first two-time state wrestling champion. by CHRIS LANDSBERGER, THE OKLAHOMAN

The Star Spencer wrestler points and smiles at his mother in the seats above the arena floor. Lane then looks skyward, in the direction of his late father, Henry. Even in victory, Lane sheds no tears.

In his eyes, men aren't supposed to cry. And Raymond has been a man for as long as he can remember.

Lane's journey to the 189-pound state title began in a 50-year-old building with a rusted tin roof on Star Spencer High School's campus. There is no running water. Old lockers are piled up outside. The roof leaks, and the only heat in the winter comes from the bodies of wrestlers inside.

"Our kids don't have what a lot of teams have. We finally got matching uniforms this year,” Bobcats coach Dana Johns said. "But these kids, I'm here for them. I want them to be successful.”

Lane is the team's unquestioned captain. As the Bobcats warm up before matches, they listen to his directions. While some of his teammates have the faces of boys, Raymond's face defies his age. He looks older than 18 and wiser to the ways of the world.

When it's time to wrestle, Lane has the confidence of someone who has won a championship. He might look serious, but there is a side to him that's a little like Apollo Creed from the Rocky films. Lane break-dances during introductions at home duals, and he vowed earlier this season to go undefeated.

"Raymond is really caring,” Johns said. "He'll bring a laugh out of you, but when he competes, there's something that clicks with him that you don't see from many kids.”

Lane lost to Weatherford's Tyson Yoder, the opponent he beat in the state finals last year, at a tournament in January. In another installment of the rivalry, Lane defeated the Oklahoma State-bound Yoder in the Class 3A regional finals Saturday night. Odds are that they will meet again this weekend during the state tournament at State Fair Arena.

As the oldest son, Raymond was the man of the house, even if he was too young to do much about it at the time. But eight years later, he stocks shelves at Wal-Mart to help support his family. In the summer, Raymond works at a local pool. He also does work for Coach Johns, building fences. Lane's family also gets income from his late father's Social Security benefits.

"I feel like I had to grow up pretty quick,” Raymond said. "I have a lot of responsibility. I work to keep food in the house and pay bills.”

His mother, Tarita, didn't have to push him into the role.

"When I can't get out and get something, he goes and gets it,” she said. "He keeps his brothers in line. He's very family oriented. Raymond is the man of our house.”

Along with his mother, and his 16- and 17-year old brothers, Eugene and Cleymoure, Lane lives with his older sister who has a daughter.

The holidays at the Lane house are bare bones.

"We were thankful for waking up and seeing another Christmas,” Raymond said. "We got my little niece some stuff, but other than that, it was just like any other day.”

Thing are looking up. The Lanes moved into a better home this year. Coach Johns said the family went without heat at times last winter.

But with Raymond assuming the role of father, the family is surviving. When his brothers step out of line — not that it comes up much — Raymond is the enforcer.

"Eugene will come out of the blue and do something you'd never expect, like a stupid dance or a freestyle,” Raymond said. "It always cracks me up. Sometimes I have to remind them to do their chores, or break them up if they get into it, but we all get along pretty good.”

"He started wrestling back at Jefferson (Middle School), and he's gone with it ever since,” Tarita said. "It gives him something to work for. A lot of kids don't get into sports, and they get into trouble.”

Wrestling might provide Raymond with a pathway to a good life after high school. He's being recruited by several junior colleges. But college means leaving his family. He knows his role in the home is important, and it weighs on him.

"It's hard because now that I'm moving on, I'm going to leave them behind,” Raymond said of his family. "People tell me I need to go so I can do for myself now.”

Lane's talent is without question. He is 32-1 this season, his only loss to the nationally ranked Yoder. Northwest Classen coach Bob Toma has followed Lane's career the last four years and watched him steadily grow beyond a kid who simply overpowered opponents with his strength.

"Raymond is crafty, and when you add to that the physical talent he has, and you've got something pretty special,” Toma said. "He's someone who believes in himself. He doesn't lack confidence.”

Even with confidence and talent, there is a limit to what someone like Lane can achieve. He doesn't wrestle in the summer like most wrestlers of his caliber. He has no money for expensive camps. Even Coach Johns is limited in his ability to mold Lane, who might become the school's first two-time state wrestling champion.

"He has the tools to wrestle in college and be successful, but we don't have the competition in the room to get him better,” Johns said.

While Lane's talent level might not be far behind some of the best, his ACT scores are. Oklahoma City University wrestling coach Archie Randall was interested in Lane, but the grades and test scores aren't good enough just yet. Lane vows to press on, probably at a junior college. He hopes to make a better life for his family.

"I'm going to go to college and finish, and when I graduate, my family is going to have anything they need in life,” Raymond said.

Blake Rosholt living up to his well-known last name

By Matt Patterson
Staff Writer 2/20/08

Ponca City's Blake Rosholt, top, and Yukon's Sam Hildebrand wrestle in a Class 5A regional in Del City on Friday. Rosholt's older brothers have all wrestled at Oklahoma State. by BRYAN TERRY, THE OKLAHOMAN

When it comes to living in the shadow of older brothers, few can compare stories with Ponca City junior Blake Rosholt

The youngest Rosholt son, the last to travel through Ponca City's program, is building a name for himself. And that's saying something when your oldest brother Jake won three NCAA national championships at Oklahoma State, and your older brother Jared is developing into a strong heavyweight at OSU after winning four high school state championships.

And then there's Adam, a freshman at OSU who may eventually find his way into the Cowboys' starting lineup.

"I've got big shoes to fill, that's for sure,” Blake Rosholt said. "They've had a tremendous influence on me. My family has always had upsets, beating people they shouldn't. Stuff like that makes me believe I can.”

Blake won the Class 5A west 160 pound regional title over the weekend by fall. He also pinned his semi-final opponent and owns a 26-4 record. He qualified for state last year, but struggled.

This time will likely be different. Blake is a No. 1 seed. It's no surprise he has been influenced by his older brothers.

"Jake, going into the NCAA's his freshman year, he won half and lost half, he's a hard worker,” Blake said. "Seeing him work hard, it drives me to work hard. Jared is doing really well in college. My brother Adam is the only reason I made it to state last year. He was in the room every day pushing me. This year it's different because I have to push myself.”

In a way, that's what his father Jim had in mind when he permanently relocated the family to Oklahoma to be close to Jake when he came to OSU. Jim Rosholt's mother is from Pawhuska, so there was a family connection. In Jake's early days at OSU, Jim and wife Tracey were traveling 1,600 miles round trip to Stillwater from their home in Sand Point, Idaho where Jim owned a logging business.

It didn't take long for Jim to notice the difference between high school wrestling in Idaho and Oklahoma.

"When Jake started doing as well as he was I thought we needed to get the boys down here,” he said. "There is so much more competition. It's hard to get good quickly, but in the long run you're better off.”

Ponca City seemed like the right spot to settle, roughly 40 miles from Stillwater and 40 miles from Pawhuska. It's there where Jared won two state championships and where Adam and Blake have also learned their way around the mat.

"I think Blake, out of all my boys has been mom's baby,” Jim said. "It's taken him longer to grow up. He's been a late bloomer. That's what I tell him all the time. Some people get their success early in life, and some people get it later. You just have to work on it and it will come.”

If his recent success is any indicator, Blake may add another championship or two to the Rosholt's wrestling legacy before his high school career is over.

"It's not easy but I'm doing pretty good this year,” he said. "I'm filling those shoes a little bit at a time.”

Plainsmen’s Castor uses motivation to make first state trip

Kia Castor is a big wrestling fan, being a regular visitor to Oklahoma State University duals and the NCAA Tournament.

But the Enid High School junior couldn’t bear to watch last year’s state championships, even though teammates J.B. Stuart, Shane Perosi and Justin Glenn qualified.

“I didn’t want to look at it because I was so mad that I didn’t place,’’ said Castor, who finished fifth place as a sophomore. “It hurt too much.’’

That pain turned into motivation for Castor, who qualified for state for the first time last weekend by finishing second at 152 pounds in the Eastern Regional at Broken Arrow. He takes a 21-9 record against Edmond North’s Virgil Walker in a first-round match Friday.

“I just thought I should have placed higher last year,’’ he said. “I guess I didn’t work hard enough that year. I worked a lot harder this year. I guess it was a good reality check for me.’’

Castor moved from 140 to 152 pounds just before the Geary Tournament. He went from having trouble making weight to not having to worry about it.

“I think it relaxed him mentally more than anything else,’’ said Enid coach Shane Kerr. “It takes the worrying (about making weight) out of it. It was real beneficial for him.’’

“It was one less worry for me,’’ Castor said. “I didn’t have to run three miles any more to try to make weight. That’s not much fun when it’s cold and you’re just getting off work. I can eat whatever I want as long as it’s healthy.’’

The negative might be Castor is, by his own admission, “the weakest wrestler physically’’ in the 152-pound field.

“There really isn’t that much difference,’’ he said. “I just wrestle the way I always have.’’

What he may lack in physical strength, he makes up for in experience. He has wrestled since he was 3 years old at the urging of his grandfather, Hubert Carmichael.

“He asked me if I wanted to go out for wrestling and I said ‘yeah,’’’ Castor said. “I’ve been out ever since.’’

Kerr sees that maturity in Castor’s mental approach.

“He’s real good at seeing things before they are there,’’ Kerr said. “When he goes in with the right attitude and thinks he can win, he usually does.’’

Castor said his conditioning has been the key for him this year.

“I got a lot of wind,’’ he said. “Some of the bigger kids have died in the third period. That helped me qualify this year. I don’t have as much strength as some of those guys, so I have to rely on my brains.

“I don’t have one particular style. If I know the guy is real good, I’m not as aggressive and I try to slow down things a little bit more to my speed and take control of the match.’’

Castor avenged a 6-4 loss to Union’s Ronnie Balfour in the regional quarterfinals. That was especially sweet since Balfour beat him on a takedown in the final few seconds in a recent dual in Enid.

“It was awesome,’’ he said, “especially when I put him on his back and held him there.’’

Castor beat Muskogee’s Josh Stewart 5-4 in the semifinals, before losing to top-seeded Ryan Freeman, of Sand Springs, 3-1 in the finals.

“I was too nervous in the finals,’’ Castor said. “I didn’t go as hard as I should have. I learned something from that. Instead of going 20 seconds as hard as I can, I need to go hard the whole match.’’

He expects to be a “little nervous’’ for his state debut. He said that can help him.

“I feel good about my chances,’’ he said. “If I wrestle hard, I can be a state champion.’’

Castor’s confidence was bolstered during the season when he was the outstanding wrestler at both the Piedmont and Metro Tournaments.

“I never expected to win two in one year like that,’’ Castor said. “I never won one in my entire career. To win two was something I didn’t think I could do.’’

The “think’’ is being replaced by “can’’ now.

“I won a lot of close matches that I shouldn’t have won,’’ Castor said. “People didn’t think I could win those, but I pulled it out.’’

He was motivated when he went unranked by the Oklahoma Wrestling Web site until after the regionals. He was the No. 5 seed at the regionals.

“It feels pretty great,’’ Castor said, “this (qualifying for state) has been my goal ever since I started wrestling.’’

Kingfisher's Gaither wins title in his last shot

Perry's Colton Gallo beat Berryhill's Dylan Haynes in the Class 2A 135-pound final on Saturday. By SARAH PHIPPS, THE OKLAHOMAN

He finished second last year at the state wrestling championships, losing to Shavod Atkinson of Hobart.

He was the leader of a Kingfisher defense that was seconds away from a 3A football championship last year against Clinton before losing 21-16.

And through five periods of wrestling Saturday night at the state championships at State Fair Arena, he was down 2-1.

But in his last chance, Gaither scored a reversal and a three-point nearfall to defeat Sulphur's Logan Grinstead 6-2 to win the heavyweight crown in 2A.

"I really couldn't have wrestled a better match,” Gaither said. "I left everything out there. I wanted to make sure there were no regrets.”

Gaither was knocking on the door all match but couldn't get the decisive takedown. He flirted with close calls in the third period and said at that point, fatigue set in.

Grinstead scored an escape point in the fifth period, but Gaither still had his own shot at an escape or reversal.

"I just looked at the clock and said I have to do this,” Gaither said. "There wasn't going to be a tomorrow.”

Gaither's win catapulted the Yellowjackets into third place, finishing behind Marlow and champion Perry.

Kingfisher also received a championship from 189-pounder Elliott Hellwege. The senior defeated Marlow's Dave Weske, also in overtime. It was Hellwege's second straight title.

"This was the way we wanted to go out,” Gaither said. "This was our best team, and we had to fight. Me and Elliott didn't have it easy, but that makes it that much more sweeter.”

This was Gaither's last outing with Kingfisher because he does not play any spring sports.

Gaither said he has not committed to any college because he doesn't know if he wants to play football or wrestle. He said Saturday's championship makes the choice that much tougher.

Marlow was expected to give Perry a good run for the team title, but when it mattered most, the Maroons had their best night. Perry went a perfect five-for-five in the championship round, including two pinfalls and a major decision.

"I don't want to say this was the best team that we've had, but I can easily say Marlow was the best team we've ever beaten,” Perry head coach Scott Chenoweth said.

Perry finished with 144.5 points, while Marlow was next with 129 and Kingfisher third at 101.

Dauphin brothers capture second crowns for El Reno

By Matt Patterson
Staff Writer 2/24/08

Noble's Kidd Gomez beat El Reno's Austin Mogg to win the Class 4A 112-pound championship on Saturday. By SARAH PHIPPS, THE OKLAHOMAN

Related Photos
Cody and Cory Dauphin have quite a brotherly rivalry going.

Cory won his second state championship at 140 pounds Saturday and Cody followed with his second title at 215. The pair helped El Reno to a second place finish behind Class 4A champion Catoosa who racked up 151.5 team points to El Reno's 91.5.

Cory won his state championship match by fall over Catoosa's Brock Mason and Cody beat Harrah's Levi Queen 3-2 as his brother cheered him on.

"It's one of the best feelings in the world to know we're brothers and we're two-time champions,” Cody Dauphin said. "Hopefully we can be four-time winners.”

With Catoosa dominating the tournament, El Reno's best hope was to finish second. The Indians also picked up a state championship from heavyweight Bryan Soloman, a cousin of the Dauphin brothers. Austin Mogg lost to Kidd Gomez in the 112-pound title match.

"We would have liked to have had four with Austin,” coach Shane Head said. "Catoosa had it in the bag before we got here. You don't want to admit that. You still have to wrestle, but after the semis we knew what was coming so we set our sights on getting second.”

Harrah's Travis Quintero (135) won his finals match with Catoosa's Ben Morgan by a 6-3 decision. There is no shortage of bad blood between the two. Quintero pinned Morgan at regionals and both were ejected during a match at the Carl Albert tournament in January for fighting.

"It definitely makes it sweeter,” Quintero said. "He did pretty well against me in this one. I wasn't expecting that.”

Quintero, who was named the Outstanding Wrestler in Class 4A, knows he is perceived by some as cocky, even arrogant. But confidence is important to him.

"I think you have to be really confident in this sport because if you don't believe in yourself you're not going to be very successful,” Quintero said.

Noble had a pair of champions in Gomez (112) and Tim Taylor (160). Gomez won his second championship by beating El Reno's Mogg 5-2. Taylor won his match by a 10-8 decision. Gomez, a junior, also won a state championship as a freshman. He finished the season 33-1. He is Noble's first two-time champion.

"I was looking forward to being Noble's first two-time winner,” Gomez said. "It feels cool to be a part of history.”

Deer Creek's Cade Draper (152) won his first championship with a decision over Bixby's Garrick Bowles. Carl Albert's placers included runner-up Zach Aylor (189), third place Landon Comes (125) and Jared Porter (145) and David McNeil (112) who placed fourth

Bombers win title by half a point

By Matt Patterson
Staff Writer 2/24/08
Pictures 1 / 2 / 3 / 4

Midwest City had an extra team member Saturday night at the 87th Annual Oklahoma High School Wrestling Championships, and he was from Broken Arrow.

The Tigers' Znick Ferrell beat Ponca City's Reno Redleaf in the 215-ound championship match 3-2, securing Midwest City's second consecutive Class 5A team title by a razor thin 80-79.5 margin over runner-up Ponca City.

Ferrell was mobbed by the Bombers after his match, just before team members hoisted their head coach, Jody Marple, on their shoulders.

"I love Znick Ferrell,” Midwest City 152-pounder Mark Meyer said. "He was the underdog and had to wrestle Redleaf who was the state champion last year. We just threw some Bomber Magic in there for him.”

Marple knew it would all come down to Redleaf vs. Ferrell if his team had a hope of winning. Midwest City 119-pounder Willie Gunter captured his third straight state championship by s major decision which also helped. Meyer won at 152 pounds and Drew Hill managed a runner-up finish at 140.

Had Gunter not picked up bonus points, Ponca City would be celebrating.

"We knew going in we were going to have to get bonus at Willie's weight,” Marple said. "Whenever Willie came up I told him you wrestle to win, you don't worry about getting the bonus, but he did anyway.”

The thrill was doubled for Meyer who battled all season to put himself into a position to win a championship.

"I didn't think we could win the team title,” he said. "I hoped we could, but I knew it would be hard. But I got mine and the team got theirs. I've never had a feeling like this.”

Gunter joins the three-Time champions club. He was far more emotional about the team title.

"It's my third time around so I know what I'm supposed to do,” Gunter said. "This one was sweet, but nothing can be as sweet as the first.”

Del City finished the tournament with state championships from Tyler Dorrell (112) and Mike Brady (145). Heavyweight Derrick Jackson made the finals, but lost to Muskogee's Stacy McGee by decision.

"I thought the two titles were great wins for our team,” Del City coach Ronnie James said. "I feel for Derek. If he won with bonus we win the state championship so there was a lot of pressure there.”

Norman's Joe Springfield (135) entered the tournament as a fourth seed, but fell in the finals to Jenks' Justin DeAngelis by decision. Norman North's Chad Wright (171) lost 5-2 in the finals to Sapulpa's Kyle Blevins.

Hopper leads Ridgerunners to their first crown

By Robert Przybylo
Staff Writer 2/24/08

Cushing's Brannon Frank, bottom, wrestles Sallisaw's Jeramy Davenport during the Class 3A 135-pound final on Saturday. By SARAH PHIPPS, THE OKLAHOMAN

Grove wrestler Damien Hopper knew about the team's history, or the lack thereof.

Not only had Grove never placed in the top five of any team competition, but the Ridgerunners had only one previous state winner.

Hopper changed that on Saturday when he defeated Tuttle's Colton Roberts 4-3 to win the 3A championship at 103 pounds during the state wrestling championships at State Fair Arena.

Hopper's performance highlighted a magical night for Grove as coach John Ward's team captured its first ever team championship.

"Really, I don't know what to say right now,” Ward said. "We just wrestled as well as we ever had. We picked the right time.”

Damien's brother, Darius, earned a third-place finish. But maybe more importantly, Damien said, prepped his brother for the biggest tournament of his life.

"He would just constantly drill with me, making me better,” Damien said.

Damien Hopper finished his freshman season 38-0.

Knotted at two heading into the final period, Damien scored a two-point reversal and held on for the victory.

"Last year, I was anything but undefeated,” Damien said. "Once I scored that reversal I knew what I had to do. I couldn't ride him out, but I knew I could give a good enough defensive effort to win.”

Cushing was the odds-on favorite to capture the 3A crown, but it was Grove's consistency that carried the day.

A consistency that was six years in the making. Ward and Dan Davies have coached this group of Ridgerunners since seventh grade.

"Every year, we just got a little better,” Ward said. "The key was the way we wrestled this morning. We had four guys and all were supposed to lose. But no one told our kids.”

The Ridgerunners had two other finalists,but both Zach Housley and R.J. Bartley came up short.

Cushing placed second, followed by Tuttle in the team race.

State wrestling championship notebook

2/23/08

Stopp, Williamson make history

Though both stories did not have happy endings, Sequoyah-Tahlequah's Jake Stopp and Elk City's Justin Williamson made history at the high school state wrestling tournament.

Stopp, a junior, became the first state qualifier for the Indians in nearly 40 years. Williamson became the first Elk City wrestler to qualify in more than 60 years. Both were eliminated after losing their first two matches.

"This is something I'll never forget,” Stopp said. "I'm not done yet. I'll be back next year.”

This was Stopp's second year in wrestling. He said he only got into the sport after Sequoyah-Tahlequah football coaches said he would be perfect for wrestling.

"I made a lot of strides this last year,” Stopp said. "I really hit the weight room and am learning to perfect my technique.”

Williamson will also return next season. The freshman ended the year at 28-6.

•Simpson loses on the scales: Tuttle qualified seven of its eight wrestlers for today's consolation or championship finals.

The only Tiger to not make it was 140-pounder Jake Simpson. The sophomore failed to make weight and had to forfeit both matches.

•Brown shows no freshman jitters: It took six periods, but Tonkawa freshman Tyran Brown said he could have wrestled as long as it took to defeat Marlow's Christian Bailey.

Brown's 4-3 decision sends him to his first state finals in his first appearance at 112 pounds.

"I have never wrestled that hard in my life,” Brown said. "I knew I just had to keep my head straight and just keep fighting.”

Bailey was seeded first in the West.

By Matt Patterson and Robert Przybylo

Early mistake doesn't deter Tuttle's Gracey

By Robert Przybylo
Staff Writer 2/23/08

Tuttle wrestler Cole Gracey wasn't about to let a silly mistake ruin his chances at his first ever state title.

The sophomore overcame an early error to blitz Jay's Trevor January, 16-2, in the semifinals Friday night at the state wrestling championships at State Fair Arena.

Gracey faces Blanchard's Cody Hill in tonight's 145-pound final.

Gracey said he didn't live up to his potential last year, finishing in fourth place at 135 pounds. A year older and 10 pounds heavier, Gracey has found his groove this season.

"The summer practices really helped me,” he said. "I've been wanting to erase last year's memory. I've done that, but there's still more to be done.”

The 145-pound division in 3A was busted open when top-seeded Mark Davis of Fort Gibson was upset in the first round by Blackwell's Dusty Kincaid.

"That got me real excited,” Gracey said. "I knew going in that I had a real good chance, but after that loss, I felt like it (the crown) was definitely mine.”

The day was nothing short of excitement for the Tuttle grappler. Coach Matt Surber said Gracey had been feeling ill Friday afternoon.

In the bout against January, Gracey's own momentum was used against him as he trailed briefly, 2-0.

"I didn't see that coming,” Gracey said. "It didn't matter, all it did was anger me and make me want to come back stronger.”

Gracey (41-3) bounced back and had several nearfall points. Gracey scored a fall in the first round against Sallisaw's Nick Copeland.

Gracey defeated Hill, 6-2, last Saturday at the regional championships.

Gracey's day was the highlight of an up-and-down day for the Tigers. Tuttle sends three kids into tonight's championship finals as Colton Roberts at 103 and Bobby Williams at 152 will join Gracey.

"All three of those kids really showed me something,” Surber said. "Colton's only in his second year of wrestling. Cole's been extremely sick, and Bobby was facing a guy (Jerry Sanders of Cleveland) who only had one loss.”

Williams scored a third-period takedown to defeat Sanders, 6-4. Williams won a state championship last year at 145.

Tuttle sent eight grapplers to state, and seven will wrestle today.

The only one not coming back is Jake Simmons at 140. The sophomore failed to make weight and had to forfeit both of his matches.

Cushing is in first place with 59 points, followed by Grove with 54 and Tuttle with 53.

"I told those guys so many of these championships are won in the back half (consolation rounds),” Surber said. "They regrouped and give us a great opportunity to do something special.”

Catoosa wins another title

By MATT DOYLE World Sports Writer www.tulsaworld.com
2/24/2008

STEPHEN HOLMAN / Tulsa World With head coach Darren Peaster (left) looking on, Catoosa wrestlers hoist their Class 4A state championship wrestling trophy.

OKLAHOMA CITY—Dallas Bailey is a seasoned veteran of winning state championships.

The Catoosa junior standout punctuated the Indians’ second consecutive Class 4A state title emphatically Saturday night at State Fair Arena. Bailey won his third straight state title with his third pin of the tournament, a second-period fall of Harrah’s Aaron Gregory.

As happy as Bailey was for his accomplishment and the team’s honor, he was more pleased for teammate Ryan Rosales’ achievement.

Rosales joined Bailey and 145- pound teammate Shawn Thomas as Catoosa’s individual champions.

Rosales rebounded from his state finals loss last year at 119 pounds to win the 130-pound this year. The Catoosa junior beat Shawnee’s Dusty Topping 7-3.

“That’s what we work for. Not just this year, but last year and the year before that,” Bailey said of Rosales’ triumph. “I expected him to win it, and I’m glad he did.”

Rosales said the attitude of striving for excellence that exists in Catoosa’s wrestling room permeates throughout the entire team.

When Rosales took the mat Saturday night, he knew he had the opportunity to join Bailey, 2006 graduate and former teammate Brett Gray, and current teammates Zac Vann and Ben Morgan as recent individual state champs from coach Darren Peaster’s program.

“Dallas is my best friend and he told me there’s no better feeling than winning a state championship as an individual,” Rosales said. “At first, I didn’t know what he meant how great the feeling is. I won a couple of kid state championships and this summer I was an All- American. But nothing matches beating the kids you’ve grown up with for a high school state championship.”

Thomas joined the club of recent Catoosa champions as well. Despite wrestling with the flu all weekend, the junior 145-pounder topped Guthrie’s Ryan Billyeu 11-5.

The Indians lost state-title matches with Vann at 103, Morgan at 135, and Brock Mason at 140. But Catoosa’s dominance was evident all weekend as anticipated.

Catoosa had 10 placers among its 11 state qualifiers and ran away with the team title. Catoosa finished with 151.5 points, which was 60 better than runnerup El Reno.

“It shows how hard work and dedication can pay off,” Peaster said. “These kids have a great time every time they wrestle. They have fun at what they’re doing.”

The fun should continue again next season. Catoosa will return nine of its 11 state qualifiers.

East Central junior Jeremy Goree capped off his second consecutive undefeated season by winning a 6-4 decision over Lawton MacArthur’s Ramon Willis for the 125-pound title.

Goree finished the year 38-0 and has an 88-match win streak.

Collinsville junior Dalton Salisbury won his first state title by downing Midwest City Carl Albert’s Zach Aylor 7-3 at 189 pounds.

BA’s Partain wins 3rd state crown



By MATT DOYLE World Sports Writer
2/24/2008

Tigers miss team title by one point; Midwest City wins championship.

STEPHEN HOLMAN / Tulsa World Broken Arrow’s Drew Partain pins Lawton’s Tim Francisco in their 125-pound Class 5A title match.

OKLAHOMA CITY — Drew Partain has made it a habit this season to leave tournaments carrying the championship trophy from wherever his Broken Arrow team competed.

Partain and the Tigers did not walk out of State Fair Arena Saturday night with the Class 5A state championship trophy. But the Broken Arrow senior did leave with an impressive victory.

Partain won his third consecutive state crown with a third-period pin of Lawton’s Tim Francisco in the 125-pound bout.

“That’s the way to finish it off. That’s the way I wanted to finish it off,” Partain said. “I wasn’t satisfied after winning it once. I wasn’t satisfied after winning it twice.”

Partain’s senior teammate Matt Bryan won his second title in three years with a 3-0 decision over Midwest City’s Drew Hill at 140 pounds.

Those title efforts were not enough to get Broken Arrow the team title.

Midwest City won a crazy and frenetic team race with 80 points, besting Ponca City by a half point and Broken Arrow by one point. Del City was fourth with 75 points.

The Bombers secured their second consecutive 5A team title

when Sand Springs’ Znick Ferrell upset Ponca City’s Reno Redleaf 3-2 in the 215-pound bout. If Redleaf had won, Ponca City would have clinched the championship.

After the title matches were over, the entire Bombers squad surrounded the Sandites champion and hugged and thanked him.

“It’s insane. It’s crazy,” said Ferrell, who had lost two previous matches to Redleaf this year. “I had no clue what was at stake for them.

I heard their fans chanting my name during the match. I just knew I had nothing to lose.”

Bryan won a 3-0 decision over Owasso’s Marcus O’Brien two years ago to earn the 119-pound title.

Last year in the 130-pound bout, the BA standout got caught in a third-period cradle and was pinned by Ponca City’s Trey Branscum.

The 2007 finals’ loss served as motivation for 2008.

“I’ve been blocking last year’s match out of my mind for weeks now,” Bryan said. “I had to work hard all year just to get back here.

It’s tough to get back here. Winning it again is tough.”

Sapulpa’s Kyle Blevins can relate. The senior 171-pounder downed Norman North’s Chad Wright 5-2 to become the first Chieftains wrestler to ever win three state titles.

“That’s a great feeling,” Blevins said. “There was a lot of pressure coming into this (tournament). Everyone I wrestled was gunning for me and they were all wrestling me defensively so I couldn’t get much offense going.”

Stillwater junior Chris Perry earned his third consecutive title and the outstanding wrestler honor for 5A after an 18-2 technical fall win over Broken Arrow’s Terry Williamson at 189 pounds.

Perry wins state title

By JON POTTS World Correspondent
2/24/2008

OKLAHOMA CITY — The much anticipated showdown for the Class 2A state wrestling championship between Perry and Marlow lived up to the hype, at least for awhile.

In the end, the Maroons finished with 144.5 points and claimed the 35th wrestling state championship in school history.

The Outlaws finished second with 129 points. Marlow had won the dual state championship a couple of weeks ago. Perry had won the previous five titles in dual state.

The Outlaws led the Maroons 103.5 to 94.5 after Friday’s action. Perry, however, held a slim one-point edge (119.5-118.5) over Marlow going into the championship matches.

The Maroons took control early in the final session.

Ladd Rupp won with a pin against Tyran Brown of Tonkawa at 2:28 in the 112-pound division. Rupp, a junior, has won an individual title for three years.

In the 119-pound division, Ian Fisher pinned Chad Kochenower of Kingfisher at 2:53. Fisher, a sophomore, is a two-time individual champion.

Both Rupp and Fisher won all three of their state tournament matches on pins.

In the 125-pound division, Hayden Workman outlasted Kyle Jaquess of Barnsdall 2-1 in overtime.

Colton Gallo picked up one of the biggest wins of the night for his team.

Gallo dropped previously undefeated Dylan Haynes of Berryhill 7-5 in the 135-pound division. Gallo took an early lead but Haynes rallied to tie it 4-4 after two periods. Gallo picked up three points in the decisive final frame.

Stephen Swan downed Brayden Hicks of Kingfisher in a high-scoring 21-11 major decision in the 145-pound division.

In the 171-pound division, Denny Clement of Cascia Hall defeated Marlow’s Drew Weske 7-3. Clement (39-1) picked up his third consecutive individual title.

Clement’s teammate, Kyle Cowan, squeaked past Derek Thompson of Marlow 1-0 in a hard-fought 215-division bout. Cowan finishes 42-0, the only wrestler to have a perfect record in the class.

Grove captures team title

By JON POTTS World Correspondent
2/24/2008

OKLAHOMA CITY — Grove used a strong showing on Saturday to claim the Class 3A state wrestling team championship at the State Fair Arena.

The Ridgerunners trailed Cushing by five points (59-54) after the first day, but had surged ahead of the Tigers 86-79 prior to the championship final session.

Grove finished with 90 points. Cushing came in second with 84. Tuttle wound up third with 81.5.

Freshman Damien Hopper set the tone in the first match. Hopper finished off a perfect 38-0 record with a 4-3 victory over Tuttle’s Colton Roberts in the 103-pound division.

Senior Darius Hopper, Damien’s older brother, finished third in the 171-pound division.

The elder Hopper lost his first match, but then won three straight with the last two coming via pins.

Cushing’s Jarrod Patterson completed a 45-0 record with a 9-1 major decision over David Frix of Fort Gibson in the 119-pound division.

Patterson has now won three individual titles and has just one career loss.

Oologah’s Trevor Holly captured his second consecutive individual championship. Holly outlasted Zach Housley of Grove 8-4 in the 112- pound contest.

Holly’s teammate Derrick Adkins finishedwith a perfect record of 42-0 after defeating Zack Ellis of Elgin 5-2 in the 171-pound division.

Jeramy Davenport and Grant Daffin of Sallisaw both picked up individual titles.

Davenport, the top-ranked freshman in the country, defeated Brannon Frank of Cushing 5-2 in the 135-pound division. Daffin, a senior, made it three consecutive titles after he took down Tucker Rutherford of Jay 6-2 in the 140-pound division.

In the 152-pound division, Tuttle’s Bobby Williams took out defending champ John Heffley of Locust Grove 5-2.

HIgh School Wrestling State Championships: Final Round

By Staff Reports
2/24/2008

STEPHEN HOLMAN / Tulsa World Jenks sophomore Justin DeAngelis hugs head coach Ray Weis following his 135-pound Class 5A championship victory over Norman senior Joe Springfield.

Class 5A

Teams

Midwest City 80. Ponca City 79.50. Broken Arrow 79. Del City 75. Stillwater 72. Sand Springs 54. Union 53. Norman N. 39. Choctaw 36. Mustang 31. Sapulpa 29. Norman 27. Muskogee 25. Jenks 23.5. Claremore 20 Owasso 19.5. Westmoore 18. Lawton 16. Yukon 7. Enid 7. Ed. North 4. Edmond SF 3. PC West 1. Tahlequah 0. Moore 0.

Championship finals

103: Elmore (Stillwater) d. Hamilton (Mustang) 7-4. 112: Dorrell (Del City) d. Miller (Owasso) 4-2. 119: Gunter (MWC) m.d. Steeley (BA) 14-4. 125: Partain (BA) p. Francisco (Lawton) 5.46. 130: Corley (Stillwater) d. Aquirre (Ponca City) 4-0. 135: DeAngelis (Jenks) d. Springfield (Norman) 5-0. 140 : Bryan (BA) d. Hill (MWC) 3-0. 145: Brady (Del City) d. Greenhaw (Union) 7-2. 152: Meyer (MWC) d. Freeman (Sand Springs) 3-1. 160: Sheridan (Union) d. Rosholt (Ponca City) 9-2. 171: Blevins (Sapulpa) d. Wright (Norman N.) 5-2. 189: Perry (Stillwater) t.f. Williamson (BA) 19-2. 215: Ferell (Sand Springs) d. Redleaf (Ponca City) 3-2. 285: McGee (Muskogee) d. Jackson (Del City) 3-1.

Consolation finals

103: Kennedy (Norman N.) p. Biddick (Union) 3.32. 112: Williams (Claremore) d. Schmauch (Ponca City) 11-3. 119: Reed (Choctaw) m.d. Deffenderfor (Sand Springs) 18-7. 125: Crossett (Choctaw) d. Johnson (MWC) 6-4. 130: Bernardi (Choctaw) d. Duncan (Yukon) 8-5. 135: Harris (Del City) d. Brice Hill (Sapulpa) 3-2. 140: Slater (Mustang) d. Standage (Stillwater) 5-1. 145: Skates (BA) d. Smallwood (Sand Springs) 2-1. 152: Sublett (Norman N.) d. Castor (Enid) 5-1. 160: King (MWC) m.d. Umbarger (Sand Springs) 11-3. 171: Garrett (Claremore) d. Groom (Union) 4-2 OT. 189: Mikey Keating (Ponca City) d. Brian Self (Westmoore) 9-4. 215: Zack James (Del City) d. Gastineau (Westmoore) 5-3. 285: Jewell (Norman) d. Smith (Ponca City) 5-0.

Class 4A

Teams

Catoosa 151.5. El Reno 91.50. Noble 60. Carl Albert 60. Duncan 57. Harrah 51.5. Coweta 45. Chickasha 38. Collinsville 34.5. East Central 31. Deer Creek 30. Bixby 27. Lawton Mac 25. Skiatook 23.5. Stilwell 21.5. Guthrie 18. Shawnee 15. Ardmore 14. Western Heights 13. Altus 11. Glenpool 8. Durant 7. Miami 4. OKC Northwest 2. Pryor 0. Ada, . McAlester 0.

Championship finals

103: Leach (Stilwell) p. Vann (Catoosa) 5:19. 112: Gomez (Noble) d. Mogg (El Reno) 5-2. 119: Rowell (Duncan) m.d. Kendrick (Skiatook) 10-0. 125: Goree (East Central) d. Willis (Lawton Mac) 6-4. 130: Rosales (Catoosa) d. Topping (Shawnee) 7-3. 135: Quintero (Harrah) d. Morgan (Catoosa) 6-3. 140: Dauphin (El Reno) p. Mason (Catoosa) 4:24. 145: Thomas (Catoosa) d. Bilyeu (Guthrie) 11-5. 152: Draper (Deer Creek) d. Bowles (Bixby) 2-1 OT. 160: Taylor (Noble) d. Maul (Collinsville) 10-8. 171: Bailey (Catoosa) p. Gregory (Harrah) 3:37. 189: Salisbury (Collinsville) d. Aylor (Carl Albert) 7-3. 215: Dauphin (El Reno) d. Queen (Harrah) 3-2. 285: Solomon (El Reno) d. McGee (Duncan) 3-1.

Consolation finals

103: Schettler (Altus) d. Martin (El Reno) 9-6. 112: Haugen (Catoosa) d. McNeil (Carl Albert) 5-2. 119: Webb (Noble) d. Covington (Glenpool) 5-3. 125: Comes (Carl Albert) d. Cradduck (Noble) 2-1. 130: Gibbon (Duncan) d. Wheeler (Chickasha) 4-2. 135: Kelley (Western Heights) m.d. Delk (Skiatook) 11-2. 140: Fairbairn (Carl Albert) p. Bunch (Bixby) 2:43. 145: Porter (Carl Albert) d. Boyd (Deer Creek) 2-1. 152: Suskey (Catoosa) d. Traylor (Lawton Mac) 7-0. 160: Ogle (Chickasha) d. Lunsford (Catoosa) 9-4. 171: Thomas (Coweta) p. McNabb (Chickasha) 5:29. 189: Cherry (Coweta) d. Hobbs (Catoosa) 9-3. 215: Stroup (Coweta) d. Lacy (Chickasha) 3-0. 285: Reed (Ardmore) p. Brown (Coweta) 0:42.

Class 3A

Teams

Grove 90. Cushing 84. Tuttle 81.5. Fort Gibson 58. Blackwell 56. Oologah 55. Sallisaw 48. Woodward 46. Locust Grove 44. Bristow 38. Clinton 34. Star Spencer 33. Jay 31. Weatherford 29. Inola 26. Madill 17. Poteau 16. Elgin 15. Blanchard 14. McLoud 11.5. Okmulgee 11. Mannford 10. Cleveland 3.5. Vinita 3. Anadarko 0. Elk City 0. Piedmont 0.

Championship finals

103: Hopper (Grove) d. Roberts (Tuttle) 4-3. 112: Holly (Oologah) d. Housley (Grove) 8-4. 119: Patterson (Cushing) m.d. Frix (Fort Gibson) 9-1. 125: Wynn (Blackwell) d. Nunez (Fort Gibson) 3-0. 130: Curtis (Locust Grove) p. Schroeder (Bristow) 3.15. 135: Davenport (Sallisaw) d. Frank (Cushing) 5-2. 140: Daffin (Sallisaw) d. Rutherford (Jay) 6-2. 145: Gracey (Tuttle) d. Hill (Blanchard) 5-2. 152: Williams (Tuttle) d. Heffley (Locust Grove) 5-1. 160: White (Woodward) d. Simpson (Cushing) 5-0. 171: Adkins (Oologah) d. Ellis (Elgin) 5-2. 189: Lane (Star Spencer) d. Yoder (Weatherford) 5-3 OT. 215: Gladd (Clinton) d. Brigance (Poteau) 3-0. 285: Allison (Blackwell) d. Bartley (Grove) 3-1 OT.

Consolation finals

103: Howell (Madill) d. West (Fort Gibson) 6-5. 112: Fittje (Cushing) d. Then (Tuttle) 4-2. 119: Swindell (Oologah) d. Miller (Woodward) 6-2. 125: White (Woodward) d. Evans (Cushing) 7-1. 130: Carson (Inola) d. Coppenbarger (Tuttle) 13-7. 135: Sanders (Bristow) m.d. Thomas (Clinton) 20-9. 140 : Sarwinski (Grove) d. Evans (Cushing) 5-2. 145: Kincaid (Blackwell) d. Housley (Grove) 3-1. 152: Gomez (Weatherford) m.d. Gunter (McLoud) 10-2. 160: Wood s (Tuttle) d. Gehrke (Grove) 10-5. 171: Hopper (Grove) p. Flashner (Sallisaw) 4.29. 189: Jenkins (Fort Gibson) p. Manous (Okmulgee) 5.53. 215: Russell (Star Spencer) p. Plum (Bristow) 2.34. 285: Ambriz (Jay) p. Powell (Inola) 2.53.

Class 2A

Teams

Perry 144.5. Marlow 129. Kingfisher 101. Cascia Hall 75. Barnsdall 49. Tonkawa 48. Newkirk 45. Berryhill 45. Pawhuska 36. Bethel 27. Little Axe 21. Geary 21. Perkins 20. Pauls Valley 18. Watonga 16. Sulphur 14. Hulbert 12. Hobart 7. Davis 7. Plainview 6. Pawnee 5. Newcastle 3. Hinton 3. Lexington 2. Cordell 2. Comanche 2. Kellyville 2. Woodland 2. Empire 0. Snyder 0. Chandler 0. Tah. Seq. 0.

Championship finals

103: Wilson (Perkins) d. Brooks (Marlow) 4-2 OT. 112: Rupp (Perry) p. Brown (Tonkawa) 3:32. 119: Fisher (Perry) p. Kochenower (Kingfisher) 2:53. 125: Workman (Perry) d. Jaquess (Barnsdall) 2-1 OT. 130: Allen (Barnsdall) p. Williamson (Geary) 2:59. 135: Gallo (Perry) d. Haynes (Berryhill) 7-5. 140: Peck (Marlow) m.d. Perrier (Pawhuska) 19-7. 145: Swan (Perry) m.d. Hicks (Kingfisher) 21-11. 152: Lasell (Pauls Valley) d. Johns (Tonkawa) 3-2 OT. 160: Keck (Marlow) t.f. Sell (Kingfisher) 17-2. 171: Clement (Cascia Hall) d. Weske (Marlow) 7-3. 189: Hellwege (Kingfisher) d. Weske (Marlow) 2-1 OT. 215: Cowan (Cascia Hall) d. Thompson (Marlow) 1-0. 285: Gaither (Kingfisher) d. Grinstead (Sulphur) 6-2 OT.

Consolation finals

103: Ketchum (Berryhill) p. Walker (Pawhuska) 1:43. 112: Perez (Hulbert) m.d. Bailey (Marlow) 10-0. 119: Torkleson (Cascia Hall) p. Pearson (Barnsdall) 5:36. 125: Stout (Little Axe) d. Cowan (Watonga) 7-5. 130: McDonald (Newkirk) p. Wigington (Watonga) 1:48. 135: Leven (Newkirk) d. Mills (Kingfisher) 7-1. 140: Jarvis (Bethel) d. Hayes (Perry) 3-2. 145: Moreno (Marlow) d. Davis (Plainview) 1-0. 152: Wilde (Perry) d. Dolan (Berryhill) 4-2. 160: Martin (Perry) p. Peters (Pawhuska) 3:11. 171: Cox (Little Axe) d. Johnson (Kingfisher) 4-2. 189: Murphy (Cascia Hall) p. Coots (Newkirk) 1:13. 215: Smith (Bethel) p. Long (Davis) 1:16. 285 : Trujillo (Tonkawa) p. White (Newkirk) 2:53.

Catoosa places six in 4A finals, leads by 38 points

By MATT DOYLE World Sports Writer
2/23/2008

STEPHEN HOLMAN / Tulsa World Catoosa’s Justin Suskey (left) is dejected after losing to Lawton MacArthur’s T.J. Traylor in their Class 4A 152-pound match during the state wrestling championships in Oklahoma City. Related Photos:

OKLAHOMA CITY -- Only coach Darren Peaster could express disappointment about the showing of his Catoosa High School wrestling team.

The Class 4A defending state champions "only" placed six wrestlers in Saturday's night's finals. But Peaster does not need to worry too much.

His Indians are well on their way to another state championship.

Catoosa has 110.5 points through the opening day of the 87th state high school wrestling championship at State Fair Arena. Catoosa leads second place El Reno by 38 points.

"Here's the bottom line: When you come to the state tournament you have to be ready to wrestle every match," Peaster said. "When you don't, good things don't happen."

On Friday, good things and good results happened more often than not for Catoosa.

The Indians' three returning state champions all advanced to Saturday night's finals. Sophomore 103-pound er Zac Vann recorded a pin and a major decision in his two matches Friday. Sophomore 135-pounder Ben Morgan recorded a pin and a technical fall. Junior 171-pounder Dallas Bailey pinned both his opponents. Bailey will wrestle Harrah's Aaron Gregory for his thirdconsecutive state title.

Ryan Rosales (130), Brock Mason (140) and Shawn Thomas (145) round out Catoosa's championship participant cast.

But Peaster lamented a couple of missed opportunities.

Collinsville's Michael Maul denied Catoosa's Mikey Lunsford a spot in the 160-pound finals. Maul got out of Lunsford's grasp to record a two-point reverse with two seconds left to pull off a 4-3 semifinal win.

"I had to reach all the way to my toes to get that one (reversal). He's tough, good wrestler," said Maul, who beat Lunsford 6-5 in the semifinals of last week's 4A regional. "He just kept putting his legs up to get a higher (position) on me. Earlier in the year, I got stuck in that situation. But when you wrestle all of your life to get to the state championship, you somehow find a way to get out."

Maul will face Noble's Tim Taylor in the finals. Maul defeated Taylor for last week's regional title.

"That will be another tough match," Maul said.

Catoosa's Spencer Hobbs dropped a 3-1 decision in overtime to Midwest City Carl Albert's Zach Aylor at 189 pounds.

However, Peaster cannot be too disappointed. Besides the six finalists, the Indians still have four wrestlers alive in the consolation bracket.

"We just need to seal up the deal," the Catoosa coach said. "And finish off like champions."

Cushing leads race for team title

By JON POTTS World Correspondent
2/23/2008

OKLAHOMA CITY -- Cushing's 119-pounder Jarrod Patterson won two matches by pin Friday and improved to 44-0 on the season as the Tigers took a five-point lead into the final day of the Class 3A wrestling tournament at State Fair Arena.

Grove is in second place with 54 points and Tuttle is in third with 53.

Oologah's Trevor Holly pinned McLoud's Shawn Peeples Friday in the quarter finals and beat Tuttle's Adam Then 4-0 in the semifinals of the 112-pound division.

Holly (33-4) will square off against Grove's Zach Housley in the title match Saturday.

Holly won the championship a season ago in the 103-pound division.

Housley pinned Cash Perry of Anadarko at 1:24 of the quarterfinals and then took down the West's top seed, Cushing's Ty Fittje, in a hard-fought 2-0 semifinal match.

Patterson pinned Cleveland's Nate Guinn in the quarterfinals and Oologah's Ryan Swindell in the semifinals.

Patterson faces Fort Gibson's David Frix in the finals.

Grove's Damien Hooper will meet Tuttle's Colton Roberts in the 103-pound finals.

Grove heavyweight R. J. Bartley also advanced to the finals after beating Blanchard's Nate Harper 5-1 in overtime and knocking off Woodward's Kevin Tapia.

White wins title; Boomers take regional

Woodward News 2/24/08

OKLAHOMA CITY – Zach White made some history here Saturday night.

White, a junior, won the Class 3A 160-pound state wrestling championship with a 5-0 victory over Cushing’s Ethan Simpson at the State Fairgrounds Arena. It was Woodward’s first individual state title in wrestling.

White ends the season with a 39-1 record.

The performance by White capped a strong tournament showing by the Boomers. who had two other medalists.

Matt White, a sophomore, finished third at 125 pounds and Joey Miller was fourth at 119 pounds. Heavyweight Kevin Tapia and 103-pounder Josh Rosborough were beaten in the consolation semifinals.

White in title match

Woodward News 2/24/08

OKLAHOMA CITY – Zach White is in the finals and four other Boomer wrestlers are still in the medal chase at the 87th Oklahoma State Wrestling championships.

White, the top seed at 160 pounds in Class 3A, pinned Daniel Gifford of Locust Grove and Colten Barnes of Oologah to reach the finals tonight at the State Fairgrounds Arena.

The Boomers other four qualifiers split matches on Friday and are in the consolation semifinals today. All need one victory to earn a top four finish and a medal.

Josh Rosborough at 103 pounds lost his first match by fall and won by fall in the consolation semifinals.

Joey Miller won her first round match and lost in the semifinals at 119 pounds.

At 125 pounds, Matt White lost in overtime in the first round, then won in the consolation semifinals.

Kevin Tapia got a fall at heavyweight in round one and lost a 1-0 match in the semifinals.

Wrestlers ready for state tourney

Johnny McMahan 2/22/08

OKLAHOMA CITY – Zach White, the favorite at 160-pounds, leads a strong group of five Woodward High School wrestlers into the Class 3A State Tournament today and Saturday at the State Fairgrounds Arena.

White, a junior, is the top seed at this weight and sports a 36-1 record. The Boomers will also have freshman Josh Rosborough at 103 pounds, senior Joey Miller at 119, sophomore Matt White at 125 and Kevin Tapia at heavyweight.

All five have a chance to do well, said Boomer wrestling coach Bobby Cook.

“All five have an opportunity of placing,” Cook said. “We have some tough, tough first round matches.”

White, a state runnerup in Class 4A last season, opens against a freshman in Daniel Gifford from Locust Grove.

“He’s 15-12 and he’s a pinner,” Cook said. “We’ll have to stay in good position.”

White’s likely semifinal opponent is Colten Barnes, a junior from Oologah. Cook said Barnes is probably the best wrestler from the eastern regional but got called on a defensive pin while winning in the finals last week.

In the finals, White could end up in a rematch from the regional with Cushing’s Ethan Simpson. White won 2-0 last week. Another possible contender is Dusty Gehrke from Grove, who won the eastern regional.

Rosborough is in an interesting weight at 103 pounds.

“Josh is wrestling Zane Howell from Madill, who has wrestled a little longer than we have,” Cook said. “The favorite is also on our side of the bracket (undefeated Damien Hopper, a freshman from Grove) and he is tough, I coached him during the summer.

“We’ll have an opportunity to place at that weight and that would be quite an accomplishment for a first-year wrestler.”

At 119, Miller, who medaled in Class 4A as a freshman, has a first round battle with Trey Rhode, 20-12, from Locust Grove.

“His record is only 20-12, but I will say this, the Locust Grove kids wrestle the toughest schedule in the state of Oklahoma,” Cook said. “Probably four or five of his losses have been to guys who have been in the state finals.”

While matched up tough early, Cook said Miller’s bracket is still pretty favorable.

“I really think Joey has an opportunity to go to the finals,” he said. “We’ll have a kid from Fort Gibson in the semifinals and he’s beatable. We’ll be in some 4-3, 5-4 type matches all the way to the finals.”

Jared Patterson, a two-time state champion from Cushing is 42-0 and a big favorite to win the weight class. Patterson pinned Miller in the regional.

At 125 pounds, Matt White was third in the regional, but took the option of the fourth place slot where he will face Robbie Nunez of Fort Gibson, who is 40-1.

The move puts White on the bracket opposite top seed Jared Wynn of Blackwell and into a possible semifinal rematch with Garrett Evans of Cushing who beat him on a late takedown in the regional.

Nunez, though, is up first.

“The thing with him is I don’t think they (Fort Gibson) wrestle the type of schedule we wrestle,” Cook said. “Even though it’s tough right out of the gate we fully expect to win that match.”

Cook said Tapia is in a heavyweight division where most every match could go either way.

“It’s probably the most intriguing weight class in the state tournament,” Cook said. “Zack Allison from Blackwell is the best guy on paper and has beaten everyone there, but everyone in the other seven can be second, third or fourth, it just depend son who shows up Friday and Saturday.”

Tapia opens with Kris Powell from Inola, who is 24-2.

“He’s a dangerous type wrestler, we’ll have to stay in good position and keep the pressure on him. I really think we can get by him.”

A possible semifinal opponent is R. J. Bartley from Grove, who is 37-3.

The Boomers could also be a factor in the team race, Cook said.

“I really think Cushing is probably going to run away with the tournament, but two through ten there will be just a couple of points separating all of us,” Cook said. “There’s so much parity in Class 3A.

“It’s like I told the kids, there’s really no pressure this week, the pressure was last week. Once you get to this tournament it doesn’t matter if you’re 5-30, you can still be a state champion.

“You’re three wins away from being a state champion and a lot of times in the deeper weights it is just whoever gets hot. I think we’ll come out guns a blazin’ this weekend.”

Notes: The Boomers traveled to Perry on Wednesday to work out with the Perry High School wrestlers and will work out there again on Thursday before going to the state tournament. This is the second year in a row the Boomers have qualified five wrestlers for state. Zach White and Matt White are the only returning qualifiers, but Joey Miller qualified as a freshman in 2005. Wrestling action starts today at 10:30 a.m. and again at 10:30 a.m. Saturday. The championship round is Saturday night.

ER grapplers grab four regional titles

By Rex Hogan/Staff Writer
published Feb. 20, 2008

CHICKASHA — El Reno High School wrestlers won four championships and had one runner-up to claim second place in the team standings behind Duncan at the Class 4A West Regional.

Junior Austin Mogg won the 112-pound division. Cory Dauphin at 140, Cody Dauphin at 215 and Bryan Solomon at heavyweight all won championships.

Hanna Martin wrestled to a second-place finish at 103. Nathan Dewberry at 152 pounds lost 9-5 to Lawton MacArthur’s T.J. Traylor in the third-place match.

All six wrestlers earned passes to the 2008 Oklahoma State High School Wrestling Championships — which get under way Friday morning at the State Fair Arena.

Cody Dauphin pinned Caleb Martin of Durant in 3:47 in his semifinals match. He then defeated Tony Lacy of Chickasha 3-1 in the championship match.

Solomon won by an injury default in his semifinal match and then beat Gabe McGee of Duncan 3-2 to claim his division’s top spot.

Cory Dauphin got a technical fall in his semifinal match. He beat Payton Atchley of Duncan 16-1. He then wrestled Vincent Fairbairn of Carl Albert in the championship round, which he won 3-2 in overtime.

Mogg got a pin in his semifinals match over Durant’s Chase Manning and then claimed first place by defeating David McNeil of Carl Albert, 5-4, in overtime.

Martin beat Nate Crawford of Durant 3-2 in her semifinals match. She lost 2-1 in the championship round against Jesse Schettler of Altus.

“We wrestled pretty good, but we ran into some bad luck,” coach Shane Head said.

Brandon Hileman suffered a severe knee injury in his first match and had to forfeit.

“He was wrestling a kid from Duncan and probably would have won that match. If you take away those points from Duncan, then we would have been in much better shape,” Head said. “We just haven’t been able to put a full lineup together,” Head said.

Duncan had 184.5 points and El Reno was a close second with 153.3 points. Deer Creek was third with 136 points, Chickasha was fourth and Lawton McArthur finished fifth. Other teams in order of their finishes were Durant, Northeast, Shawnee, Western Heights, Guthrie, Ardmore, Ada, Capitol Hill and Southeast.

Sallisaw Wrestlers Claim State Titles

Monday, February 25, 2008 9:37 AM CST
By Buck Ringgold
TIMES RECORD • BRINGGOLD@SWTIMES.COM

One Sallisaw wrestler finished his high school career on top while another is just getting started.

For the third consecutive season, Grant Daffin claimed an individual state championship as he won the 140-pound weight class in the Oklahoma Class 3A tournament this weekend at Oklahoma City’s State Fair Arena. Daffin also won his state titles in three different classes, having won the 130 division as a sophomore two seasons ago and the 135 division last season.

Meanwhile, another Black Diamond, freshman Jeromy Davenport, won state in the 135 class, marking the second consecutive season Sallisaw has produced two individual state champions. Along with Daffin last season, Randy Tonche’ was the champion in the 215 class.

“I was excited with their wins, I never even cared what the final scores were,” Sallisaw wrestling coach Darrel Hume said. “All that mattered to me was seeing their hands get raised at the end.

“Those two guys wrestled great all weekend. I don’t recall anyone scoring a point on those guys all weekend; they were that dominant.”

Daffin finished his senior season with a record of 40-1, while becoming only the second Sallisaw wrestler to win three state championships, joining Jason Holmes. His only loss came in a match where he moved up in a weight class in order to avenge a loss to a previous opponent. In his last three seasons, Daffin lost only three matches total, two to the same opponent and the other to a wrestler who eventually became a starter at the University of Oklahoma.

In the opening round at state, Daffin posted a 5-2 win over Bobby Wiley of McLoud. He then took a 3-1 decision over Blackwell’s Paul Vance, sendin g him to the finals against Jay’s Tucker Rutherford, where Daffin took home state for the third straight season with a 6-2 decision.

“Grant had wrestled his opponent in the finals two times this year and they were both close matches,” Hume said. “But he just dominates and took control of the match. It was just six minutes of total dominance.”

Daffin plans to continue wrestling at the collegiate level as he recently signed with Cornell University, a prestigious Ivy League school located in Ithaca, N.Y., and also one of the top wrestling programs in the country.

Like Daffin, Davenport finished his first season as a Black Diamond having lost once all season, which came on a disqualification. Davenport finished the season 37-1.

Davenport opened the state tournament with a pinfall over Weatherford’s Nate Hunt, pinning him at the 3:08 mark. Then in the semifinals, Davenport claimed a 5-1 decision over Blackwell’s Paul Vance, before downing Cushing’s Brannon Frank, 5-2, to win the state title.

“One of the things that has helped Jeromy this year is that Grant is his workout partner, and you can learn a lot from a state champion,” Hume said. “He has a strong desire to get out there and win every match. In the finals, he was going up against a two-time state runner-up, but Jeromy did a great job and kept his composure.”

Sallisaw finished seventh in the overall team standings with 48 points. Grove took the overall 3A team title with 90 points. Along with Daffin and Davenport, other Black Diamond wrestlers who qualified for state were: Shane Flashner, who placed fourth in the 171 class; Ryan Harwell, who competed in the 125; Nick Copeland, who qualified in the 145 class; and Derrek Branham, who qualified in the 285 class.

Poteau had one of its wrestlers reach the state finals, as sophomore James Brigance made it in the 215 class, but Brigance dropped a 3-0 decision to Clinton’s Cameron Gladd, who lost to Tonche’ in last year’s final. Brigance edged Blanchard’s Bryce Rusler in the opening round, 3-2, and took a 6-2 decision over Bristow’s Stanely Plum in the semifinals, 6-2. Another Pirate, Zack Tankersley, also qualified for state in the 112.

Curtis, Heffley in finals of state tournament

Kenny Howell
Sports Writer 2/25/08

OKLAHOMA CITY - Two Locust Grove Pirates made it to the finals of the

state wrestling tournament Friday.

Defending state champions Donnie Curtis and John Heffley both made it look easy. Curtis stared with a pin of Cris Smith from Cushing in just 57 seconds. He then got a

11-3 major decision over John Barron of Clinton. Curtis faced off with Jerod Schroeder of Bristow

in the championship Saturday. Those results will be in Tuesday’s

edition.

Heffley pinned Austin Gunter of McCloud in 3:34 for his first win of the day. He then pinned Hugo Gomez of Weatherford in just 55 seconds in the

second round. He faced Bobby Williams of Tuttle in the championship.

Trey Rohde wrestled at 119 for the Pirates. He was beaten in the first round by Joey Miller of Woodward, 7-6. He responded in the

consolation round with a pin of Matt Abbott from Anadarko in the

consolation round. The pin came in 1:48. Rohde faced Miller again in

the consolation bracket Saturday.

Daniel Gifford suffered two losses at 160. He was pinned by Zach White of Woodward in 3:23. The freshman was then

defeated by Andrew Pontikes of Elgin in the consolation round. It took Pontikes overtime to get past Gifford, 7-5.

Pryor had one

representative in the state tournament, 140-pounder Daniel Hauentstein. Hauenstein was pinned by Cory Dauphin of El Reno in 1:30 in the opening round. He then was defeated by Chris Schrader of Ardmore, 5-0, in the consolation bracket.

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