Sandite Wrestling returns to State Finals for second-straight year with 53-9 victory over Ponca

By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

The No. 1 undefeated Charles Page High School wrestling team (19-0) is headed to the Dual State Championship finals for the second-straight year after dominating No. 6 Ponca City (10-3) 53-9.

CPHS 53 Ponca City 9

106 No. 1 Weir p. Linder 0:45
113 No. 3 Ward d. Bellmard 3-0
120 No. 4 Ritchey d. No. 8 Swenson 1-0
126 No. 3 Sargent d. No. 2 Schickram 8-6
132 No. 1 Fix t.f. No. 5 Schickram 20-5
138 No. 2 Karstetter d. No. 9 Hunt 12-10
145 No. 2 Bratcher p. Tipton 0:23
152 No. 1 Scott p. No. 5 Rubio 0:35
160 No. 9 Almy d. No. 10 White 5-1
170 No. 1 Basma p. No. 10 Newlin 1:22
182 Bratcher d. Arechiga 10-6
195 Pressnall d. Fain 3-2
220 No. 1 Jordan p. No. 5 Fry 0:10
285 No. 9 Bridges p. Edwards 2:21

The dual kicked off at 145 as Beau Bratcher (38-6 season, 129-29 career) pinned Tacoma Tipton in 0:23. Payton Scott (33-2, 54-10) was right behind him, pinning State Qualifier Ezequiel Rubio in 0:35.

The Wildcats put up more of a fight at 160. Sophomore Noah Almy (20-16) took on Grayson White and scored a takedown in the first period, started the second period with an escape, then took down White again. The Wildcat picked up a caution point to end the second period, and chose neutral in the third. He was unable to score any points and the Sandite prevailed by 5-1 decision for a 15-0 team lead.

Zane Basma (22-2, 84-27) took on Lane Newlin and scored an early takedown before getting the fall in 1:22.

Sophomore Luke Bratcher (4-1) made his return to the mat after missing a few weeks with a sprain. He took a quick 7-2 lead over Abram Arechiga with nearfall points and started the second period neutral. He scored another quick takedown, but Arechiga got an escape at the end of the second and the start of the third to cut it to 9-4. Arechiga scored his first takedown with 30 seconds left, but Bratcher quickly escaped and finished 10-6.

Gage Fain (26-12, 39-34) battled out of an early deficit against Bradyn Pressnall and tied it up at 2-2 with a second period escape. Pressnall started the third period on bottom and Fain elected to give him the escape, but was unable to score and let Ponca on the board with a 3-2 decision.

Delvin Jordan (37-2, 68-14) more than made up for it with a ten-second fall against State Qualifier Austin Fry and the Sandites led 30-3. Kris Edwards (4-3) was far outsized in his match. He scored a quick takedown against Brett Bridges, but the Wildcat got the upper hand in period two and pinned the Sandite in 2:21.

Riley Weir (33-6, 54-18) pinned Chase Linder in 0:45. Tanner Ward (29-9, 105-21) scored a takedown against Karson Bellmard late in the first, then escaped in the second for a 3-0 lead which he held to the end, essentially clinching the dual.

Michael Ritchey (32-8, 61-32) battled it out with Jacob Swenson and neither scored in the first period. Ritchey started the second period on bottom and scored an escape halfway through, then started the third period on top and held on for the 1-0 decision.

Blake Sargent (32-8, 84-22) picked up a huge win against State Qualifier Spencer Schickram, who has beaten him multiple times this season. Schickram got the first takedown, but Sargent quickly escaped and scored on the Wildcat before cutting him loose to end the first period 3-3. Sargent started the second period on bottom, reversed, then was reversed on to keep it knotted up. He took the lead once again with an escape and entered the third period on top with a 6-5 advantage. Schickram tied it right back up, but Sargent got the winning takedown with 30 seconds left.

Daton Fix (39-0, 157-0) worked his usual magic on Dylan Schickram and led 13-4 after the first period and ultimately won by 20-5 technical fall in 3:06.

The dual wrapped up at 138 with Jack Karstetter (25-1, 98-16) versus Dawson Hunt. Karstetter took a 7-3 lead into the second, earning backpoints once against the Wildcat, but getting taken down in the last seconds. The Sandite earned an escape point halfway through the second period, but got in trouble at the end. Hunt scored a takedown for nearfall points and the Sandite was saved by the buzzer, holding on to a 12-9 lead to start the third and prevailing 12-10 for a final score of 53-9.

Sand Springs will return to action at 6:30 p.m. in the Championship round against No. 3 Broken Arrow (9-2), who upset the defending State Champs in No. 2 Choctaw (9-1). The Tigers prevailed 36-28 in a dual that came down to the very last match.