Mark Kirk
It took a Class 3A State Tournament scoring record by Marlow to win the 2024 state championship but the powerful Outlaws team was up to the task as they crowned five champions along with four other medalists to win the state title by 15 points over 2nd place Blackwell.
The two powerhouse teams battled close throughout the three-day tournament, with Marlow finally wrapping up the title with Marcus Williams, Brantz Bateman, Zach Dawson, Cade Gilbert and Lawson Knox all winning titles, Tommy Miller and Keller Kizarr placing 2nd and getting 3rd place finishes from Jaxson Murray and Brock Smith.
Blackwell never backed down, crowning four champions with five other placers to score 160 points. The 160 points would have won State pretty much every other year as it put them in a tie for 3rd for most points at a Class 3A State Tournament. Jaxson Brown, Louden Wolfe, Jason Osgood and Kruz Goff won titles, with Grant Rowe and Lawson Lusk placing 2nd, Madden Edgar placing 3rd and Payton Head and freshman Kelby Ingram 4th.
There was a log-jam for 3rd-8th with Pawnee taking 3rd with 56.5 points followed closely by Salina (55 pts.), Sperry (54 pts.), Berryhill (53 pts.), Hinton (49 pts.) and Pawhuska and Vinita tying for 8th (46 pts.).
Blackwell started out strong in the finals, winning the first two weights to briefly take the lead from Marlow. Senior Jaxson Brown scored the winning takedown with nine seconds left in sudden victory to claim the 106 lb. title with a 9-7 SV win over Pawhuska’s Logan Cass. Brown, a 3rd place medalist last year, finished the season with a 40-4 record.
In a heads up battle at 113 lbs., the large Blackwell crowd got fired up as Louden Wolfe defeated Marlow state champion Tommy Miller by a 3-2 score. A Wolfe takedown 30 seconds into the match was the difference as the junior fought off Miller’s frenzied efforts to turn Wolfe at the end of the match. Wolfe, a 3rd place medalist the past two years, finished the season with a 37-7 record and will take a 98-24 career record into his senior year.
3X New Mexico state champion Marcus Williams put Marlow back in the lead with his third fall of the tournament, pinning Comanche’s Gage Jessen in :42 to win the 120 lb. title. Williams finished the year with a 23-2 season record.
In one of the feature matches of the night, state champions Colt Collett (Checotah) and Zane Donley (Vinita) battled it out for the 126 lb. title. The match did not disappoint with lots of high level action with Collett avenging the regional finals loss, with two 1st period takedowns being the difference in the 9-7 win. Collett, now a 3X state champion, ended the season with a 44-2 record and a 110-5 career record. Donley finished as a 4X state placer going 4-2-1-2, ended the season with a 34-2 record and a 142-15 career record.
Sperry freshman Jesse Justice took the first step in possibly joining senior teammate Brady Benham as a 4X state champion as he won the 132 lb. title with an 11-4 win over Marlow’s Keller Kizarr. Justice opened a 5-0 1st period lead with a takedown and near-fall points, then sealed the win, doing the same thing in the 3rd period. Justice ended the season with a 38-6 record.
Berryhill senior Kyler Tabor won the 138 lb. title, getting falls in all three matches, including a fall in the finals over Kingfisher’s Brayden Kochenower. Tabor, a 2023 state runner-up and 4X state qualifier, finished the year with a 41-1 record and a career record of 112-21.
In a key heads up match at 144, Marlow’s Brantz Bateman brought the huge Marlow crowd to their feet when he hit a sweet move to score the takedown and fall over Blackwell’s Grant Rowe in 1:21. With Zach Dawson, Cade Gilbert and Lawson Knox coming up for Marlow, the loud Outlaw fans were sensing the victory was close at hand. Bateman, a runner-up in 2022 and 3rd place medalist last year, ended the season with a 42-4 record.
Senior Zach Dawson moved Marlow closer to the title with a convincing 8-3 win over 2023 state champion Grady Mittasch from Pawnee. Dawson scored takedowns in each period to pick up his third win of the season over Mittasch. Dawson had a 42-4 season…
