Michael Smith
Eight boys wrestling teams from Oklahoma made the trek to Missouri to compete in the annual Kansas City Stampede.
This is a tournament that features some of the best teams from the Midwest and even other areas of the United States The prestigious tournament featured teams from Arizona, Tennessee, Georgia, Oklahoma, Iowa, Texas, Missouri, Nebraska, Arkansas, New Mexico, Alabama and Kansas.
Against tough competition, Westmoore ended up being the most successful school from Oklahoma in the tournament as it took sixth with 137 points. Liberty, a team from Missouri, won the tournament with 212 points.
The Jaguars had one individual champion and two placers.
Below is a summary of the best Oklahoma finishers in each eight class and a list of the top eight placers.
106: Ponca City freshman Garrett Short took eighth place after falling in the second round but going 5-2 in the consolation bracket, ending with a 7-3 loss to Trevor Christenson of Basehor, Kan during the seventh-place bout.
Top eight placers:
1st: Kaison Schreier, Fort Osage (Mo.)
2nd: Jordan Bell, St. Pius X (Mo.)
3rd: Cole Caniglia, Creighton Prep (Neb.)
4th: Mason Brayfield, Park Hill (Mo.)
5th: Trevor Christenson, Basehor-Linwood (Kan.)
6th: Landon Lane, St. Michael The Archangel Catholic (Mo.)
7th: Aiden Hahn, Farmington (Mo.)
8th: Garrett Short, Ponca City (Okla.)
113: Westmoore sophomore Eric Casula made it to the semifinals but fell to eventual champion Michael Ruiz of Canyon Randall, Texas, 6-1. Casula finished with a 1-1 record in the consolation bracket, capping his night with a 6-0 victory against Ponca City’s Jimmy Swenson in the fifth-place bout.
“I got to my ties that I have been working on the past four months,” Casula said. “When I got to that, I usually scored and won my matches.”
Top eight placers:
1st: Michael Ruiz, Canyon Randall (Texas)
2nd: Erik Egstad, Park Hill
3rd: DJ Clarke, Buford (Ga.)
4th: Austin Brown, Hannibal (Mo.)
5th: Eric Casula, Westmoore (Okla.)
6th: Jimmy Swenson, Ponca City
7th: Parker Lutz, St. Michael
8th: Bryson Rockers, Paola (Kan.)
126: Collinsville senior Canon Acklin had a series of close matches from the second period onward, including a 5-3 victory in overtime over Staley junior Zayne Reynolds. He ran into three-time state champion Porter Matecki of Whitfield (of St. Louis, Mo.) in the finals and fell 1-0 as he took second place.
Top eight placers:
1st: Porter Matecki, Whitfield
2nd: Canon Acklin, Collinsville (Okla.)
3rd: Cash Donnell, Piedmont (Okla.)
4th: Zayne Reynolds, Staley
5th: Devon Harrison, Liberty
6th: Brock Johsnon, Paola (Kan.)
7th: Bodi Harris, Jesuit, (La.)
8th:Jett Schwartz, Valley Center
144: Collinsville senior Hudson Henslick made it to the quarterfinals, where he lost to Buford’s Gavin Pope 9-3 in the quarterfinals. He bounced back to go 3-1 in the consolation bracket which ended with a 13-3 major decision over Aiden Schoen of Lafayette Wildwood in the fifth-place bout….
