Cory Hansen
This year’s Golden Norsemen Open took place on Saturday, January 24, 2024 and attracted competitors from schools across the state as well as Kansas, Nebraska, Iowa, and Texas. At least 14 schools were represented in the tournament held at Northeast Oklahoma A&M in Miami, Oklahoma, along with a few “unattached” competitors. It was an exciting day of action with hotly competitive matches throughout, as these small schools and some redshirting or backup Oklahoma State athletes fought for a championship.
In a battle of true freshmen, the finals match of the 125 pound bracket ended quickly, with Oklahoma State (OSU) Cowboy, Sam Smith, picking up a first period fall over Garrett Johnson from Northeast Oklahoma A&M (NEO). Johnson had a pin and a pair of decisions on his path to the finals. Smith was impressively dominant throughout the day. After a first round bye, he pinned all three of his opponents in the first period on his way to the championship.
125 pounds top three finishers:
1. Sam Smith (OSU)
2. Garrett Johnson (NEO)
3. Dallas Dunn (Iowa Western Community College)
The 133 pound finals saw another matchup of true freshmen, with Eli Kirk from the University of Central Oklahoma (UCO) getting the better of Jordan Oehme from Lincoln, Nebraska’s Southeast Community College (SECC) by a 7-3 decision. Oehme received a first round bye, which he followed up with a first period pin and a decision victory on his way to the finals. After a first round bye, Kirk won a scrappy sudden victory match and scored a major decision before winning the championship.
133 top three finishers:
1. Eli Kirk (UCO)
2. Jordan Oehme (SECC)
3. Paul Ruff (Iowa Western Community College)
The 141 pound finals saw true freshman Cael Hughes from OSU dominate Malachi Bordovsky from Council Bluff, Iowa’s Iowa Western Community College (IWCC) by a 10-0 major decision….
