It’s hard not to mention Stillwater when discussing high school wrestling in Oklahoma.
The Pioneers have won the Class 6A state title in four of the past five years, so coming into last weekend’s Kansas City Stampede, they were one of the favorites to win the tournament title.
The tournament featured some of the top wrestlers from Missouri, Kansas, Texas, Oklahoma, Nebraska, Iowa, Colorado, Florida, Georgia and others.
Stillwater was in a tight three-team race with Liberty, Mo. and Buford, Ga. and ended up taking first with 178.5 points, edging Buford, who had 177.5 points. Liberty was on Buford and Stillwater’s heels as it took third with 175.5 points.
Edmond North also captured a team trophy by taking fifth with 168 points.
The Pioneers only brought seven wrestlers to the tournament as they are waiting to get back some of their football players in January. Even while not having a full lineup, Stillwater had all its wrestlers placed in the top eight of their weight classes and had two champions.
“Our school has a long history here,” Stillwater head coach Ethan Kyle said. “We have been here a number of years going back to when it started. We haven’t come here for a few years because of the Hall of Fame duals.
“We know how good of a tournament this is. It’s an honor to come here and have some success.”
Junior Igancio Villasenor had a lot of success in the 126-pound bracket as he won by pin or tech fall in his first five matches leading up to his championship bout with three-time Texas state champion Mikey Ruiz of Randall.
Villasenor had three takedowns and an escape and his defense was elite against a top-level wrestler as he earned a 10-3 victory to take first place.
“My defense is great,” Villasenor said. “At the Ironman Tournament last week, (Ruiz) wore me out. He has good pace. It’s amazing. I need to find out how to get up to this space. I made some adjustments and I knew what was coming.
“I stayed in good position and learned from my last match with him. I was prepared.”
Senior Eric Casula transferred from Westmoore to Stillwater as a junior and has had some success with his new team. He finished as a runner-up in the Oklahoma state tournament for the first time last season and has established himself as one of the top wrestlers in the state.
At the Stampede, he had to grind out some tough matches. In the quarterfinals, he beat Edmond North’s Madden Skidmore 8-4, topped Trevor Christenson of Bashor-Lindwood in Kansas 15-11 before capping his day with a 4-2 win over Logan Milsaps of Conroe Woodlands College Park in Texas in the championship match.
“I got the job done, but I need to score more points,” Casula said. “I need to capitalize when I am on the leg and when I am hand fighting. I can always do better.”
Other Pioneers to place in the top eight were Jett Kline (113 pounds, third), Griffin Sensinaffar (120, seventh), Bryar Hooks (138, second), Calan Manley (144, fourth) and Like Hamiti (190, second).
For Edmond North, senior Joseph Jeter (175) was one of two wrestlers on his team to win an individual title. He had a pin or tech fall in every match leading up to the title bout with Baylor’s Titus Norman. He dominated that match from start to finish and took a 20-10 major decision.
“I don’t get to wrestle Missouri kids that often, so this was a great tournament,” Jeter said. “I wrestled four matches at Ironman and six here, so there is a lot of quantity.
“I felt really good in neutral. I was taking down most people I faced. I did gas out in the third period, so I can improve on that.”
Garrison Sartain (150) was the other Huskie to capture first place for Edmond North. He took down Baylor, Tennessee’s William Emendorfer 8-1 in the semifinals and topped Seckman, Missouri’s Chance Ruble 5-2 in the championship bout after getting an escape and takedown in the third period.
Others from Edmond North to place were Cale Richardson (120, eighth), Will Deutschlander (165, third) and Rhodes Molenda (235, fifth).
Other top finishers from Oklahoma included:
126: Piedmont’s Brody Huesel took seventh following a 7-1 decision over Maddox Fields of Melissa, Texas.
132: Westmoore’s Jackson Yeatman took fifth following a 12-2 major decision against Arkansas City, Kansas’ Kolby Quint in the fifth-place match.
157: Deer Creek’s Garon Kaiser, who took fifth following a medical forfeit against Christian Brother College’s Colin Rutlin in the fifth-place match.
215: Deer Creek’s Bennett Sartain finished in sixth after he had to exit the tournament via medical forfeit in his fifth-place match with Baylor, Tennessee’s Rock Shurette.
285: Edmond North’s Maddox Gregg took eighth place after a forfeit of his seventh-place match with Ozark, Missouri’s Isaiah Collins.
