No. 1 Sandite Wrestling thrashes No. 6 Union 68-9, wins 10 of 12 matches

By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

The No. 1 ranked Charles Page High School varsity wrestling team (4-0) continued their dominating undefeated streak with their biggest blowout of the season, and it was over their highest-ranked competitor yet. 

CPHS 68 Union 9

106 #3 Riley Weir forfeit.
113 #2 TJ Long d. #3 Tanner Ward 11-10
120 #4 Michael Ritchey d. #2 Caron Watson 5-0
126 #5 Blake Sargent p. Verdell Schoats 1:07
132 #1 Daton Fix p. Moises Davalos 1:02
138 #3 Jack Karstetter p. Ashad Rufia 1:42
145 #2 Beau Bratcher p. Cameron Traylor 5:38
152 #1 Payton Scott forfeit.
160 #8 Noah Almy t.f. Bryce Burdick 17-2
170 #2 Zane Basma p. Elijah Tomlin 1:22
182 Luke Bratcher p. Darius Boone 1:16
195 #10 Gage Fain p. John Bolton 1:40
220 #1 Delvin Jordan p. David Sandoval 0:21
285 #5 Elwood Tomlin p. Dominique Pipes 2:27

The Sandites traveled to No. 6 Union (2-2) and secured a 68-9 victory Tuesday evening. They received two forfeits and won ten out of twelve matches, including eight pins. Three of the Sandites' four duals this season were won by fifty points or more, but they can expect a far tougher opponent Thursday when they travel to No. 3 Broken Arrow (2-1).

Broken Arrow took third at the Geary Invitational while the Sandites placed fourth, but the Sandites forfeited two weight classes at Geary and were without Jack Karstetter and Zane Basma. Both wrestlers returned to the Sandite lineup Tuesday at Union. The Tigers fell 38-22 to No. 1 Choctaw (2-0) last Thursday.

Sophomore State Qualifier Riley Weir (15-6 season, 36-18 career) received a forfeit at 106 pounds and the Sandites had the lead for the duration of the dual.

Senior State-placer Tanner Ward (13-7, 89-19) had one of the toughest opponents in the State in TJ Long, a sophomore who recently upset a nationally ranked wrestler to win the Geary Championship. Ward struck first with an early takedown, but he couldn't hold Long more than a few seconds as the Union wrestler escaped and stayed on his feet throughout the first. Long started the second period down and immediately tied things up. He took the lead with 0:50 left in the second, but Ward escaped ten seconds later and scored a takedown of his own. Long reversed with four seconds left and added a trio of nearfall points as time expired. Ward started the third period down, escaped, scored a takedown, cut Long loose, then took him down again. He tied it up 10-10, but cut Long loose to look for more points. He didn't find any, and fell 11-10.

Senior State-qualifier Michael Ritchey (15-7, 44-31) had a tough opponent in Caron Watson, but didn't give up a single point in his win by decision. Ritchey scored first on a shot taken by Watson and utilized strong legwork to keep control of his opponent through the first period. He started the second period down and this time it was Watson who rode for the duration. Watson bottomed to start the third and this time Ritchey rolled him for three nearfall points early into the period. Watson avoided the pin, but fell by 5-0 decision.

Junior State-placer Blake Sargent (15-6, 67-20) had no difficulty with his opponent, scoring a takedown in five seconds and nearfall points on two separate occasions. He led Verdell Schoats 8-0 before finally getting the pin in 1:07. Oklahoma State University-signed senior Daton Fix (20-0, 138-0) was equally commanding in his victory. He led Moises Davalos 7-0 before getting his pin in 1:02.

Senior State Runner-Up Jack Karstetter (6-1, 79-16) made his first appearance on the mat since the Perry Tournament a month ago. He manhandled Ashad Rufia for a 6-0 lead before giving up a point on an illegal hold. He scored back-to-back nearfall points to make it 10-1 before pinning the Redskin in 1:42.

Senior State Runner-Up Beau Bratcher (17-5, 108-28) posted a quick two again Cameron Traylor, then added nearfall points for a 5-0 lead after the first. The second period started neutral and Traylor went on the offensive, but once more it was Bratcher with the only points of the period. The Sandite took a 7-0 lead into the third and started on bottom. He push it into major decision territory with an escape halfway through the period, but ended instead with a pin at 5:38.

Sophomore Noah Almy (9-9) quickly went to work on Bryce Burdick at 160 and led 6-0 with nearfall points before giving up an escape. Burdick nearly had a takedown of his own, but he was out of bounds and the young Sandite didn't give him another shot. Almy led 10-1 after the first, started the second neutral and quickly got a takedown. Burdick escaped, briefly, but was reeled right back in for back-to-back nearfalls and a 17-2 tech fall in only 2:56. 

Senior State-placer Zane Basma (5-1, 63-25) made his return at 170 after taking a month off to recover from Perry. He quickly worked over Elijah Tomlin for a 4-0 lead before pinning him in 1:22. Sophomore Luke Bratcher (3-0) took on Darius Boone at 182 and quickly ended the match. The two took half a dozen shots each before Bratcher got on top of his opponent and pinned him in 1:16. Junior Gage Fain (13-6, 26-28) took a 3-2 lead over John Bolton before getting the pin in 1:40.

Senior State Qualifier Delvin Jordan (19-2, 50-14) scored a huge takedown early into his match against David Sandoval before getting the pin in 0:21. Jordan leads the team with fifteen pins this season.

Sophomore Dominique Pipes (0-1, 0-3) made his season debut at heavyweight against State-qualifier Elwood Tomlin and put up a tough effort. He only trailed 2-0 after the first period, but Tomlin eventually worked up a 5-0 lead before pinning the Sandite in 2:27 to conclude the dual.