One of the best rivalries of this high school season has been in the center of the country in Oklahoma with #8 Stillwater and #13 Edmond North duking it out on multiple occasions.

It began with Stillwater out-placing Edmond North at Ironman – finishing sixth and eighth, respectively. Stillwater then took fourth place at the Hall of Fame Dual Classic in late December with Edmond North finishing fifth in a tournament where the two teams did not meet.

In their third shared date of the season, Edmond North flipped the script, beating Stillwater by 10 team points at the COAC Tournament. Not long after, Stillwater got back on top, beating out Edmond North by over 20 points at the Yukon Jay Hancock Memorial Invitational.

“We’re very parallel programs — we have a lot going on and a lot of good kids that end up on our team. We have a ton of support from around our community,” Stillwater coach Ethan Kyle said. “I think it drives a lot of Oklahoma wrestling to know that there’s a standard. If kids want to compete, then they have to go to a very high level. It’s easy to go to practice when you have some of the best kids in the country on your weekend high school tournament schedule.”

Then came this weekend’s dual between these two in the final of the Oklahoma Class 6A Dual State Championships, one of the most thrilling of the year.

Starting the dual at 285 pounds, Edmond North jumped out to an 11-0 lead with a pin and a tech, but the damage was minimized just enough with a backup 106-pounder in against #12 Turner Ross, according to Kyle. By not giving up the pin and making Ross settle for the tech fall, Nate Phillips saved a very valuable team point.

“He goes out against a nationally ranked stud who’s placed at every tournament he’s wrestled in, and he minimizes the damage for his team,” Kyle said. “I sent him a text the day after and said, ‘Nate, I know you’re disappointed and you don’t think that getting teched is a victory, but your point won us the dual state championship. I hope you recognize that.’”

Stillwater then hit back with a pin from #3 Ignacio Villasenor at 113 pounds and a close 1-0 decision by Ayden Thomas at 120 pounds, cutting the dual deficit to 11-9.

“Ayden Thomas gritted out a win in a match that wasn’t going the way he preferred it to go,” Kyle said. “He didn’t sabotage himself or get prideful and look for too much, and he just stayed in the sweet spot for his team.”

The two teams then traded decisions at 126 and 132 before Edmond North won two decisions in a row – one was considered a win for the team as backup 132-pounder Gabriel Aguirre bumped up to 144 and held Garrison Sartain to a 4-0 decision.

“Just stylistically and the matchup and the gravity of the situation,” said Kyle about using Aguirre up in weight. “I think the state championship has to go through (Sartain), and we had a backup 132-pounder that went up there and lost 4-0, so that saved 1-2-3 bonus points.”

In a toss-up match at 150 pounds, Stillwater’s Jaedan Adams beat Will Deutschlander 2-1, keeping Stillwater within striking range with the dual score 20-15. Edmond North then nearly slammed the door on Stillwater with a pair of pins at 157 and 165 – #9 Joseph Jeter pinned #10 Ishmael Guerrero, and #5 Kody Routledge got a pin in just 38 seconds to put his team up 32-15 with just three matches to go.

Needing at least two pins and a tech in the final three bouts, Stillwater started with a 24-second stick by Jakoby Petree at 175 pounds before two of their best bumped up in weight. The top-ranked 175-pounder in the country and a U20 World champion, Ladarion Lockett bumped up to 190 for the second time this year and delivered for his team as he stuck his opponent to the mat with just a couple seconds left in the first period.

Needing a tech for a tie or a pin for the win, Stillwater’s 190-pounder Ethan Teague delivered in a hurry at 215, pinning his opponent in just 16 seconds for the 33-32 dual win, bringing the state dual title back to Stillwater. After Stillwater won it three years in a row from 2021-23, Edmond North won it last year.

According to Kyle, the team’s focus on doing their job was the difference in this one.

“The theme all the last two weeks building up to this event was that all 14 guys have a job to do, and that’s to maximize their impact for the team – not for themselves or how good they want to look,” Kyle said. 

Kyle — in his fifth season at Stillwater — wrestled at Oklahoma State under John Smith from 2003-07. He then went on to be an Olympic training partner before serving 11 years at Wyoming as an assistant coach before taking the job in Oklahoma, and it’s those experiences in wrestling being around some of the best in the world that has molded Kyle and helped him achieve the success he’s had.

“I’ve been unbelievably blessed throughout my wrestling career to have found myself around these unbelievable people,” Kyle said. “I was Eric Guerrero’s training partner at the Athens Olympics Games (in 2004) and I’m in the warm-up area with Steve Abas, Cael Sanderson, (Buvaisar) Satiev and (Mavlet) Batirov. I’ve just been around so much wrestling and obviously I was coached by John (Smith) and got to work with Mark Branch for 11 years while he built Wyoming into what it is. I’ve just had these monumental experiences in the wrestling world.”

When you combine that with the talent that has gravitated to Stillwater, it’s a recipe for success — especially with a generational talent like Lockett.

“I can’t say enough about Dee — I really can’t,” Kyle said. “I didn’t have to explain anything to Dee in the last year and a half at least. Anytime I talk to Dee about something, he gets it and is right on it, and half the time he’s already thought about it as well. His wrestling IQ is just impeccable. I’d say that his biggest impact is the influence that he embraces on our team.”

Much of that success is due to his dad Jasper Lockett, someone who has been instrumental to the Oklahoma youth wrestling scene, according to Kyle.

“Dee’s dad, Jasper, is worth his weight in gold to the Stillwater wrestling community and the Oklahoma wrestling community,” Kyle said. “The amount that he puts into the youth wrestlers in our club and around the state on Schoolboy Duals and Cadet Duals — you couldn’t ask for more. It’s a pinch-yourself situation for a high school coach.”

SJR downs Delbarton at NJ State Duals

Six ranked teams competed in New Jersey’s non-public Class A State Dual Championships last weekend — #8 Delbarton, #11 St. Joseph Regional, #28 St. Peter’s Prep, #31 St. John Vianney, #32 Christian Brothers Academy, and #34 Bergen Catholic.

Going into the tournament, Delbarton was the favorite, but it fell to St. Joseph Regional in the final 30-26 – SJR entered the weekend ranked #23 and moved all the way up to #11 in this week’s Flo 40 with the win. Delbarton dropped a couple spots from #6 to #8.

SJR downed St. Peter’s Prep in the semifinal round 39-21, while Delbarton beat St. John Vianney 45-17 in the semis, setting up their showdown in the final. 

In the final dual, Delbarton took the early lead after a decision win by #6 Cameron Sontz at 113 pounds, but SJR tied things up at 120 with a decision by #8 Johnathon McGinty. SJR went on to win the next two matches, but Delbarton hit back when #16 Chase Quenault upset #11 Adrian DeJesus 9-2 at 138. 

After another decision win for SJR at 144, Delbarton’s #2 Jayden James pinned his opponent in under a minute at 150. Delbarton then won the next two matches — one via tech fall and the other a forfeit — to take a commanding 23-13 lead.

SJR responded by taking four of the final five bouts, headlined by a tech fall by #3 Ryan Burton at 175 pounds. They also got decision wins by #14 Christian Alvarez at 285 and #3 Jojo Burke at 106 to win the dual.

Buchanan Downs Clovis at California Section D1

Two of the best programs in California competed in California’s Central Section D1 Championships this past weekend with #7 Buchanan beating #19 Clovis in the team standings. Buchanan scored 311 points, while Clovis scored 287. Clovis North finished third with 230 points.

Buchanan had 10 finalists and six champions to pace the field, led by #4 Paul Ruiz at 115 pounds and #6 Ashton Besmer at 134 winning individual titles. At 159 pounds, #16 Leo Contino won his bracket, while #19 Ivan Arias won at 152. Also winning titles for Buchanan were Rocklin Zinkin at 122 and Paris Ruiz at 128, 

Clovis had eight finalists and five champs, led by #2 Nikade Zinkin at 146 pounds. He bonused his way into the final before taking out #4 Joseph Toscano of Buchanan in the final in tiebreakers. Additionally, Anthony Garza (108), Wyatt Lewis (167), Adrien Reyes (177) and Mark Marin (285) also won individual titles for Clovis.

Clovis North had two champions with both Leo Maestas (140) and Johathan Rocha (192) winning their brackets.

Sem Outlasts Malvern To Win National Prep Qualifier

Two of the top teams in the country competed at the PAIWST National Prep Qualifier with #4 Wyoming Seminary outlasting #5 Malvern Prep. Sem scored 339 team points and Malvern scored 320.

Both teams have been dealing with some key injuries this year and were down some of their best wrestlers, such as #2 Nathan Desmond and #8 Vince Bouzakis for Sem and #11 Lukas Littleton-Mascaro for Malvern Prep. Despite this, they still finished 1-2 here, displaying the impressive depth in their lineups.

Wyoming Sem had nine individual champs and was led by #1 Jude Correa at 215 pounds. He pinned his way through the tournament to be named the tournament’s Most Outstanding Wrestler. Wyatt Spencer also pinned his way through the tournament at 113 pounds.