Stillwater High wrestling already is aware of it will likely be an uphill battle to win its third-straight Class 6A state title this weekend in Oklahoma City.
The Pioneers will begin the match at a numbers drawback to their prime competitors – Edmond North, which Stillwater beat for the twin state crown.
The Huskies certified all 14 weights, whereas the Pioneers have two empty weights. North additionally has the benefit in seeding with 9 regional champions and 4 runners-up, to Stillwater’s eight regional champs and a pair of runners-up.
With Stillwater missing in numbers, it’s doubtless going to come down to the all-important bonus factors alongside the way in which.
That’s what helped them in edging Bixby by 20 factors in the Class 6A East regional. The Pioneers amassed 37 bonus-point victories in the regional match with 26 of these being pins for the most important bonus factors potential.
“I’ve heard on TV that they say defense wins championships. Well in wrestling at the high school state tournament, bonus points win championships,” SHS coach Ethan Kyle stated. “… Just breaking it down, putting it in the back of their minds … we’re not just going out to try and sneak by and get victories with minimal performance. We’re looking to dominate.”
It’s additionally very doubtless that the workforce title will come down to avoiding any upsets alongside the way in which to potential state title matches in opposition to the Huskies. Then it may come the head-to-head title conferences between Stillwater and Edmond North, of which SHS held the benefit in their final competitors.
In reality, every of the 4 weight courses in which each groups sport the highest seed from their respective regionals, Stillwater was victorious in their earlier head-to-heads.
“There’s a couple of mottos that we rehearse with the guys about sleeping on a win, you’re gonna wake up with a loss and comparing yourself to who you were yesterday, not who somebody else is today,” Kyle stated. “Our guys know that you don’t get credit for previous wins other than the seed, which that’s not even relevant in this scenario. So the guys are hungry to go out and maintain those victories.”
One manner Stillwater may get an early benefit earlier than Saturday’s medal rounds will probably be at 126 kilos.
JJ McComas, who was the state runner-up final yr, misplaced his regional match to Bixby’s Gage Walker, which landed McComas on the half of the 126-pound bracket with Edmond North’s Brayden Belford. If seeding holds true, McComas and Belford would meet in the state semifinals in a matchup McComas gained by 6-0 determination in the twin state finals.
“The overall message that you can apply to all these scenarios is you control your destiny with your performance if we perform up to our capabilities,” Kyle stated. “… There’s a lot of things that we don’t control, but we can control our own performance, and our destiny will be in our hands.”
McComas, who gained a state title as a freshman, is considered one of 5 former Oklahoma state champions in the lineup for the Pioneers.
So there’s a pedigree all through of realizing what it takes to win.
The most notable of the lot is senior Cael Hughes, who’s trying to turn into the primary four-time particular person state champion for Stillwater High since Chris Perry. His weight class is one which incorporates a top-seeded contender from North in Hunter Hollingsworth – and their 132-pound assembly at twin state was one of many nearer contests with Hughes holding off for a 4-2 determination.
“Give him credit for approaching it the same way he always has,” Kyle stated of Hughes’ practices this week. “It’s his goal on a daily basis to win and when you’re in practice that means outworking everybody else in the room – and that’s what he does.
“He’s just been a really consistent guy, and this week is no different.”
Looking to stay on the identical trajectory as Hughes will probably be sophomore LaDarion Lockett. Stillwater’s starter at 157 kilos is trying for his second-straight state title after claiming the crown at 145 kilos a yr in the past.
Junior Kael Voinovich (150 kilos) is taking intention at repeating as a state champion after working his manner again from a knee harm he sustained on the twin state match to win the regional crown.
Newcomer AJ Heeg (190), who gained a pair of state titles at Edmond Memorial, is trying to cap his prep profession with another with the Pioneers earlier than becoming a member of the Oklahoma State wrestling program.
Fellow senior Sam Smith (120) is hoping to bounce again from his runner-up finish at state final yr by closing out his highschool profession as a two-time state champion and three-time state finalist.
Looking to win their first particular person state titles and popping out as regional champions are sophomore Aydan Thomas (106) and Landyn Sommer (165). Both may discover themselves dealing with off with Edmond North wrestlers in the finals in rematches they every gained at twin state – Thomas getting a 6-2 determination over Jake Goodin, and Sommer stifling Jude Randall in a 5-1 determination.
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