Jackets impress coach at dual tournament

Steven Wilson wanted to try something new this season and wasn’t sure what to expect.

Needless to say, the Kingfisher High School wrestling coach was happy with the results.

The Jackets opted out of this year’s Perry Tournament of Champions and instead took part in the Newkirk Dual Tournament Dec. 8-9.

“This was a decision we made earlier in the school year,” Wilson said. “Most tournaments we travel to are double-elimination style and if you lose two (matches) early, you’re not competing the rest of the weekend.

“This was something where we could give our guys - especially our younger wrestlers - more match time.”

The first day of the dual tournament saw KHS go undefeated in its pool.

The Jackets beat Victory Christian 42-33, Hennessey 54-24 and Southeast 51-24. There was also a victory over “mystery” opponents, which featured wrestlers from multiple other teams.

The momentum carried over into Saturday when they beat Newkirk 46-21 and Cleveland 36-18 and KHS took first in its pool.

In the quarterfinal round, they were able to knock off Woodward 4234, setting up a semifinal showdown with Tonkawa.

The Jackets were instantly put in a hole as they gave up three forfeits and a pin in the first four weight classes.

Jaxson Sheppard put an end to the run with a fall over Isaiah Lively at 132 pounds.

That started a string of four consecutive pins by the Jackets as Brayden Kochenower, Damien Haynes and Jace Johnson followed suit.

Haynes got the pin at 144 and Johnson at 150, the latter of which tied the score at 24-all.

“Both of these young men came up big the entire weekend,” said Wilson, noting that both went 7-1 in their matches.

Tonkawa got a pin and a forfeit at the next two weights before Mason Alig grabbed a fall in the second period of his 175-pound match.

Tonkawa pushed its lead back to 12 with a pin at 190, but Landon Schroeder’s forfeit win made it a six-point dual entering the heavyweight match.

Jose Santoyo, a 215-pounder, bumped up in weight to take on Jeffery Lieb.

He needed a pin to tie the score and was giving up 45 pounds to Lieb, a natural heavyweight.

Santoyo didn’t get the pin, but he did get an 11-3 major-decision.

That gave KHS four points, meaning Tonkawa advanced to the finals with a narrow 42-40 victory.

Pawhuska won the tournament by beating Tonkawa 51-24 in the championship.

“Overall, the weekend was better than I expected going in,” Wilson said.

He noted freshmen like Sheppard and Adan Mendez grabbed some quality wins over the course of the tournament and “team leaders Braden Kochenower and Gant Browning continued their success from the preseason tournaments.”

The showing helped Kingfisher show up in this week’s dual rankings.

KHS is currently No. 15 in Class 3A.

“I think this is the first time we’ve been ranked since probably 2017 or 2018,” Wilson noted.

Barnett wins weight class; Hamil 2nd in Cache While the boys team was two hours north of Kingfisher, the Lady Jackets’ wrestlers were two hours south.

Several took part in the “Wrestle Like a Girl” Cache Invitational.

Seventh grader Aislin Barnett won the 180-pound bracket in the junior high division.

Emily Hamil, also a seventh grader, was the runner-up at 89 pounds in the junior high division.

Delissa Evans, a freshman, took an early loss in the 145-pound bracket of the junior high division.

She came back to win four straight matches, but hit her six-match limit for one day.

That kept her from advancing into the consolation semifinals.