Long grabs gold at conference

A year ago, Isaac Long made it to the 126-pound final of the Western Conference Wrestling Tournament as a freshman.

Long was outlasted 8-7 by teammate Presten Coughlan in the fi nal match and had to settle for silver.

One year and two weight classes heavier, Long did no settling last weekend.

The KHS sophomore earnedan11-5decisionover Cache’s Marquez Dowell to win the 138-pound title at this year’s conference tournament at the APB.

Long went 4-0 in his bracket to become Kingfisher’s only champion for the weekend.

The Jackets took fi fth in the 22-team fi eld.

Elgin repeated as tournament champ with 253.5 points. The Owls had six wrestlers in the fi - nals with four of them winning gold.

Cache was runner-up with 200. The Bulldogs had two champs and two runners-up.

Heritage Hall, also with a pair of champions and two more runners-up, was third with 184 points.

Pawnee took fourth with 146 and Kingfisher scored 117.

Long was the lone Jacket to even make the fi nals.

One of Kingfisher’s favorites to get

to that point - senior Blake Neal at 182 pounds - suffered a major scare in his quest.

Neal was wrestling Morrison’s Hunter Goldman in the quarterfi nals when he knocked his head and suffered a seizure.

Neal had to be taken from the APB by paramedics. He was treated at OU Medical Center in Oklahoma City and released about 2 a.m. Saturday.

“I don’t know exactly how it happened,” Neal said. “I know I got knocked out and then my brain lost oxygen and it caused me to have the seizure.”

Kingfisher coaches said the injury was a mystery both live and from their own film of the match. They said Morrison coaches said it appeared Neal hit his head on his own knee during the match.

Goldman went on to win the 182-pound title.

The Jackets did have three bronze medal winners.

Dawson Garvin gave them one of them at 106 pounds.

After losing his semifinal match to Heritage Hall’s Davis Park, 11-4, Garvin won two straight matches for third place.

He pinned Anadarko’s Evan Eden at 5:16 in the third-place match. Davis won the weight class.

Zac Smith was third at 113 pounds.

He took on Elgin’s Tyler Johnson in the semifi nals, but lost 5-0. Johnson was the eventual champ.

Smith came back to beat Cache’s Aiden Folland by major decision and then edged Elgin’s Kevin Kenny, 7-4, for third.

Senior Jon Henry bounced back from a quarterfinal loss at 132 pounds to take third.

Henry lost 8-4 to Heritage Hall’s Boston Powell in the round-of-eight, but came back to earn three straight wins in the consolation bracket.

Henry bested Cache’s Ian Hodge in the third-place match.

Also for Kingfisher, Bryce Hawk took fi fth at 126 pounds while Ben Erwin was sixth at 120 and Grayson Bromlow sixth at 182.