Edmond North, Deer Creek fall in quarterfinals of 6A Dual State

Both of Edmond’s high schools sent West into the 6A fray of Dual State failed to advance out of Friday’s quarterfinal action. Edmond North lost in the seeded 4/5 Dual 34-31 to Sand Springs; Deer Creek fell to the second-seeded Broken Arrow Tigers 42-12. Edmond North’s Jake McCoy got a major-decision, 10-0 win at 220-pounds on Friday afternoon, but the initial rounds of the Dual State Bracket started at 195-pounds. That start set-up Sand Springs to ride momentum from an 11-1 win from the Sandites’ Kaden Glass, and, despite McCoy’s convincing, early win, Sand Springs took four of the first five pairings in Shawnee’s FireLake Arena. North’s Nate Becker fought the tide, though. Grappling on the ground for the greater part of the first two-minutes, neither him nor his opponent Riley Weir were able to wrestle control. Instead, just before the the first period ended, Becker shot in, and immediately transitioned his takedown into a pin-fall win 1:51 into the match. But the Sandites rattled off another run. Taking the next two weights on a fall- and major-decision, Sand Springs netted in another 10 team-points to extend their lead back to 15, just before their chance at closing things out at 138-. Edmond North’s Josh Parks had other plans. Wrestling in what could have been the deciding match, Parks pinned Joseph Mattison midway through the second period. The pin came on great in-game management, too. Headed into that second frame up 11-0, Parks had limited chances at a full six team points before any failed pin attempts — and the associated near-fall points — would push him into technical-fall territory. After the decision was deferred to North, Parks and head coach Andy Schneider elected for the unconventional top selection. Had they selected either neutral or down spots, they could only be guaranteed one try at a fall. Instead, the top selection guaranteed at least two tries. Park’s pin came on his second fall try one minute into the period. Jaxon Randall and Charles Floyd then gave the Huskies two of the next three pairings via minor and fall, respectively. The wins set North within three points with just two matches remaining. North’s Braden Bowman then fell to Chris Kirby early in the second period, and the Sandites’ newly-found six points put the match out of reach. Bowmen had initially fought off a hip-throw late in the first period that kept the match alive, but Kirby then employed the same move to best him early in the second. The match was even closer than the final score showed. Had either of North’s 1-point losses gone the other way Friday afternoon, they would have advanced into the Saturday’s semifinals. Even Garrett McBride almost stole the match at Friday’s 106-pound clash. The Sandites and Christian Forbes greedily chased a major-decision win late in the third period, and McBride quickly flipped a takedown attempt into immediate back-points. But, time expired just as McBride looked to take the match via fall. Deer Creek saw the same outcome Friday afternoon, but the loss could be seen as an improvement. Wrestling highly-touted Broken Arrow for the second Dual State Tournament in a row — even squaring off on the same exact mat — the Antlers took four total pairings in a 42-12 loss. Last year, they only took a single frame. Creek’s Carson Savage took the first pairing of the dual Friday 9-2 over Gavin Potter. And, even after Broken Arrow took the next seven matches, Deer Creek still held on to a chance. Parker Wright, Micah Lugafet and Tim Trigg made good on their team’s efforts, winning the 138-,145- and 152-pound pairings on three minor decisions. The wins, combined with just a single fall- and major-loss over the dual’s first 10 pairings meant Creek was within 13 points with three matches remaining. Broken Arrow swept the final trio of pairings, though, on a minor, technical- and pin-fall wins to take the quarterfinal match by 30 team points.

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EDMOND NORTH, DEER CREEK FALL IN QUARTERFINALS OF 6A DUAL STATE

AARON ALBERTSON

Edmond Sun | 2/9/2019

PHOTO CREDIT: North Athletics