Oklahoma high school dual state wrestling: Elgin wins 5A title; Marlow claims 3A crown
ENID — Elgin coach Cody Rowell had a good feeling his team would start strong against Coweta in the Class 5A dual state wrestling tournament finals.
With the dual beginning at 190 pounds, Rowell and the Owls knew they’d be opening in a great part of their lineup.
“We knew we could get up five or six matches right off of the bat,” Rowell said.
Rowell’s hunch proved to be correct as Elgin claimed victories in the first five matches of the dual.
The Owls used that great start to fuel a 38-28 victory Saturday night at Stride Bank Center and claim a second straight dual state crown, their only two in school history.
Three of Elgin’s first five victories ended with pins.
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Colyn Donnely opened the dual at 190 with a fall before Ritson Meyer did the same at 215. Heavyweight Jace Williams followed with a victory via decision, then 106-pounder Talon Tahdooahnippah and 113-pounder Hunter Jackson won by fall and major decision, respectively.
With a 26-0 lead, Elgin cruised from there, although Coweta did show some life.
“It’s extremely important,” Rowell said of starting strong in duals. “Our team feeds off of momentum.”
Elgin’s other winners were Braxten Antuna (138), Gage Elam (144), Kason Meyer (157) and Gabe Dittmeyer (165). All won with decisions.
Elgin was the No. 2 seed this year, while Coweta was No. 1.
Elgin was battle-tested heading into the finals after beginning the day with a 40-30 victory against Guthrie in the quarterfinals and posting a 38-31 win against Chickasha in the semifinals.
“We knew that we were going to have to come in here and battle,” Antuna said. “It wasn’t going to be easy. We got the second seed, so we knew that it was going to be a battle. We had the hard way through and we just had to push through it.”
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Class 3A: Marlow knocks off defending champion Blackwell
While Elgin used a strong start to win in Class 5A, Marlow’s championship victory in Class 3A was the complete opposite.
The Outlaws lost four of their first five matches against defending champion Blackwell before bouncing back and pulling away for a 42-28 victory, claiming their sixth dual state crown.
Heavyweight Clete Gilbert was Marlow’s lone winner in its first five matches of the dual as he pinned Stoney Hutson.
But the Outlaws turned things around, beginning with Tommy Miller’s victory by major decision at 120.
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Marlow won all but one match after that.
Among the remaining Marlow wrestlers earning victories were 126-pounder Marcus Williams (major decision), 132-pounder Keller Kizarr (decision), 138-pounder Brantz Bateman (pin), 150-pounder Clint Ladon (major decision), 157-pounder Zach Dawson (pin), 165-pounder Cade Gilbert (decision) and 175-pounder Lawson Knox (forfeit).
Although Marlow fell behind early, wrestlers like Williams — a senior — made sure the team didn’t lose faith in itself.
“Just be confident,” said Williams, who spent his first three seasons of high school in New Mexico and will continue his career at Arkansas-Little Rock.
“Have some swagger out there. We’re the best, so we gotta wrestle like the best. Even though we were down a lot, that didn’t mean nothing. We have some tough guys, and we're going to go in there and get some pins and get a win.”
Marlow reached the championship after beating Perry 73-0 in the quarterfinals and defeating Pawnee 53-21 in the semifinals.
The Outlaws lost to Blackwell 38-32 in the finals last year.
“First dual, we came out, we wrestled pretty well,” Marlow coach Andy Howington said. “And then we kind of tapered off a little bit. I was explaining to them, 'We can’t be doing that with a team like Blackwell. They’re tough. Well-coached.’ I knew we were going to have to wrestle our best.”
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Live updates
The Oklahoma high school dual state wrestling tournament finals for Classes 5A and 3A are being held Saturday night at Stride Bank Center.
Follow along for live updates.
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Class 5A: Elgin 38, Coweta 28 (final)
The Owls win their second straight dual state title. They finished strong as 157-pounder Kason Meyer defeated Ben Mendenhall with an 8-5 decision and 165-pounder Gabe Dittmeyer defeated Baylor Bart in a 5-4 tiebreaker. Coweta 175-pounder Brock Heilmann was awarded the victory in the final match of the night as Elgin forfeited.
Class 3A: Marlow 42, Blackwell 28
The Outlaws claim their sixth dual state crown. The dual ended as Marlow 175-pounder Lawson Knox won by forfeit. The 165-pound match was a tight battle, with Marlow’s Cade Gilbert coming away with the win in a 4-2 decision against Lawson Lusk.
Class 5A updates: Elgin 32, Coweta 22
After a rough start, Coweta is showing some life. Elgin 113-pounder Hunter Jackson beat Logan Kerr via an 18-1 technical fall, but Coweta won the following three matches as 120-pounder Tohmi Carney pinned Brice Martin at 120, Legend Ellis pinned Dylen Lazzar at 126 and 132-pounder Toby Shipman defeated Dylan Brown via a 9-1 major decision. Elgin bounced back as 138-pounder Braxton Antuna edged Colby Eighinger in a 3-2 decision before 144-pounder Gage Elam defeated Brian Ballard in a 5-2 decision. At 150, Coweta’s Brock Roberts pinned Juan Soto.
Class 3A updates: Marlow 33, Blackwell 28
Marlow has put together an impressive comeback. The Outlaws got four straight wins, beginning with Tommy Miller’s 8-0 major decision over Madden Edgar at 120 pounds. Marcus Williams followed that at 126 with a 15-2 major decision against Sabon Batton before 132-pounder Keller Kizarr beat Peyton Head in a 3-2 decision and 138-pounder Brantz Bateman pinned Laker Ingram. Blackwell retook the lead as 144-pounder Grant Rowe pinned Jackson Salie, but Marlow responded as 150-pounder Clint Ladon won his match with an 11-3 major decision against Lane Looper and 157-pounder Zach Dawson pinned Andrew Young.
Class 5A updates: Elgin 21, Coweta 0
An incredible start for defending champion Elgin, which is ranked second and behind Coweta. Three of the first four matches ended with a fall. Elgin 190-pounder Colyn Donnelly pinned Jaden Finley in the first match of the dual before Ritson Meyer pinned Hunter Reavis at 215. Heavyweight Jace Williams extended the lead with a 1-0 decision over Deacon Peterson, and 106-pounder Talon Tahdooahnippah pinned Caleb Jones.
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Class 3A updates: Blackwell 22, Marlow 6
Second-ranked Blackwell, the defending champion, began the dual with a pair of falls against No. 1 Marlow. Jason Osgood got things started at 190 pounds as he pinned Gage Hixon before Kruz Goff did the same against Brock Smith at 215. Marlow heavyweight Clete Gilbert pinned Stoney Hutson, but Blackwell won the following two matches as 106-pounder Jaxson Brown beat Daxton Halliburton via an 11-1 major decision and Louden Wolfe pinned Justin Choate at 113.
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This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Oklahoma HS wrestling 2024 OSSAA dual state: Elgin, Marlow win titles
