Oklahoma high school wrestling: Edmond North wins 79th annual Geary Invitational
GEARY — The Edmond North wrestling program was fueled with motivation heading into this past offseason.
The Huskies have placed second behind Stillwater at the last two Class 6A state tournaments and lost by just one point in 2023.
Losing is tough, but a defeat that narrow is even more agonizing.
“They put in a lot of work over the summer,” Edmond North coach Andy Schneider said. “That’s the thing. Everyone knew we had a good group coming back. But these guys, a lot of them put in three workouts a day.”
Those strenuous days appear to have paid off for Edmond North.
The Huskies dominated the 79th annual Geary Invitational as they claimed the title Saturday with 244½ points, finishing ahead of Stillwater (135) and Broken Arrow (94½).
From 106-pounder Tommy Baker to heavyweight Ricky Thomas, Edmond North’s lineup doesn’t have many weaknesses.
'We're ready for anybody': Edmond Memorial tops Choctaw to win Bishop McGuinness Classic
The Huskies had nine wrestlers who claimed titles Saturday — Baker, Thomas, Devon Miller (120), Hunter Hollingsworth (138), Layton Schneider (144), Joseph Jeter (150), Kody Routledge (157), Jude Randall (175) and Oscar Williams (215).
“To have the success we had this weekend was amazing,” Andy Schneider said. “Feel really blessed.”
Routledge had one of the biggest wins of the day.
The junior defeated Stillwater senior and OU signee Landyn Sommer 4-3. Sommer went undefeated as a junior and hadn’t lost this season until facing Routledge in Saturday’s championship match.
“A couple of times we’ve matched up with him, we’ve lost to him,” Schneider said. “So it was a big win. It was a close match, so I’m sure they’ll meet again a few more times.”
Here are some other takeaways from the tournament.
Stillwater star LaDarion Lockett named Most Outstanding Wrestler
Stillwater junior 165-pounder LaDarion Lockett was named the tournament’s Most Outstanding Wrestler.
An Oklahoma State commit and two-time Class 6A champion, Lockett pinned all four of his opponents.
“I’ve been trying to show my capability here and show the best version of me,” Lockett said. “The team, we’re not as good this year. We lost some guys, so I’m trying to score as much team points as possible for the team. I never won Outstanding Wrestler, so I was really trying to do that.”
Lockett is one of the top recruits in the nation.
His top list of schools also included Arizona State, Iowa, Iowa State and Arkansas-Little Rock alongside OSU.
He announced his commitment last month.
“It was probably one of the hardest decisions of my life,” Lockett said. “I really had no idea where I wanted to go. It was no guarantee of me going to Oklahoma State. I really thought I was going to go to another college for the longest time.”
Lockett has faith he’ll thrive with the Cowboys.
“It’s just home," he said. "It’s family, friends, comfort. I know I can grow there. See what they did yesterday, we just beat the No. 4 team in the country (North Carolina State), so we’re coming back. We’re building back on top. We got a lot of homegrown kids in there like (former Stillwater High stars) Cael Hughes and Sam Smith.”
More: Oklahoma high school basketball: Putnam West, Midwest City win Putnam City Invitational
Del City’s Liam Daniels wins 190-pound crown
It’s been a wild senior year for Liam Daniels.
A 190-pounder, he began his season at Edmond North but is now at Del City.
He showed up to the Geary Invitational hungry, and he left with a title after defeating Arlington-Martin’s Ryan Rainey in the finals. Daniels beat the Texan in a 7-0 decision.
“A lot of hard matches with a lot of good wrestlers, but I’m just glad to come out and do what I do,” Daniels said.
Daniels is settling in and enjoying his new spot.
“It’s a little bit of a culture change,” he said. “But, I mean, I found a family there very quick. They’re all really hard workers in the room, and I can respect that about anybody. So I’ve found a lot of respect and camaraderie already there, and it’s been great honestly.”
More: Which Oklahoma high school football players are committed to FBS programs?
Other standout performances
● Class 4A Tuttle placed fourth in the team standings with 77½ points. Junior 144-pounder Beau Hickman, an OSU commit, had the highest finish out of all the wrestlers from his school. He lost to Edmond North's Layton Schneider 5-2 in the semifinals but finished strong and ended the tournament by pinning Arlington-Martin’s Nicholas Zamora in the second-place match.
● Stillwater senior JJ McComas won the 132-pound championship. The OSU signee beat Edmond North’s Hudson Hackbarth 14-5 in the finals.
Nick Sardis covers high school sports for The Oklahoman. Have a story idea for Nick? He can be reached at nsardis@oklahoman.com or on Twitter at @nicksardis. Sign up for The Varsity Club newsletter to access more high school coverage. Support Nick's work and that of other Oklahoman journalists by purchasing a digital subscription today at subscribe.oklahoman.com.
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Oklahoma HS wrestling: Edmond North wins 79th Geary Invitational
