Tuttle wrestling off to strong start with 'polar opposites' Beau Hickman, Ethan Teague

TUTTLE — Bobby Williams calls juniors Beau Hickman and Ethan Teague “complete polar opposites.”

The fourth-year Tuttle wrestling coach notes that the 144-pound Hickman, a two-time defending state champion at 132 and 138, is not a big talker.

“Real strong, really good in position,” Williams notes. “Mentally tough. Grind type of guy.”

Teague, on the other hand, is the defending state champion at 157 that Williams affectionately terms a “goofball” off the mat. But on?

“Really slick,” Williams said of the now 175-pounder. “Wants to add a lot of points.”

Though the two wrestlers may differ greatly in style and demeanor, it seemingly equates to the same robust level of complementary success as the headliners for Class 4A No. 1 Tuttle, a 71-3 winner over No. 12 Sulphur in a wrestling dual meet Thursday night at Tuttle.

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“It’s the little things for them,” Williams said of Hickman and Teague. “They know a lot of wrestling right now. Their mentalities and where they want to be in the future, their goals for themselves, are super high. Just working with them through those and finding ways to challenge those guys on a daily basis is a big deal to us right now. To make sure they are reaching their goals.”

Against Sulphur, Hickman and Teague recorded two of Tuttle’s nine pins as the Tigers improved to 3-0 in duals through the first two weeks of the season. Williams is not alone in taking notice of the differences between his two standouts. The wrestlers see it, too, and apply their observations to their respective arsenals.

“Just seeing the way Ethan moves and moves his people and sets his things up, definitely helps me out,” Hickman said. “Seeing more ways I can attack my opponents.”

“Beau is really tough on top and really good at a call,” Teague added. “I need to open up on top and Beau scores open, so I look to him to get advice on top and help blow matches open.”

With nearly two full seasons of wrestling left in their prep careers, the terrific tandem have both settled on a college wrestling destination. Last month – with a helpful nudge from their grandmothers – both Hickman and Teague verbally committed to Oklahoma State.

“It’s just a family,” Teague said. “I grew up really just an Oklahoma State fan. My grandma raised me to be. That is where she wanted me going, so I loved it since day one. There are not many other options than Oklahoma State.”

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“Being able to just know where I am going, get it out of the way, don’t have to worry about it,” said Hickman, who is ranked 14^th nationally at 144. “I have always liked OSU. Same with me, my grandma always pushed me to go to OSU. She went there. She loved them.”

With the commitments complete, Hickman and Teague can return to the business refining their craft and adding to the Tuttle wrestling dynasty. The Tigers have won the last 15 state championships in 4A, plus another 14 crowns in a row at Dual State.

“Everything little thing that they’re doing right now, I call them out on,” Williams said. “They don’t expect any different. They don’t want to just hear, ‘good job’ or anything like that, they want to hear how they can improve on things, so that is the big goal with those two.”

In addition to Hickman and Teague, Tuttle returns a pair of state runners-up in 165-pounder Shawn Rounsaville – who wrestled at 150 last year – and Cody Abston (215). Chance Fisher (120) placed third at state at 106 last season, while heavyweight Jace Warren placed fourth.

Tuttle is one of 14 teams ranked in the top-50 nationally that will compete at the National Wrestling Hall of Fame Duals in Stillwater Dec. 21. Despite the loss of eight state-qualifiers to graduation, Williams has been pleased with the wrestlers that have eagerly stepped up to fill those spots. It is a hallmark of the Tuttle program.

“Our intensity is there, that is the main thing,” Williams said. “Our guys are hustling. There are a lot of technical things that we still have to work on right now, that is for sure. But the energy is there. That is the one thing that I am seeing that I really like right now out of them. It’s still early in the season. Our shape looks good and our energy is high. Trying to score a lot of points.”

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Class 4A No. 1 Tuttle 71, No. 12 Sulphur 3

AT TUTTLE HIGH SCHOOL

• 106: Maxwell Bradley, Tuttle, won by forfeit

• 113: Cooper Jackson, Tuttle, pinned Noah Heitland, 3:39

• 120: Chance Fisher, Tuttle, pinned Landon Jones, 4:37

• 126: Rylend Slover, Tuttle, pinned Aiden Graves. 1:28

• 132: Bode Wilson, Tuttle, tech. fall Landy Dearman, 18-2

• 138: Thomas London, Tuttle, pinned Jonah Cole, 1:03

• 144: Beau Hickman, Tuttle, pinned Jadyn McClure, 2:44

• 150: Beau Tinder, Tuttle, dec. Kaleb Madron, 9-8

• 157: Eli Probst, Tuttle, dec. Maddax Mobly, 7-3

• 165: Shawn Rounsaville, Tuttle, pinned Jett Runyan, 1:01

• 175: Ethan Teague, Tuttle, pinned Grady Hardoin, 1:20

• 190: Noah Mcdoulett, Tuttle, pinned Ethan Kennedy, 0:51

• 215: Cody Abston, Tuttle, pinned Garren Green, 4:32

• 285: Justus Gilliam, Sulphur, dec. Jace Warren, 3-0.

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Tuttle wrestling off to strong start with Beau Hickman, Ethan Teague