Mid-Del wrestlers place at Malcolm Wade Invitational
Grant Gober placed second at the Malcolm Wade Invitational last Saturday at Carl Albert High School. (Photo by Jeff Harrison)
By Jeff Harrison
Midwest City Beacon
Mid-Del wrestlers claimed medals last week at the Malcolm Wade Invitational at Carl Albert High School.
At least one wrestler from each school reached the tournament finals during the two-day event.
The host Titans had eight placers at their tournament – half who placed second at their weight class, Del City finished with four and Midwest City had three placers.
Duncan won the tournament with 234 points and 12 placers. Glenpool finished second with 190.5 points and four individual champions. Carl Albert took sixth place with 133 points, Midwest City was ninth and Del City placed 13th overall.
The tournament included several of the top 5A schools.
Carl Albert’s Grant Gober (126 pounds), Nathan Sutterfield (152), Jackson Jones (160) and Alex Sutterfield (182) each placed runner-up.
Midwest City’s Kaleb Kerr took second at the Carl Albert Malcolm Wade Invitational. (Photo by Jeff Harrison)
Gober opened the tournament with wins over McAlester’s Zach Vaughn (11-1 major decision), and Braden Hall (8-4), before facing Glenpool’s Mike Edwards in the finals. Edwards took the title with an 11-6 decision.
Nathan Sutterfield pinned his first two opponents, but lost to Glenpool’s Gus Edwards in the finals, 6-4.
Jones also won his first two matches, including a fall against Brayden Nelson of Glenpool. But he was later pinned by Cory Hicks of Durant in the 160-pound finals.
Alex Sutterfield dominated at 182 pounds. He racked up two falls and a major decision on his way to the finals. But his run to a title stopped with a 5-3 loss to Sam Anderson of Shawnee.
Kasen Miller placed third at 113 pounds, Brock Johnson was fifth at 195 and Isaiah Matanane (170) and Michael Baker (220) booth came in sixth.
Carl Albert coach Curt Hodges liked what he saw from his crew last weekend.
“We were really pleased with how we wrestled over the weekend,” said Carl Albert coach Curt Hodges. “The medal matches, we were looking for better results, but we just needed to be more offensive early in those matches and get our takedowns going. The tournament always gives us an idea where we are against other Class 5A teams and we are in a good spot moving forward to Regionals.”
Carl Albert also had three girls compete last weekend. Rachel Gober placed second, Janelle Lynch was fourth and Sarah Flemming took fifth.
“Our girls, Rachel Gober, Janelle Lynch and Sarah Flemming got several matches in the tournament as they prepare for Girls Regionals on Feb. 8,” Hodges said. “They are practicing just like the boys working hard every day and we are super proud of them for their efforts.”
Del City had four placers, led by senior Riddick Nash who took second at 106 pounds.
Del City’s Kyron Lindsey goes for a pin at the Malcolm Wade Invitational. (Photo by Jeff Harrison)
After a forfeit in his first match, Nash beat Tag Ensey of Duncan in the semifinals. But Nash couldn’t pull out the gold medal as he was pinned late in the first period by Cash Donnell, of Piedmont.
Del City’s Colby Clanton (138) and Kyron Lindsay (285) each took fifth place and Jevon Cooper took sixth at 106. Rayna Nash also placed fifth in the girls competition.
Midwest City brought home three medals, led by Kaleb Kerr’s runner-up finish at 113 pounds. Kerr tore through the field with three falls in his first three matches. But he couldn’t pull off the same result in the finals, as he was pinned midway through the second period.
Jazen Brown also got off to a hot start with two falls in his first two matches. His path to the championship was derailed by a 12-7 semifinal loss to eventual champion Connor Riddles, of Duncan. Brown bounced back with another fall and a 10-2 major decision win over Piedmont’s Alan Flores to finish third.
Senior Jamie Watts took fifth place at 170 pounds. He finished with a 4-2 record including three falls.
