9X SANDITE OF THE WEEK

Two Sand Springs wrestlers competed on the Oklahoma Freestyle Junior Dual Team this weekend at the USA Wrestling Dual Nationals. Daton Fix, a four-time State Champion signed to Oklahoma State University, went undefeated to make the All-Tournament team. Riley Weir, a State Champion with two seasons left in high school, also went undefeated, but didn’t wrestle enough matches to qualify for the All-Tournament Team. Fix and Weir are two of five folkstyle State Champions from this year’s Charles Page High School wrestling squad. They helped their team attain its first State Title since 1971. Click here to view our special edition magazine commemorating the season. While folkstyle wrestling is only practiced in American high schools and colleges, freestyle is an international style that can be found in the Olympics. The 2017 Junior Duals were held at the Cox Convention Center in downtown Tulsa. 36 teams from 26 states competed in the event, and Minnesota claimed the title with a 33-31 victory over Illinois. Illinois continued their streak of three-straight Runner-Up finishes, while Oklahoma placed fourth. The Oklahoma Outlaws placed seventh last year and won the title in 2015 and 2014. Oklahoma went undefeated on day one, taking first place in Pool C and earning their way into the Gold Pool. The Outlaws defeated North Dakota Red 70-2 in their first dual. Weir pinned Devin Schulz in 1:08 and Fix pinned Austin Hendrickson in 1:13. In the next round they prevailed 53-11 over Nebraska Blue and Fix teched Trevor Fauver 10-0. Finally they topped New Jersey 44-13. Both Sandites had nationally-ranked opponents, but neither gave up a single point. Weir teched No. 5 State Champion Anthony Clark 10-0 and Fix teched No. 6 National Champion Zach Sherman 11-0. In the Gold Pool the Okies soundly defeated Michigan Blue 42-22. Weir pinned No. 16 two-time State Champion Ben Kamali in 1:13 and Fix teched Drew Martin 10-0. Next to fall was Missouri by a final score of 58-9 thanks in part to a 10-0 tech fall by Fix against two-time State Champion Cameron Valdiviez. The win-streak finally came to an end at the hands of Minnesota, 40-26, despite Weir’s 14-1 victory over Max Crowe, and Fix’s pin of two-time State Champion Brent Jones in 0:51. They lost their next dual as well, 40-23 to Ohio, despite a 10-0 victory by Fix over Hunter Kosco. Fix is currently ranked first in the nation at the 132-pound weight class and pound-for-pound by Flowrestling. He hasn’t lost a freestyle match since September of 2016 at the Junior World Championships in Macone, France, where he took Bronze. He finished his high school career undefeated.