At this year’s 93rd annual OSSAA Wrestling State Tournament, 18 wrestlers qualified from Carl Albert, Choctaw, Midwest City, and Del City combined. Out of those 18, three took third place and three took second place,

However the day belonged to Clayton Lamb from Del City as he took home the state championship for 5A’s 132 pound weight class.

Carl Albert sent Garrett Chappell (126) and Logan Shelton (106) to state.

Chappell first faced Aaron O’Brien from Tulsa Edison Prep where O’Brien pinned Chappell in 56 seconds. Chappell then took on Conner Fielder from Coweta, who also claimed a fall over him in 3:45.

Shelton wrestled Tanner Cole of Deer Creek, but lost by a technical fall. Shelton then went on to fall short on the scoreboard against McAlester’s Dalton Rippy in a close match 8-5.

Both of the sophomores wrestled hard, but did not come out on top.

Choctaw was represented at state by junior Thomas McGrath (138), sophomore Garrett Rowe (113), and senior Alex Thelin (170).

McGrath first faced Tristan Moran from Stillwater where McGrath fell in 17 seconds. McGrath then took on Daniel Mbainayel of Norman, but lost 12-6.

Rowe wrestled Graham Godfrey from Tulsa Union, and beat him 3-0. Rowe move forward to battle it out against Broken Arrow’s Tajuan Daniels. Rowe won 12-5.

Before Rowe took the mat in the Championships, Choctaw Head Coach Benny Coleman had faith in his 113, but he knew it was going to be a challenge.

“We have to go out there ready to wrestle. He’s going to go after us for six plus minutes,” said Coleman. “We have to shut him down or we’re in trouble.”

Garrett Rowe would face Dalton Fix of Sand Springs for the 6A 113 title. Rowe ended up losing 8-2 but earned his place on the podium taking second.

Thelin first wrestled Hunter Dalton of Bixby but lost 9-3.

Next up, Isaiah Page from Broken Arrow matched up with Thelin. He would go on and beat Page 8-5.

Thelin then conquered James Buckhanan out of Muskogee in a close match of 3-2. Again, Thelin would face Dalton, and claim a fall in 24 seconds into the second period to place third in his weight class.

Coach Coleman had nothing but love for his team after their performance and is sure to comeback even stronger in the next few years.

Midwest City brought the Wilson brothers, freshman Drew (106) and junior Evan (152), senior Patrick ‘P-Nasty’ Clason (195), and junior Corey Walker (285) to state.

Drew Wilson would first beat Connor Shanks from Edmond Memorial 4-0.

Wilson then took on Paxton Rosen from Edmond North, but lost in a close match of 3-1. The freshman then went on to defeat Mason Naifeh of Tulsa Union 9-2. Earning him third place, Wilson beat Wes Hardin out of Westmoore 3-0.

Midwest City Head Coach Cory Wilson, no relation, thought Wilson showed well and will be back soon.

“He’s tough. He’ll make a comeback next year,” said Coach Wilson.

Meanwhile his brother, Evan Wilson fought hard against McKale Washington from Moore, but was pinned with nine seconds left in the second period.

Wilson then faced Bradyn Meyer of Yukon, but lost in a close match of 3-2.

Clason took on Derek White from Edmond North but unfortunately, Clason fell with one second left in the second period.

Clason went on to wrestle Delvin Jordan out of Sand Springs, but was again pinned in the second period.

Walker first beat Jon Wynn of Edmond Santa Fe 3-1 followed by beating Nic Roller from Bixby by the same score after getting a take down in sudden victory.

Walker went on to battle the defending state champion, Andrew Dixon out of Edmond North. Walker fell short in his last match 7-2. Walker took home the silver medal for all of his hard work.

“He had a slow start this season, but things have begun to pick up for him, He’s done an excellent job this year,” said Coach Wilson.

Del City’s ‘James Gang’ as they were dubbed consisted of junior Zach Reed (113), freshman Tre Wright (120), sophomore Ray Merriman (138), sophomore Gavin Millhouse (145), senior Dalton Addington (152), senior Michael Cooper (220), senior Kevin Figueroa (160), junior Nate Daniels (195), and senior Clayton Lamb (132).

Del City Head Coach Ronnie James not only proved his dedication to his team by having nine qualifiers, but Coach James also received Coach of the Year honors for class 5A-6A.

Back on the mat Reed first challenged Christian Moody from Collinsville but was pinned in 1:10.

He would face Wyatt Adams of Lawton MacArthur next and was again pinned with 25 seconds left in the third period.

Wright first conquered Coree Henderson out of Coweta with a major decision 18-6 and later wrestled Cole Powers from Lawton MacArthur but lost in a close match 3-0.

He went on to face DJ Hendrickson of Western Height but ended up forfeiting the match.

Merriman fought hard but lost to Jared Woods from Durant in sudden victory. He was also beat by Reece Henry of Piedmont 9-3.

Millhouse faced Mitch Sellers from Talequah. The match was close but Millhouse lost 2-0 and followed it up with another close match against Dononvan Washington out of Lawton MacArthur which he also lost 2-1.

Addington faced Matt Daniel from Shawnee but lost 5-3. Down, but not yet out, he took on Elisha Leonard from El Reno pinning him 40 seconds into the second period. He went on to battle it out with Brok Williams out of Lawton MacArthur, but lost in the close match 3-1.

Cooper faced Keenan Priddy from Collinville, but lost by a major decision 11-0. Cooper then wrestled Riley Smith of McAlester but fell 34 seconds into the second period.

Figueroa with a record of 28-10 lost his first match to Ryan Haymaker out of Collinsville, but then demolished Jacob Schimmels from Deer Creek 7-1. He would then go on to beat Garrett Sisco of Grove 5-1 and Reese Davis from Talequah 6-2 earning the senior third place.

Coach James was confident going in about Daniels and Lamb’s chances to succeed at state.

“I think they had a great season, but they have really peaked out in the last couple of weeks. It’s a great accomplishment for both men,” said James.

Daniels beat Matt Smith of Bishop Kelly 3-1 and Dokota Boxwell from Noble 2-1 to setup a battle with Josh Latham out of Chickasha in the finals.

Meanwhile Clayton Lamb with his 33-7 record came into the tournament prepared for victory. He first conquered Dolan Calico from Coweta with a major decision of 14-4. Lamb dispatched of Malique Lytle from Shawnee 6-2. He would get Dakotah McGarrah from Collinsville for the state title in his weight class.

“I think both of them have an excellent chance. Our 132 pounder[Lamb] wrestled the kid a couple weeks ago and beat him at dual state so as long he goes out and wrestles hard he can win it,” said James. “Nate has the defending state champion. We’ve never wrestled that kid so it will be a tough match.”

Daniels and Latham would face off, but the defending state champion got the better of Daniels pinning him with 18 seconds left in the first period.
Daniels worked hard to earn his second place spot on the podium.

In their final match Lamb and McGarrah from Collinsville wrestled tough. Lamb wrestled hard throughout the entire match. In the last period, McGarrah gained control but Lamb fought and was unable to be turned by the Cardinal.

Lamb’s resilence earned him a narrow 6-5 decision and the 5A state title at 132 pounds.

Congratulations not only to Coach James and Clayton, but to all four teams’ coaches and wrestlers for staying strong throughout this wrestling season.