NHS Matmen To Meet Barnsdall
In Home Opener
Progressing to the Dual State Tournament stands out as one
of the chief objectives for the 2007-08 Newkirk High School wrestling
team. The first hurdle in reaching that goal comes on Thursday,
December 13 at 7:00pm with a home match-up against the #5-ranked
Barnsdall Panthers, which will mark both teams' first District
2A-6 dual.
It will mark the Tigers' first appearance in front of their home
fans at Mark Branch Fieldhouse. The original home opener against
Woodland, scheduled for Dec. 4, was postponed and has yet to
be rescheduled.
The #6 Tigers last qualified for Dual State during the 2001-02
season, so no member of the current team except for the coaches
has experienced the exhilaration of the event. Gene Bennett,
in his 24th season as head coach of the NHS wrestling program,
yearns to take his team back to Dual State, which will transpire
over Friday-Saturday, February 8-9 at a site to be determined
by the Oklahoma Secondary School Activities Association. Only
the champion from each of eight Class 2A dual districts will
advance to the prestigious tournament.
Last season, Barnsdall downed Newkirk by a 42-33 margin in a
dual at Barnsdall, and Bennett expects this year's dual to have
great magnitude attached as well. "Last year, it came down
between us and them for the district title, and we don't take
anything for granted with four top-10 teams (in 2A) in the coaches'
rankings in our district," Newkirk's coach stated. "We're
looking at having a tough dual each time out. We saw that they
had a couple of forfeits when they wrestled Oologah, but everybody
fills up for district duals, so we expect them to come in here
full strength. And we're going to try to do everything we can
to be as full strength as we can be and go try to win the district."
Pawhuska (#9)and Tonkawa (#10) comprise the rest of the 2A-6
field. The Tigers last two district duals will be on the road
next month, falling on successive Tuesday nights. They will wrestle
at Tonkawa on January 8 and at Pawhuska on Jan. 15.
For the Barnsdall dual, the Tigers will return to the mat from
a 12-day layoff. Mat action for the home opener will start at
6:00pm with junior high grapplers from each side priming the
fans for the main event.
Addressing his team's lengthy stretch away from competition,
Bennett offered, "Sometimes, that can be good, and sometimes,
that's bad. There's nothing we can do about it."
Regardless, Newkirk's boys will try to back up a strong showing
in their season-opening outing at Rio Rancho, New Mexico where
they went 6-2 in the Southwest Shoot-Out Dual Tournament. The
heavy dose of first-semester dual competition will continue for
Newkirk's matmen when they complete the first semester with three
matches in the Cascia Hall quadrangular gathering at the Tulsa
school on Saturday, Dec. 15 beginning at 10:00am.
Barnsdall's strengths reside in the light and middle weights.
The Panthers produced three State finalists last year
Kyle Jaquess at 103 pounds, Mitch Pearson (112), and Matt Allen
(119) though all three have moved up at least one weight
class this season.
Jesse Spicer and Drew Swan are also returning State qualifiers
for BHS. Cody Allen, Kyle Allen, and Casey Cassity also loom
as tough competitors for their Tiger counterparts.
BHS has new coach for the second year in a row as Shawn Wilson
has taken over for Shane Kidd. Last weekend, the Panthers scored
135 points for a sixth-place showing at the Tulsa Union Tournament.
They stand 0-2 in duals with early-season losses to Oologah and
Inola.
For Newkirk, seven grapplers posted winning marks at Rio Rancho.
Junior 130-pounder Anthony McDonald went undefeated (8-0) while
senior 189-pounder Mike Coots, senior 135-pounder Stephen Leven,
and freshman 112-pounder Dray Glenn also posted 7-1 marks. Senior
215-pounder Lance White and sophomore 160-pounder Terrence Summitt
both made 6-2 showings while senior 125-pounder Rakan Adwan went
5-3.
With talented competitors lining up on both sides, the outcome
will likely hinge on bonus points who registers more falls
and holds the opposition to less. Bennett declared, "They
have some good kids, it just depends upon where they end up (in
the lineup)."
However, the Tigers will only have 19 wrestlers available to
the fill 14 weights. Junior Cory Summitt has left the team.
Barnsdall's coach expects a battle in the pivotal dual. "I
know Newkirk is going to be tough, they always are," Wilson
stated. "We look forward to coming over there and seeing
what happens."
Bennett expects an even district, so the victor between Barnsdall
and Newkirk could get a leg up on the rest of the four-team affiliation.
Tonkawa has a new coach as Jason Andrews has replaced Russell
Martin, and Andrews has two returning State placers at his disposal
in seniors Dalton Johns (fourth at 140 last winter) and Brent
Trujillo (third at heavyweight).
Pawhuska has no State placers back this season, which is a rarity.
The Huskies feature a traditionally tough program under the leadership
of veteran head coach Martin Parks.
In their fifth straight year to compete in the Cascia Hall quad,
the Tigers will face the talented Commandos, who have resided
among the top five teams in 2A over the past several years and
are coming off a State championship performance on the football
field. The Berryhill Chiefs and Perkins-Tryon Demons are expected
to complete the field of the four-team, round-robin competition.
NHS hopes to reschedule the Woodland dual. Possible make-up dates
include Tuesday, Dec. 18 or Thursday, Jan. 3.
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