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No turbulence in Bluejays landing of the Jets

Good weekend at Carl Albert

By:  Casey Porter

As homecoming 2007 arrived for the Bluejays, the Jets allowed Guthrie an easy take off as the Kitch brothers, Aaron and Ryan received forfeits at 103 and 112 pounds.  The two forfeits gave the Bluejays a lead that they would never relinquish.

“The early momentum was big, especially knowing you have Rinehart at 119 pounds to give your team a big lead,” head coach Jack O’Connor said.

            Kolt Rinehart did not disappoint as he got a quick takedown en route to a 4-1 lead after the first period.  In the second period, Rinehart chose down, reversed his man, and finished his domination with a pin. The score after three matches was 18-0.

“It was good to get a pin in the first match that was wrestled. It gave us a lot of confidence,” O’Connor said.

            Facing a wrestler that he had already beat this season, senior Corey Cummings lost at 125 pounds. Cummings was in the process of dropping down to 119 pounds for the Carl Albert tournament the next day, and was a little bit tired both mentally and physically. The score after four matches was 18-3 in the dual. 

            “Corey’s had a great year this year and sometimes things like this just happen,” O’Connor said.

            Western Heights gained momentum at 130 and 135 pounds as Josh Russell and Alfred Ratcliff both got pinned tightening up the score of the dual to 18-15. Russell and Ratcliff had the misfortune of wrestling two wrestlers that were probably the best that Western Heights had to offer. Russell faced a three year starter and Ratcliff faced a returning state placer.

            “I’m just glad to see Alfred back out there after the knee injury last year, it’s good to see him out there,” O’Connor said.

            At 140 pounds, junior Dillon Turpin continued his momentum from his second place finish in the McAlester tournament and dominated his match. Turpin had several takedowns in the match, and pinned his man in the second period.

            “Dillon had a very dominating match, it was fun to watch,” O’Connor said.

            At 145 pounds Ryan Bilyeu won a very difficult match and beat a state qualifier whom he had wrestled and beat 8-4 last year at regionals. The score of the dual was now 27-15.

            “This is a kid that we're going to have to beat if we want to reach our goals of being a state placer this year, so Ryan was wrestling one of the three or four best kids at his weight,” O’Connor saud.

            Freshmen Michael Conner got a big pin at 152, and gave his Bluejays a 33-15 advantage. O’Connor wasn’t sure if he was going to wrestle Conner, but felt like his pin was probably the turning point of the dual.

            “I wasn’t sure I was going to use him, but Michael has improved so much I decided to let him wrestle, and he stepped up in a big way” O’Connor explained.

At 160 and 171 pounds, Josh Russell and Aaron Vick wrestled well but got pinned.  Vick wrestled very aggressively but got caught in the second period.

John Kane showed off his talent at 189 pounds, and recorded a dominating win by pin. Kane completed a hammer lock series and turned his opponent, Balderama, and pinned him extending the Bluejays lead to 39-27. This match removed all hope for the Jets.

“John is so talented, we see it in the room everyday, and it’s good to see that talent show up in matches,” O’Connor stated about Kane’s performance.

Tanner Goddard finished the dual for the Bluejays with a pin just forty five seconds into his match. Goddard wrestled aggressively and with supreme confidence and finished off the dual in style with a big pin. 

 “As a coach you love to watch the matches you don’t have to worry about because you know your wrestler is dominating, and Tanner certainly did that tonight” O’Connor said.

Final score: Bluejays 45, Jets 27.

Carl Albert Tournament

The Bluejays didn’t have long to celebrate as the next day they traveled eight wrestlers to Carl Albert for a tournament that most all 4A schools participated in. The Bluejays, 4A in wrestling, tied for fifteenth, and got a good look at where they stacked up. 

Rinehart wrestled at 112 pounds and placed fourth. Rinehart wrestled very well and finished behind three guys that will more than likely be state placers. 

“Kolt had good weekend. He beat a kid that he had not beaten before and he had a lot of scrappy kids in his bracket, to go along with potential state placers. So, finishing fourth in his bracket was a good weekend for Kolt,” O’Connor said of Rinehart’s weekend.

At 119 pounds, Cummings had a bit of a roller coaster this weekend en route to finishing with a 3-2 record.

“Corey is right there with all of the state placers, so he knows he has a great chance at making it if he continues to stay consistent, something of which he’s done this year,” O’Connor said of Cummings chances to place at state. 

Jeff Russell picked up a couple of good wins at 130 pounds, while Dillon Turpin finished the tournament at 3-2. 

Bilyeu made the finals this weekend and got caught in the first period and was pinned in the finals match, at 145 pounds, dropping just his second match of the year. 

“Ryan was very upset after his loss in the finals match, and needs to use that experience to make him better. Sometimes losing, if you handle it the right way, can make you better,” O’Connor said of Bilyeu’s loss in the finals.

Kane, at 189 pounds, had a breakout tournament finishing fifth at one of the toughest weights in the tournament. Kane got a chance to wrestle all of the guys he will see in the post season, and proved he is as good as any. O’Connor believes Kane has a great chance at placing at state this year.

 “He’s right there, he can wrestle with anybody, and has learned how to finish his matches.

215 pounder, Goddard, rounded out the weekend with a 2-2 performance.  Goddard was just a match away from placing.

O’Connor is impressed with Goddard, “Tanner’s a really good sophomore and continues to improve.” 

Guthrie finished the weekend with a good understanding of where they are at, and where they want to be. They are next in action at Deer Creek, Tuesday night, and then will travel to Woodward Thursday with the Junior High for district duals. The duals feature three teams; host Woodward, Guthrie and second ranked El Reno. 

For more information visit the Podcast page and listen to the Wrestling Coaches Corner with Head Coach Jack O’Connor.

Junior High

The Junior High wrestlers started their weekend with a very exciting 34-33 victory over Western Heights. Timothy O’Connor won his match 4-1, and Shane Cantrell used his double chicken wing to pin his opponent just 30 seconds into his match, while Camden Helm used a bar and a half nelson to pin his opponent in just fifty three seconds.    

            Heath Sullens received a forfeit, and Bryan Dutton used the Ball and Chain to pin his opponent in the third period.  Jake Cook won his match by major decision 12-1, and Devin Bilyeu rounded out the dual with an 8-2 decision. 

            The Bluejay Junior High grapplers followed this big win up with a very good performance in the Edmond Santa Fe JV tournament. In the tournament the Bluejays placed seven wrestlers and finished fifth overall as a team. 

            Three Bluejays corralled second place finishes including Timothy O’Connor at 78 pounds, Jake Cook at 134 pounds and Austin Oliver at 165 pounds. Josh Gabbert placed second at 152 pounds, and Corey Woodard placed fourth at 152.  Devin Bilyeu earned fifth place honors at 142 pounds and Todd Gallaher was honored with sixth place at 152 pounds.

            The Guthrie junior high wrestlers are next in action at Deer Creek on Tuesday for a dual with the Antlers, Woodward on Thursday for duals, and next weekend at Chickasha for a varsity tournament, while the JV will wrestle in a tournament at Monroney. 

Pee Wee Wrestling 

Mustang Open Tournament

Guthrie Novice Tournament