Sports
MHS grapplers split duals
Homecoming will be Thursday due to ice

Brendan Hoover

YUKON--The Mustang Broncos picked up an important 5A-4 district dual win at Moore on Jan. 9, but then lost their first dual of the season against district rival Yukon Thursday night.

The team was scheduled to go to Sand Springs for a tournament over the weekend, but changed its plans and was set to compete in a tournament in Tuttle when ice was forecasted earlier in the week.

When the weather hit Friday, both events were cancelled, head coach Dave Rankin said.

Mustang's homecoming dual versus Lawton on Tuesday night was also postponed due to the ice. Homecoming ceremonies will now be held Thursday at 7 p.m. before the Putnam City varsity dual.

On Thursday night, the enthusiastic Yukon faithful cheered loudly after each home victory, and early momentum for the Broncos gained on pins by sophomore Kyle Webster at 171 pounds and Baker, and a 22-5 major decision for Taylor, was erased when the Millers won five straight matches at the lower weights for a come-from-behind 36-32 win.

The Broncos forfeited the first match of the night at 152 pounds, and Vincent at 215 pounds could not hold a late lead against Miller wrestler Dante Campbell, losing 13-9.

Vincent forged to a 9-7 lead in the match by scoring a two-point takedown with 39 seconds remaining, but Campbell scored a takedown and a near-fall in the last 17 seconds to get the win.

Rankin called the nine-point swing a difference in the dual.

“Vincent just got lazy on his feet and got caught on an ankle pick,” he said. “We wrestled well tonight, but not well enough. We just didn’t do the things we needed to do.”

Rankin said that the strength of Yukon’s lower-weight wrestlers combined with the youth of the Broncos at the same weights led to the five straight defeats.

Freshman Tyler Butler was pinned by number-one state ranked wrestler Cory Stokes at 103 pounds. Sophomore Bobby Wilson suffered a fall to top-ten state ranked Cameron Wells at 112 pounds.

With Yukon leading 33-20 after 11 matches, the Broncos needed pins in two of their last three matches to win the dual.

Senior Jake Edmonds, back for the first time after aggravating a head injury early in the season and wearing a face mask, scored a pin at 135 over Matt Penwright.

But junior Jake Crossley lost a 12-6 decision to Kody Hopwood that sealed the Broncos’ fate.

Slater’s pin of Jeremiah McGuire at 145 pounds could not avert a Mustang defeat.

Rankin said many of his wrestlers performed well at Yukon.

“Baker had a good match. So did Slater, Taylor and Webster. Jake Edmonds wrestled awesome,” Rankin said.

However, Rankin said, the team is not reaching its full potential right now.

“We’re wrestling at about 60 percent of our ability right now,” Rankin said after the dual. “Which is really good because we have an opportunity to improve, but really bad because we’re not performing like we’re capable of.”

At the Moore dual last Tuesday, senior Rigel Baker at heavyweight and juniors Tim Taylor at 160 pounds and Auston Slater at 145 pounds all scored pins in their matches, and freshman Keegan Riffel won a 22-13 major decision in his 125-pound match to help give the Broncos a 43-27 victory.

In other key Mustang wins at Moore:

--sophomore Bobby Wilson defeated Anthony Taylor at 112 pounds, 9-4;

--senior Chayse Garrison defeated Bryce Hayes at 189 pounds, 5-2;

--and senior E.J. Vincent defeated Jacob Galindo at 215 pounds, 6-4.

“I was really pleased with the way we wrestled at Moore,” Rankin said.