Claremore Zebra wrestling got started last week with a bang. We had kids wrestling all over the place from Claremore to Owasso, then to Sand Springs and Anderson, Missouri. Our kids showed up to wrestle in the opening week of the season. The junior high boys beat Bartlesville and lost a close one to Owasso. Then they moved on to the Sand Springs Junior High Tournament. This tournament is one of the toughest junior high tournaments in the state. We had a ton of success with every kid wrestling at least 4 times. We lost some and won a lot more, but in the end, our two highest finishers were Parker Warren and Kale Shultz. Parker Warren finished 3rd and Kale Shultz finished 5th. Also, the entire team finished 7th overall out of 24 teams. Great start boys.
The junior high girls wrestled as well at Sand Springs. For most of these girls, it was their first wrestling matches ever against someone other than their teammate. For their first action, they exceeded our expectations and competed extremely tough all weekend. Like our boys, the girls all wrestled many matches and won more than they lost. We had top 5 finishes from Zabella Bradshaw 3rd, Cambry Suskey 2nd, Gabby Garcia 5th, Lilly Seman 3rd, and Paige Webster 2nd. As I said, this was their first wrestling match, and they did a fantastic job. On top of all the individual success, the team also had some success. These girls brought home a 3rd place finish in a very tough tournament. The future is bright for the Zebra Girl’s Wrestling Team.
The high school girls’ team wrestled on Thursday and Saturday this last week. The girls matched up against Owasso and went to war. The dual came down to the last match at 105 pounds and the Zebras needed a pin. Hannah Hall wasted no time and took her opponent down and put her on her back to clinch the dual for the girls 39-36. We had no time to celebrate as then on Saturday at 6 am the girls left for McDonald County in Missouri to wrestle in their first tournament of the year. Wow, what a day it was. All the girls won at least 1 match, with most winning multiple matches. We found out that some of them are a lot tougher than we thought they were, and they will fight till the end at all times. The team finished 5th overall and brought home a bunch of individual medals. Abby Tietz 3rd, Karly Shisler 3rd, Keekee Bacon 2nd, and Dezi Bulwin had 5 pins to walk away as the champion. It was a great day and looking forward to seeing what these young ladies can do.
The varsity boys also wrestled this week against 6a Bartlesville and top 10 6a Owasso. The young team ran out 8 sophomores and 2 ninth graders out of 14 weights, but being young is not an excuse, and they showed why. The Zebras went 2-0 beating Bartlesville 51-12 and Owasso 42-28. The boys were challenged at the beginning of the year and so far, they are responding. They are working hard, training with a purpose. They are earning everything they are getting and making sure they are making a name for themselves along the way. The season is young, and you are not going to want to miss these young men in action this season.
As a coaching staff, we also have selected the wrestler of the week from the 4 teams. Starting with JH girls t is Paige Webster. Paige has been wrestling for a month and walked away with a 2nd place finish in her first tournament. Paige doesn’t miss practice, is never late, and works hard and it paid off. Next was the junior high boys. That WTW is Parker Warren. Parker Warren wrestled high school against Bartlesville and Owasso going 1-0 on the high school team, and then going 5-1 and finishing 3rd at the Sand Springs JH tourney. Keep up the good work junior high boys and girls.
The varsity girls’ wrestler of the week goes to Dezi Bulwin. Dezi went 5-1 on the week with 5 pins in the Lady Mustang Invitational. With those 5 pins, she became the champion at 145 ponds at the tournament. Dezi has been battling for the girls since day 1 of Claremore having a women’s program and it is really starting to pay off in her senior year. Keep grinding Dezi and it will not be your last gold medal.
The varsity boys’ wrestler of the week goes to Cooper Zickefoose. Cooper has turned into a beast and is wrestling with all the confidence in the world. It started with Bartlesville. As soon as the whistle blew he was marching forward and putting on a show. That mentality carried into the Owasso dual. Coach Willard walked over to him and said “I am bumping you up to 157 and I need 6.” Cooper looked at the coach and smiled and replied “no problem, I got this.” This early success is coming from his training. Cooper trains hard every day, and he also made sure he didn’t waste any time over the summer. He trained almost every day in the offseason and it is really starting to show as he has evolved into a real problem for the rest of 5a, and apparently two 6a teams as well.
Congrats to all of the wrestlers of the week, and all of the boys and girls that represented the Zebras very well this week.