Anthony Ferrari was pacing. Waiting for his wrestling match against Mustang’s John Wiley, the Stillwater junior was wearing a black and gold “Italian Stallion” robe as he walked up and down the ramp leading up to the floor at State Fair Arena. Ferrari was focused, and the junior Oklahoma State commit was clearly ready when the 160-pound finals began at the Class 6A state tournament. Ferrari went on to pin Wiley, a junior OU commit, after an action-packed 5 minutes and 20 seconds. Although it was Stillwater’s final victory of the night, the Pioneers had done more than enough before Ferrari took the mat.
Josh Taylor and Cougar Anderson don’t know what it feels like to leave Oklahoma’s annual high school wrestling state tournament without a title. The Skiatook seniors each won their fourth state championship Friday at State Fair Arena. Taylor, a 138-pounder, struck first, beating Tuttle’s Reese Davis 12-4 in the Class 4A finals. About an hour later, the 170-pound Anderson became the state’s 42nd four-time champion. He had a 19-8 victory against Chance Cobb, also from Tuttle. Taylor finished 25-0 for his first undefeated season, while Anderson improved to 21-0 and went undefeated for the third straight year.
Bryce Dauphin flipped Skiatook’s Isaac Long on his back, and the noise from Tuttle’s crowd went up a notch. Dauphin, a senior wrestler for Tuttle, had been in control of the Class 4A 145-pound championship match, and the crowd sensed the end was near. Dauphin secured the pin a few seconds later and raised two fingers on each hand to celebrate the second state title of his career. The convincing victory mirrored how Tuttle performed at the state tournament Friday night and for more than a decade. Tuttle extended its record streak of state tournament wins to 13 at State Fair Arena.
JENKS Aiden Hayes was ready to see what he could do. Competing in the final Class 6A swimming state meet of his career, the Norman North senior locked in from the start and got into a zone. Hayes knew he was going to win his two individual races. It was just a matter of how fast he could finish. At Jenks Trojan Aquatic Center on Thursday, Hayes shattered his own expectations. The North Carolina State signee set two national high school records, winning the 50-yard freestyle in 19.20 seconds and 100 butterfly in 45.47. The previous national high school record in the 50 freestyle was 19.24 and set last year by Matt
JENKS Shawnee swimmer Piper McNeil had an unexpected problem during the Class 6A state meet on Thursday. “Right before the 200 free relay, my suit ripped,” the sophomore said. “I was thinking more on that and not my race as much.” McNeil was definitely flustered when it happened. But once the race began, she dominated the competition like she always does. McNeil, arguably the best swimmer in the state, didn’t lose a race and left Jenks Trojan Aquatic Center with four gold medals. She won the 200-yard individual medley (2:04.15) by nearly seven seconds and 100 backstroke (55.67) by nearly four seconds.