by Morgan Kopitsky; Erin Hikiji photo courtesy of University of Providence athletics 1. Ranked Missouri Matchup #18 Central Methodist University made the quick trip across the state to compete in the #17 Missouri Baptist Duals featuring the two aforementioned teams along with Trinidad State and W.
VIAN â High school wrestler and title contender Taya Huntâs biggest fan is her younger sister, Joely, a third-grader who followed the lead and has become a champion in her own division.
âWhen she first started, she was a stud,â said Taya, 16, a Cherokee Nation citizen and sophomore at Vian High School. âShe started off really good. Sheâs just mean on the mat.â
At 8 years old and 60 pounds, Joely, also a CN citizen, is already a two-time state wrestling champion in her age and weight division, taking first in the 2020 and 2021 Oklahoma Kids Wrestling Association tournaments.
The younger Hunt said she jumped onto the wrestling scene âbecause they did it,â referring to Taya and her brother Garritt, 14, the first wrestling sibling.
Choctaw’s Peyton Hand just soaked in the moment after her state championship match Thursday.
She wasn’t taking in her undefeated season, or even her dominating finals performance. She was soaking in the history that was still being made just a few yards away as Broken Arrow’s Allison Hynes and Guthrie’s Khaleah Kirk’s match at 118 pounds got underway at Jim Norick Arena in Oklahoma City.
Hand was one of 10 individual champions in the first OSSAA-sanctioned girls state wrestling tournament on Thursday. Hand became Oklahoma’s first ever official 112-pound girls champion wrestler.
“I didn’t really think this was going to happen in women’s wrestling,” Hand said after her match. “It took a whole century