Oklahoma state boys wrestling recap: Edmond North caps record-breaking season with Class 6A title
OKLAHOMA CITY - There really wasn’t much coach Andrew Schneider had to say.
The numbers spoke for themselves.
When Edmond North walked off the wrestling mat late Saturday night inside State Fair Arena after racking up a new championship tournament record with 260.5 points to win the Class 6A title, Schneider said they were the greatest team wrestling team in the state’s history.
“By the look of it, we’re the best team ever in the history of Oklahoma wrestling,” said Schneider, who was named the Central Oklahoma Officials Association Coach of the Year for 6A. “It's just unbelievable. It's going to take a while to sink in.”
After losing last year’s title by half a point, the Huskies left no doubt this go-around as they crushed the competition to pick up the program’s second title. Second place Bixby was 131 points behind. That gap was more than the total points for the Spartans (129) and last year’s champion Stillwater (110.5).
“Every week there's a challenge put in front of this group, and in the back of your mind, you're always thinking, there could be a letdown here and there's never a letdown with this group,” Schneider said. “Every week, they just rise to the occasion.
"If there were another tournament next week, I wouldn't even know what they would accomplish. So yeah, just outstanding performance overall as a team all the way through, and so proud of these guys and what they've done over their career.”
Edmond North boys wrestling team determined to put finishing touches on dominant season with title
The Huskies entered the final day of competition at the State Fairgrounds with 10 wrestlers making it to the finals. They finished with eight state champions and 14 state placers.
Those included Ricky Thomas (285), Oscar Williams (215), Talon McCollom (190), Kody Routledge (157), Joseph Jeter (150), Devon Miller (120), Jake Goodin (106) and Layton Schneider (144), son of the head coach, who was also named the Outstanding Wrestler of the 2024 OSSAA 6A State Wrestling Championships.
“My lasting memory is that my son was on the team and he was the state champ,” Andrew Schneider said. “So it was extra special for me as a coach to not only get to coach the best team ever, but to have my son on the team as well.”
Edmond North was not the only team to pick up a championship Saturday. Marlow (175) outlasted Blackwell (160) to grab the 3A title.
Marlow’s Marcus Williams (120), Brantz Bateman (144), Zach Dawson (150), Cade Gilbert (157) and Lawson Knox (175) took home individual championships to lead the charge to the program’s ninth team title.
Vinita wrestler Zane Donley goes up against Checotah's Colt Collett in the Class 3A 126-pound weight class finals on Feb. 24, 2024. Collett eventually posted a 9-7 decision against Donley for the title.
In Class 5A, it was Elgin who reigned supreme as the Owls picked up their first-ever state tournament championship. The Owls scored 95.5 points, which was good enough to keep Chickasha (80), Coweta (79) and Del City (77) at bay.
The Owls won despite having only Ritson Meyer (215) and Jace Williams (285) win individual titles.
Elgin's Jace Williams gets his hand raised after winning the Class 5A 285-pound weight class title on Feb. 24, 2024. Elgin won the 5A team title, the first state championship in program history.
While Elgin was winning their first team title, on the other end of the arena floor, Tuttle was busy raking in their 21st championship and 16th in a row.
Yet, Tuttle coach Bobby Williams wasn’t in a celebratory mood when the 4A tournament ended. Despite scoring 165.5 points and beating second-place Cascia Hall by 77.5 points, Williams was partly focused on the points they left on the mat that evening.
After sending eight wrestlers into the championship round, they came away with two winners.
Cascia Hall wrestler Gerald Harris III (right) competes against Tuttle's Chance Fisher in the Class 4A 120-pound weight class finals on Feb. 24, 2024. Harris defeated Fisher, 5-1, although Tuttle did go on to win the 4A team title for the 16th consecutive season.
“We actually wrestled really well. We got some young guys that got into the finals that were in positions where a lot of people probably wouldn't think they would make it in there,” Williams said. “We put eight guys in the finals and then we had three guys on the backside that two guys took third, one guy took fourth, and so it was a tremendous team effort.
"This weekend, they wrestled really well. Of course, after going two and six in the finals, that doesn't feel good. Of course you win a team title, but right now, the feeling isn't great.”
Tuttle’s two title winners include Ethan Teague (175) and Beau Hickman (144).
"I'm happy for the two that won it; they wrestled tremendous this weekend," Williams said. "But after the dust settles, I'm sure it's another team title for us and we will be happy.”
Photo of Edmond North's Layton Schneider
-- Michael Kinney | @SBLiveOK
