Looking back at first OSSAA girls wrestling state finals
Looking back at first OSSAA-sanctioned girls state wrestling tournament
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 O SS AA-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 for this to happen. The boys are having their 100th boys state championship and this is our first one. I'm honored to be able to be one of the people that set this forward.”
T ah le qua h' s As hon dr a Valencia won the 100-pound championship, be comin gt he state' s first ever girl's champion. Following her was Wagoner's Alexis Miller at 107-pounds, Hand, Hynes, Claremore's Kearanie Johnson at 127 pounds, Jay's Lilly Gough at 136 pounds, Fort Gibson' s P eight on Mullins at 147 pounds, Yukon's Kaylee Davis at 161 pounds and Broken Arrow's Ki' E is ha Ca they at 185 pounds and Olivia Brown at 215 pounds.
Hand jumped out to a quick 5-2 lead but faltered late in the second period. After conceding a point early in the third, she scored the final takedown late that would propel her to a gritty 7-3 victory.
Toughness was apparent in all the matches. Teeth were chipped and blood dripped as girls grappled for an upper hand against one another.
“You see these girls in some tough situations ,” Yukon's coach and athletic director Mike Clark said. “They got blood coming down their face, they' ve got an eye cut — I got a girl with a broken leg, a girl with a broken arm — it's tough. But these girls are passionate about what they're doing and when you're passionate not too much is going to get in your way.”
Clark could only sit and watch as Yukon' s 161- pounder Kaylee Davis struggled early on in her match. Down 6-2 with just over a minute remaining, Davis leaned hard into a chicken wing, pinning her opponent and becoming a champion in one of the most exciting moment soft he night.
Broken Arrow won the night, finishing as the overall state champion with two individual winners and several who placed in the top four. Broken Arrow coach Cassidy Jasperson, who got her start wrestling in Texas, earned coach of the year honors.
“In Texas, we always had a state tournament ,” Jasperson reflected after the matches. “It shouldn't be a luxury; these girls absolutely deserve it. I love that they are able to call themselves state champions and not exhibition winners. A lot of these girls have wrestled for years in the corner of their boys' room — they deserve to be recognized, they put in the work. They're going to go down in history as the first.”
Claremore's Johnson shines
Despite plenty of solid wrestling on Thursday, Clare more' s 127- pound Kearanie Johnson stood out among the field.
Johnson got off to a quick 2-0 lead after an early takedown, but really turned on the burners just a few moments later.
Just 1:34 seconds into her match, Johnson pinned Hinton's Rain VanTassel to become Oklahoma' s first official 127- pound girl' s champion.
The stunning performance earned her outstanding wrestler honors.
Jay's Gough bests Vian's Hunt in thriller at 136
In the 136- pound finals, Jay' s Lilly Gough took on Vian's Taya Hunt in what was one of the most exciting matches of the night.
Gough and Hunt traded blows in the first two periods. Hunt eventually gained an upper hand, leading 7-4 heading into the final period.
Gough quickly got a takedown to start the third, making it 7-6. After conceding an escape point, she quickly surged again, taking down Hunt with 32 seconds left to take a 9-8 lead.
Gough eventually outlasted Hunt's final efforts and was crowned the 136pound girl's champion.
Broken Arrow, Jasperson win big
Broken Arrow finished as the first overall girls state champion, and head coach Cassidy Jasperson took home coach of the year honors on Thursday night.
The Tigers finished with two individual winners — Ki'Eisha Cathey at 185pounds and Olivia Brown at 215-pounds.
Cathey hit a big reverse with 10 seconds left in the second period to go up 2-0, and eventually pinned her opponent with just 20 seconds remaining in the match.
Brown got an early takedown on Moore' s Heidi Noisey, and quickly pinned her with 30 seconds remaining in the first period.
Jay finished as girls runner-up.