Madison Contreras

Writer

Ten Marlow High School wrestlers fought their way to the OSSAA State Wrestling Tournament held on Friday, Feb.28 and Saturday, Feb.29, at the State Fairgrounds Arena in Oklahoma City.

Advancing to state through the Regional Wrestling Tournament held on Feb. 21-22 in Geary, Oklahoma, were first place qualifiers senior Kyle Davis and junior Bryson Hughes; second place senior Tyler Lawson; third place senior Anthony Orum and sophomores Andrew Johnston, Case Rich and Kyle Wilson; and fifth place senior Kale Hunt, junior Carson Moore, and freshman Gehrig Furr.

On the first day of the state tournament, the fifth place wrestlers of regionals had to wrestle and win an extra match to enter themselves into the state bracket.

With Marlow’s three fifth-placers scoring into the state tournament, Marlow officially had ten wrestlers ready to compete for a title.

To earn a placing, wrestlers had to avoid a double elimination.

To the Outlaws disadvantage, on the first day, five wrestlers were eliminated from the tournament while five were able to advance onto the second day, Davis, Hughes, Lawson, and Wilson vying for a spot in the top four and Rich competing for fifth place.

Although Marlow faced many losses, Lawson was set to compete for a first place title.

Entering the tournament as a 2019 106 lb. state champion, Lawson was prepared to be faced with tough competition this year.

Winning all matches at the state tournament put Lawson into the finals against Bridge Creek’s Kaiden Smith.

Finishing off his last season as a second place finisher for Wrestling State, Lawson summarized his feelings towards this season and the tournament.

“I’ve improved a lot on finishing my shots and looking for bonus point wins,” Lawson said. “I’m not that happy with how I performed at state, but I’m thankful for the support I had all weekend.”

Going into his fifth round of wrestling with one loss, Wilson fell to Blackwell’s Colten Bell, earning Wilson his fourth place medal in the 182 pound weight class.

Despite ending the season with a loss, Wilson intends to better himself to compete in next year’s tournament and gain a higher placing. 

“Since the beginning of the season, I have pushed myself harder and harder to get in better shape,” said Wilson. “The season didn’t end how I wanted it to, but all I know is that I’ll be back next year.”

Even though the state tournament did not go according to plan, head Wrestling Coach Andy Howington has faith that the losses faced will drive the team to victory in next year’s season.

“A lot of kids got better over the season. It was enough to give us a chance to win. State was a disappointment to say the least,” Howington said. “The season didn’t end on a good note, but hopefully it will motivate the guys to work harder.”

With ten state qualifiers and four state finishers, the MHS wrestling team plans to improve their techniques and better their skills while the community of Marlow will continue to support the hardworking team for next year’s season.