Banner day for Bixby girls as Lady Spartans claim East Regional wrestling title
By Mike Moguin | Photos by Karen Schwartz
SALLISAW - Seven Bixby grapplers qualified for the state wrestling tournament next week as the Lady Spartans captured the Girls East Regional with 178 points on Tuesday.
Three girls were crowned regional champions with wins in their respective weight classes, two finished runner-up and there was each a consolation champion and a fifth-place finisher.
McLoud took second place in the team standings with 143, and Tulsa Union was one point behind in third with 142. Rounding out the top five was Harrah (fourth, 119) and Broken Arrow (fifth, 113.5).
Tuesday's title was rewarding for Bixby coach Paul Mayfield and his team, especially in the first official year for the program.
Bixby had been moving between second and third place Monday before finishing day one in first place. On Tuesday, it held steady through the end.
“We went five-for-seven in the semis, and really, that sealed the deal for us,” Mayfield said. “We ended up losing two of those and ended up qualifying both (wrestlers) with a third place and a fifth place. We were able to (place) five in the finals.
“We put ourselves in a good position in the brackets at the state tournament, but we have to go out and wrestle and compete. I like where we’re sitting; we’ll have to go look and see what we got and on the other side and see what we got to compete against in the coming days. ... But I really do think we wrestled as good we have all season, we just happen to be putting it together right at the end."
The state tournament will be Feb. 24-25 in Oklahoma City. Moore won the Girls West Regionals Tuesday with 205 points, with Westmoore taking second with 129.
Bixby’s champions were Jayden Roller (100 pounds), Brooke Pate (125), and Millie Azlin (155).
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Roller made a key takedown of Addie Morse of Harrah; then rode her in the third period before settling for a 2-0 decision.
Pate got in early trouble in her match as she was placed in a headlock by Tecumseh’s Mandi Ingram. But Pate overcame it quickly and in the second period, she pinned Ingram at the 3:54 mark for the win.
Azlin faced Owasso’s Sidney Milligan. Both wrestlers battled on their feet and locked shoulders throughout the first session.
But in the second, Azlin took Milligan down and forced the fall with 44 ticks left on the clock, marking an official pin time of 3:16. She ran off the mat with a victorious smile.
Lady Spartans who settled for runner-up were Lily Lane (105) and Jay’la Ford (135).
Navaeyah Fay finished third at 235 and Grace Thompson placed fifth at 170.
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Other wrestlers from Tulsa and its suburbs who won first place came from Union, Coweta and Sapulpa.
Union got some champions at the 110 and 190-pound weight classes.
Chanelle Alburg overcame an early takedown in the 110-title match with a reverse to eventually pin Wilburton’s Madison Roe at 1:30.
At 190, Kali Hayden took down McLoud’s Stacey Nash for fall at 3:18.
Sapulpa’s Elizabeth Cope got a pin in 45 seconds against Ada’s Makenna Howell at 145.
Then at 115, Aiyanna Perkins of Coweta got a fall against Rachel Burns of Perkins-Tryon at 2:53.
