Second-year Bixby boys wrestling coach molds Spartans into one of the state's top programs

By Mike Moguin 

Bixby wrestling photo by Michael Kinney

Bixby has had some wrestlers win gold medals and finish in the top 10 or 20 in the team standings at the state wrestling tournament in the past.

But that is changing.

The Spartans took third place in the team standings at state a year ago and have been ranked third by many publications throughout the seasons, including the OSSAA. They have excelled this season under the leadership of second-year coach Ray Blake, who actually came to Bixby in 2021 after being an associate head coach at Stanford University for four seasons and part of the staff for 14.

Blake also wrestled collegiately for the Cardinal, finishing his senior year with a 51-18 record while earning a degree in psychology in 2006. He said he enjoyed California, but felt it was time to transition.

He and his wife, a softball standout at Stanford from Oklahoma City, made the decision to move back closer to family. Blake's wife got a job in Tulsa and eventually, a door opened where he became the head coach at Bixby.

In just two years, he has coached the Spartans into the top five of the state, as well as a top program in the nation.

Bixby finished third at the Class 6A state tourney last year, respectively, behind Stillwater and Edmond North. They lost the 6A dual-state final to Stillwater, 54-10. Prior to losing to the Pioneers in the finals, they beat Edmond North.

However, Bixby had to settle for a semifinalist finish at this year’s dual state tourney, but the loss came to Stillwater again, 44-15. The team score compared to last year's match against the Pioneers does indicate growth in the program, as Stillwater also went on to win the finals to become Class 6A dual state champion for a second straight year.

The Spartans are looking to rebound from that loss as they compete in the Class 6A East regional Friday and Saturday in Jenks. Other schools slated to be there are Bartlesville, Broken Arrow, OKC Capitol Hill, Edmond Santa Fe, Enid, Jenks, Muskogee, Norman, Owasso, Ponca City, Putnam City West, Sand Springs, Southmoore, Stillwater and Tulsa Union.

Check It Out: Banner day for Bixby girls as Lady Spartans claim East Regional wrestling title

The 6A West regional is scheduled to take place in Piedmont, where other teams involved are Choctaw, Edmond Deer Creek, Edmond Memorial, Edmond North, Lawton, Midwest City, Moore, Mustang, Norman North, OKC Northwest Classen, Piedmont, Putnam City, Putnam City North, OKC U.S. Grant, Westmoore and Yukon.

Bixby has state champion experience in its arsenal. Two of its three state champions from last year - senior Jersey Robb and junior Jace Roller - are back and are expected to compete for a state title at the state tournament in Oklahoma City next week.

Robb, an Oklahoma State signee, has been wrestling at 215 pounds this year after competing at 195 last season. Roller is contending at 138.

“Jersey and Jace both have a lot of talent, but their success is not an accident,” Blake said. “They both live the sport of wrestling. They work as hard as anyone in the room. They study the sport, eat right, sleep right, are leaders, and lead by example and vocally.

"You look around and they weren’t just born with these incredible talents. They’ve earned their success and have set a great model for the other kids in our room, aspiring to have that same success.”

There is also junior Clay Giddens-Buttram, who was runner-up last year at 126 after winning state at 113 as a freshman. He is wrestling at 150 after battling through an injury last year.

“He is healthy and he has grown a lot,” Blake said of Giddens-Buttram.

Bixby is also benefitting from two move-ins. Gage Walker, a junior, was a two-time state champion at Jay, a Class 3A program (Walker won at 120 last season), along with senior Jayce Caviness, a state champion for Class 4A Stilwell last year.

Other newcomers that have boosted the Spartans and are expected to compete for state titles are freshman Isaiah Jones, a junior high state champion who won the 15-and-under freestyle nationals last spring, and sophomore Ishmael Guerrero (165), the son of Eric Guerrero, a three-time NCAA champion at Oklahoma State and a U.S. Olympian in 2004.

“I think he is really going to be special for us,” Blake said of Ishmael Guerrero. “He could be a guy who is one of the best guys in the country this year."

Blake added that while it was great that his team took third at state last year, he doesn’t take credit for any success right now.

“There were some coaches that had been here before me,” he said. “Shane Roller, Kenny Giddens, Brian Douglass, who really did a great job of building up our youth program, and as those youth wrestlers started having success at the youth level and then hit the high school level, we started to get some more talent in our high school program.

“The year before I got here, Bixby may have had a couple of upsets, but it had placed second in the dual state, and then fifth in the state tournament. It was their highest finish in a while. Then when I got here, we did a little bit better, but truthfully, we had all the same kids coming back. So, I can’t take a lot of credit for it right now."

Once Blake took over the helm of the Spartans, he had a plan.

“What I tried to do when I got here was figure out what was going well and what could be improved, and then focus on keeping things that are going well, and improving the things that can be improved, so that we can have a program here that is built for long-term success, and not just at state, but at a national level," he said. "We’re only in year two of that."