Between sessions thoughts…
By Robert Przybylo
BPrzybylo@opubco.com
Well, we made it. Eight mats have been trimmed down to four and all that’s left for the state wrestling championships are the finals.
When I last left you, I was saying how Catoosa held a comfortable lead in 4A but that Tuttle could quickly turn things in its favor because of the wrestle-backs.
And sure enough, Matt Surber’s Tigers did just that. Catoosa didn’t earn one point this morning while Tuttle earned 28 and now holds a 117.5 – 108 advantage over Catoosa. Cushing is also in solid standing at third with 100 points.
And to reiterate, Catoosa has six finalists, Tuttle and Cushing each have five. Tuttle wrestles both Cushing and Catoosa in two finals. Might it come down to Catoosa’s Dallas Bailey needing to pull it out vs. Woodward’s Zach White. Or perhaps Tuttle’s Shane Woods might hold the key at 215.
Cushing is in a tough spot because after Josh Myers in 135, Cushing does not have another finalist. The two biggest bouts will be at 152 and 160.
152 – Tuttle’s Bobby Williams (40-3) vs. Catoosa’s Mikey Lunsford (27-8). 160 – Tuttle’s Cole Gracey (42-1) vs. Catoosa’s Shawn Thomas (27-0). The team race might be decided right then and there.
In 3A, Perry holds a 71.5-point advantage on Kingfisher with 150.5 points. The Yellowjackets are battling it out with Berryhill for third as Kingfisher leads right now 79-74.
Not following too much with the big boys, but it appears Claremore has the 5A title locked up. El Reno and Deer Creek are in second and third heading into tonight. Tulsa Union stands tall in 6A with Ponca City breathing down its neck. Broken Arrow and Muskogee aren’t too far behind, either.
Anyway, that’ll do it from here as we’ve got a band rehearsing. We’re an hour away from the doors being opened and three away from the finals. Back Sunday with more thoughts.
Day 1 Wrestling thoughts…
By Robert Przybylo
BPrzybylo@opubco.com
Friday started my three-week excursion to the good ol’ State Fair Arena. It’ll be my home away from home the next three weekends.
My fellow chum Matt Patterson will keep you up-to-date on what’s up in Classes 5A and 6A while I got your backs for 3A and 4A.
First day thoughts, observations, etc.
- Oh dem Perry Maroons. Perry is so dominant. Perry had 10 wrestlers qualify for the semifinals and will have six compete in the finals. Strangely enough, Berryhill knocked out three of Perry’s wrestlers while Blanchard’s John McCracken got the other.
- It’s a joy to watch Perry’s Ladd Rupp and Steven Swan operate. This is the second year I’ve done the lower classes, so I get to see these boys a lot. Still impressive.
- Kingfisher had a great day with four finalists. Chad Kochenower at 119, Brayden Hicks at 152, Cash Johnson at 189 and Joe Gaither at 215. All have that extra oomph for good stories. Matt has documented Kochenower’s battles with being deaf, I chronicled Hicks and his comeback from a torn ACL for Saturday’s paper. Yellowjackets won’t be atop the podium, but don’t be surprised by a second-place finish.
- Little shocking how many freshmen made waves today. I just figure freshmen wouldn’t know how to handle their body weight yet, but many solid outings all day and night from the young guns.
- The hope for 4-for-4 is still there. Chris Perry (Stillwater), Ladd Rupp (Perry), Dallas Bailey (Catoosa) and Jarrod Patterson (Cushing) all coasted into the finals. Bailey will meet Woodward’s Zach White in the finals in what may be the match of the tournament. The two have split in a pair of matches this season.
- Marlow has kinda dropped off after making a good run at Perry last year, but Tanner Keck is still around. Keck and sophomore Ryan Brooks will represent the Outlaws in a couple of finals.
- Class 4A will be fun, if not stressful. It’s a three-team battle: Tuttle, Cushing and Catoosa. Catoosa holds a substantial lead after the first day with Tuttle and Cushing one point apart for second and third. Tuttle and Cushing have five finalists while Catoosa has six.
- However, Tuttle can make some real headway in a hurry as the Tigers have two finals apiece against both Catoosa and Cushing. That’s a major point momentum swing if Tuttle can do it.
- The only finals without one of those three schools is at 189 with Brad Avery of Madill against Cody Johnson of Oologah and at heavyweight with Chaz Mattocks of McLoud against Joey George of Blackwell.
- Should be a fun and memorable Saturday. Be back Sunday with thoughts and also going to bust out the videos again. Let’s hear what some of these studs have to say.
How’d I do?
By Robert Przybylo
BPrzybylo@opubco.com
Well, you can’t make crazy predictions and then not eat your words, so that’s what I’m here to do.
Had a couple of readers e-mail me about how difficult it was to watch the swimming events, and I appreciate the heads up.
As a writer, I wasn’t really focused on the crowd issues, but I understand the concern. Apparently, there were some occupancy issues at OCCC this weekend and not everyone could get in.
I’ll keep ya posted to see if the OSSAA has any plans to try to change the format.
But let’s go back to Friday’s paper where I did the boys/girls/teams to watch.
Boys
Alex Barto, Stillwater: Did not dominate like I expected him to. Placed second in 200 free and third in 500 free. Also part of a couple relay teams that finished third. Solid but not what I was expecting.
Wilson Wei, Norman North: Kinda in the same category. Didn’t do bad by any means with a third in the 200 IM and a second in the 500 free. Thought he might do some sprinting, guess not.
Ian McKenzie, Norman North: Won his first individual title in the 100 free. Also posted a 50 free time under 21 seconds. Named co-swimmer of the year for 6A boys. No apology necessary.
Isaac McKnight, Chickasha: Won both the 50 and 100 free, which are Chickasha’s first swimming championships. Would have finished extremely high in 6A with same times and may have even been pushed more.
Typ Whinnery, Deer Creek: Though he was very ill for the finals, won both the 500 free and 100 breaststroke going away. Shows what type of stamina and strength to do both in such a short period.
Who I should have talked about: Nelson Head and Eastman Holloway of Tulsa Union and Dakota Wheeler of Westmoore. All three impressive in pulling off the double golds.
Girls
Megan Myers, Tulsa Union: Won 500 free and placed third in 200 free. Union just couldn’t overtake Jenks in any of the relays, finishing second every time.
Kaylee Steffen, Putnam West: Went in thinking she would do 100 butterfly. Won 200 IM and went under a 1:00 in backstroke, which she said was her goal. Valerie Hayes of Jenks won the event.
Nikki Colton, Edmond North: Her and Jill Enge cursed each other by being in the same events. Colton placed second in the 200 IM and 100 breaststroke and did all she could for Huskies.
Parris Schoppa, Putnam North: Went in as favorite in 50 and 100 free and pulled off the double. Added cherry on top with girls swimmer of the year in 6A.
Lizzy Whitbeck, McGuinness: Not much more she could have done. Two individual titles, two relay titles and the first ever 5A title to the Irish girls.
Who I should have talked about: Don’t know, pretty confident with my selections. Jenks’ Michelle Glass had a great tournament, and I was saving Chelsea Ye for a story, so not feeling too bad.
Boys teams
Jenks: Placed first, dominated. Didn’t have to be a genius to figure that one out.
Stillwater: Thought Pioneers would come in second, fell back to fourth.
Norman North: Sixth place was not what the T’Wolves were hoping for though did have some solid individual outings.
Edmond Memorial: Got big times by all the right people and placed third.
Heritage Hall: Had some real great moments with Narayan Naik and Turner Petersen, but didn’t have enough in the final events and placed fourth.
Edmond North: Did not give the Huskies enough credit as they took second when I was projecting a sixth spot.
Girls teams
Jenks: Placed first and held off mighty charge by Tulsa Union.
Tulsa Union: Placed second and went stroke-for-stroke with Jenks.
Edmond Memorial: Jill Enge paved way to third-place finish, so I got 1-3 right.
Putnam North: Schoppa’s brilliance aside, Panthers finished eighth.
McGuinness: Did what was expected and grabbed the 5A title.
And for fun, here are those short videos. Girls: Whitbeck, Ye, Steffen and Schoppa. Boys: Wheeler, McKnight and McKenzie.
Up next on the Boneman’s winter tour is wrestling. Covering 3A and 4A, so see you at State Fair Arena.
Day 2 Swimming thoughts…
By Robert Przybylo
BPrzybylo@opubco.com
It’s nearly 8 on a Saturday night, but I am done. Unfortunately, I was not able to fit in all the coverage I was hoping for.
So don’t fret if not all of the great outings today don’t make Sunday’s paper. There is still plenty more to come. Look for a story on the McGuinness girls as well as notes and the lengthy results.
Three out of four ain’t bad, right? Jenks dominated the boys field and held off Tulsa Union for the girls title. McGuinness girls cruised to the title while Bixby is the lone blemish as the Spartans won the 5A boys. I predicted Heritage Hall, who placed fourth.
Thoughts, observations, etc.
- Several multi-time winners today. Isaac McKnight gave Chickasha its first swimming titles ever. Putnam North’s Parris Schoppa achieved her dream of winning both the 50 and 100 free.
- Dakota Wheeler of Westmoore came out of nowhere this year to smoke the field in the 100 butterfly and 100 breaststroke.
- Typ Whinnery of Deer Creek impressed me with his ability to win the 500 free by a lengthy margin and then coming back to win the 100 breaststroke not that much later.
- Norman North’s Ian McKenzie has always been a bridesmaid but Saturday became the bride. He’s won 16 medals in four years with the T’Wolves but his win by less than three-tenths vs. Jenks’ Jacob Pearce in the 100 freestyle was his first title.
- Edmond Memorial’s Jill Enge and Edmond North’s Nikki Colton were attached at the hip. In the 200 IM, it was Colton edging out Enge by .04 to earn second (Putnam West’s Kaylee Steffen won). Then in the 100 breaststroke, it was Enge returning the favor, beating Colton by .07 to win the event.
- Narayan Naik of Heritage Hall earned a couple of titles and early on, it appeared the Chargers might be taking home a title. But Bixby came up huge down the stretch and Fort Gibson and Harrah made late surges. The Harrah team surprised me the most. Coach Guy Worth got every bit he could from his boys and girls.
- Had a chance to talk with Classen’s Josh Morgan, who is serving as the school sponsor for freshman Chelsea Ye. Ye won two titles Saturday. Morgan told me he swam club when he was younger, “but that was a long time ago.” He’s in awe and loving every minute of it with Ye’s success. She should be the toast of the school come Monday.
- Jenks’ student body lets their voices be heard. You knew when the Trojans were about to win an event or did win one. Congrats to John Turner’s teams for pulling off the double once again.
- When the swimmers marched in for the final, music was played. Your usual anthem of hype jams were played, except for one glaring example. Josh Turner’s “Me and God” was the theme for the boys 6A 500 free. I’m not knocking it, just thought it was a strange “get hyped” song.
- Your swimmers of the year. 6A boys: (tie) Nelson Head of Tulsa Union and Norman North’s Ian McKenzie. 6A girls: Parris Schoppa of Putnam North. 5A boys: Taylor Westby of Tulsa Kelley. 5A girls: Grace Peters of Harrah.
- Making it two classes was a good move. Dare I say an excellent move. The atmosphere was fantastic. The crowd was huge. The amount of swimmers only makes more kids in the future want to come out. I said before about how it gave the “little man” a chance to hope.
It did. Teams like Harrah and Chickasha and Deer Creek don’t have much hope vs. 6A teams. But man did they provide some moments in 5A.
- Special thanks to the Deer Creek moms for helping me out so much this weekend. Whether it was results or answering questions, it’s much appreciated.
- Look for a ton of post-swim videos with some of the individual champions either late Sunday or Monday. And now I got even more work to do. Out of all these great outings, who deserves to the boys and girls All-City Swimmer of the Year? Hmm, I’m non-commital at this point.
Day 1 Swimming thoughts…
By Robert Przybylo
BPrzybylo@opubco.com
Here I was anticipating getting home around 8 or 9 at night. This is not too bad. I reserve the right to complain tomorrow with all the award ceremonies.
Definitely not the same electricity without Samantha Woodward, but that doesn’t mean Your Friendly Neighborhood Boneman didn’t have a fun time at OCCC’s Aquatic Center.
Thoughts, observations, who shocked, etc, so away we go…
- Standing by my McGuinness winning the 5A girls and Heritage Hall winning the 5A boys. The Chargers were especially confident following the day 1 events. More than anything with the Irish girls is they have someone competing in every event. Not all of the 5A contenders can say the same, and all that means is a bevy of points going to McGuinness.
- Jenks is ridiculous (boys and girls). Talking with Edmond coach Steve Riggs after the meet, he said Saturday will be even more absurd for Jenks. Freshman Montana Gaffney really stood out to me as did Jacob Pearce. You see the names, but it’s great to actually get the chance to see them in action.
- Same can be said for Classen’s Chelsea Ye and Union’s Eastman Holloway. Both are freshman and both should walk away with some titles. Look for a story about Ye in Saturday’s paper.
- Their teams won’t be in the hunt, but what Deer Creek’s Typ Whinnery and Westmoore’s Dakota Wheeler are doing needs to be noticed. Whinnery right now has a 40-second advantage over his nearest 5A competitor in the 500 freestyle and is four seconds better than Holloway overall.
As for the breaststroke, both are dominating there with Wheeler having a slight advantage. Whinnery has a four-second edge while Wheeler has a two-second edge in 6A.
- One of the more intriguing finals will be the boys 100 backstroke. Norman coach Kent Nicholson said it would be a battle between Norman’s Bruno Lipiani and Union’s Nelson Head. After the first, it is. Lipiani holds the edge after day 1.
- Stillwater was a little disappointing today. Maybe the Pioneers are saving themselves for the finals, but I was maybe a little too high on them.
- Could this be the year for Putnam North’s Parris Schoppa? Heavy favorite going into the 50 and 100 free and didn’t disappoint on day 1.
- Norman’s 400 free relay team being DQ’d really hurts the Tigers…duh. That lineup of Jack Hardwick, Nathan Sheely, Bradley Quy and Bruno Lipiani was going to make some noise in the finals.
- In terms of your Oklahoma City area studs, the expected fine results from the likes of Edmond Memorial’s Jill and Daniel Enge, Edmond North’s Nikki Colton and Ryan Adams, Norman North’s Wilson Wei and Ian McKenzie and Putnam West’s Kaylee Steffen.
- Hope day 2 is as smooth as day 1. Be back either late Saturday or Sunday with championship thoughts.
State Swimming preview…
By Robert Przybylo
BPrzybylo@opubco.com
Well, tomorrow is Day 1 of the state swimming championships at the Aquatic Center at Oklahoma City Community College.
Notice the new start time of 11 a.m. to accommodate the fact there is now a Class 5A and 6A.
Won’t matter Friday as both classes will compete at the same time, but it will matter Saturday where 5A will swim first and then 6A.
Friday’s paper will have the preview, but there are some things that are not fit to print. In other words, I like to ramble on and on and the blog is the best place to do it 
Boys
I can’t see anyone challenging Jenks. The biggest obstacle the Trojans faced was in the summer with the issues with coach John Turner. Those are long gone, and Jenks should claim yet another title.
Looking forward to seeing Stillwater’s Alex Barto again. I only get to see him at the state tournament, but he made quite the impression last year.
I do believe Norman North has two of the best boys in the entire state in sophomore Wilson Wei and senior Ian McKenzie. With that said, don’t think the Timberwolves will be fighting for anything better than third though both could win some individual titles.
Westmoore won’t make a dent in the team race, but Dakota Wheeler has a strong chance at earning a couple of individual crowns. His qualifying times in the 100 butterfly and 100 breaststroke are easily some of the best.
Interesting to see what happens with the Edmond teams. Both Memorial and North have solid swimmers with EM led by Daniel Enge and EN by Ryan Adams. But again, see them fighting for third, at best.
The birth of 5A will actually lead to a great race. No clear-cut favorite but Heritage Hall, Harrah, Fort Gibson and Bixby all have legit shots. And could be a dark horse or two with Chickasha and Altus, especially if Isaac McKnight dominates his events for the Chicks.
Also, Deer Creek could throw wrench into plans as both Logan Testi and Typ Whinnery could be 1-2 in certain events. And I don’t remember Narayan Naik from Heritage Hall, but he should make a splash as well.
Girls
Again, here think Jenks is going to win. But I’m a lot more interested in seeing the individual events as there are a lot of stars here who can steal the show.
Kaylee Steffen, Putnam West: She shockingly won the 100 backstroke last year. Has carried herself with a lot more confidence this season and should be the one to beat in both the 200 IM and 100 butterfly.
Parris Schoppa, Putnam North: Where did she come from? Heading into state, the best sprinter (50, 100 free) in the state, bar none.
Jill Enge, Edmond Memorial and Nikki Colton, Edmond North. The best the Edmond schools have to offer and some of the hardest working girls in the state.
Megan Myers, Tulsa Union and Bailey McCullough, Stillwater. As sophomores, already two of the best in the state. Could be challenging for that crown next two years, too.
Chelsea Ye, Classen. Going to try to write a feature on her during the first day. I am extremely interested in how a student from Classen can become perhaps the next big thing in the sport.
Putnam North could play the role of spoiler. Unexpected conference win and really not much is expected from them so always dangerous. Also interested to see how Amy Kilby performs. Kilby won the diving competition the last two years, but it’s now gone and she still swims.
Think the 5A team race is McGuinness’ to lose. Tough to bet against Lizzy Whitbeck and should have enough depth to take the crown. But not going to count out Bixby, Fort Gibson and Harrah.
All ‘n all, should be a lot of fun this weekend. Look for video, blog posts and all that other good stuff throughout the weekend.
Just over a week away…
By Robert Przybylo
BPrzybylo@opubco.com
It’s a different feeling heading into this year’s state swimming championships. For one, it could be an even longer two days with the Class 5A and 6A competitions (not that I mind).
Also, there’s no Samantha Woodward to galvanize the weekend. But that doesn’t mean there aren’t swimmers worth watching for.
The biggest thing is going to be to see just how strong Jenks and Union are. In talking with Oklahoma City area coaches, they believe it’s a fight for third at this point with the Redskins and Trojans doing what they normally do.
I’m not going to count out Stillwater, either. Guess it’s just going to matter about how much depth the Pioneers have.
Spoke with Edmond coach Steve Riggs about last weekend’s Mid-State and Metro Conference championships. Sounds like while we don’t have any one great storyline this year, there are plenty of mini-stories to go around.
For starters, after the weather wreaked havoc on the swimming schedules, the boys and girls came through huge. Five conference records were set and some of them were extremely impressive.
Putnam North’s Parris Schoppa has come into her own as a senior and broke both the 50 and 100 free marks. Staying in Putnam, Putnam West’s Kaylee Steffen has only built off her surprising state win in the 100 backstroke. Only this year, she’s doing it in every event, setting the mark in the 100 fly and 200 individual medley.
Norman and Norman North are canceling each other out. Coach Kent Nicholson has done a remarkable job in building those two programs. How can you not be impressed by NN’s duo of Wilson Wei and Ian McKenzie? But Norman is no slouch, either, with foreign exchange transfer Bruno Lipiani and senior Jack Hardwick. The Normans, much like the Edmond squads, might have been the team to beat if they were one unit.
Of course, they’re not so while a team title is likely out of the picture for both, there’s nothing to prevent them from taking home some individual titles.
Edmond, as a whole, isn’t as strong as last year, but it’ll be fun to watch Jill Enge (Memorial) and Nikki Colton (North) one more time. Been extremely impressed with them the last two years.
And as always, state gives me a chance to be introduced to some new kids. Last year, it was NN’s Wei and Chickasha’s Isaac McKnight who made the biggest splash.
This year might be the year Deer Creek’s Logan Testi and Typ Whinnery break through. It’s amazing how the two have been qualifying at about the same times the entire season.
Not going to count the Moore schools, but Southmoore has definitely spread the wealth around to where not one solid team to watch. Westmoore’s Dakota Wheeler has been impressive and broke one of the longer-standing conference marks in the 100 fly.
If they have enough depth, McGuinness and girls and Heritage Hall boys could be the first-ever Class 5A champions. Definitely a lot of competition there, though.
Much more in-depth look at things next week. Conference meets give you a good idea of what to expect at state. Not necessarily what will happen but a better indicator that if you’re going to make some picks (like me), these results and times help justify things.
And who knows, maybe the Last Chance meet will provide some fireworks, too?
Ikard tradition lives on at OU…
By Robert Przybylo
BPrzybylo@opubco.com
The atmosphere for Bishop McGuinness tight end Gabe Ikard’s signing to Oklahoma was actually pretty tame compared to some of the other ones I’ve attended.
Maybe it’s because of Ikard’s size and ability, that took away some of the shock that say a town like Dewar has with having Ronnell Lewis going to OU.
Or maybe because the Ikard family’s home away from home is the Norman campus. Both of Gabe’s brothers, Sam and Ben, are currently at OU and his parents were Sooners.
So even when Ikard was receiving offers left and right from everywhere, including top-notch academic programs like Stanford and Notre Dame, everyone was just waiting for OU to come along.
And the Sooners did and Ikard signed Wednesday to play for OU. The usual cast of characters was there (family, coaches and players), nothing really out of the norm. Must admit had me a piece of cake and a couple of pieces of pizza.
Ikard was wearing an OU shirt, so no last-minute switches here (not that anything was ever rumored with Gabe). He spoke about the great tradition OU has at TE and how he hopes to add to that.
Able to watch Ikard play a couple of times and thoroughly impressed with his will to win. He was able to make adjustments when teams would try to stop him. And most of all, he came up big when he needed to the most (remember the huge TD vs. Sallisaw in the playoffs this year?).
Don’t know how much time Ikard is going to see, if any, next year. With Jermaine Gresham returning, hmm, safe bet he’s not starting. And Brody Eldridge is still a beast. But Ikard doesn’t mind.
He said he looks forward to learning a lot from both TEs. He said something that got me thinking. In this modern day world of “me, me, me,” he said he doesn’t care about not playing right off the bat. When you have great players like OU has, you want them on your team, he said.
Putting personal pride aside is a big sign of maturity, IMO. OU quarterback Sam Bradford went to Putnam North, just up the road from McGuinness and Gabe said he has a great relationship with Bradford from when they were younger.
For now, Ikard is just looking to get back to 100 percent. In his first basketball game this season, he broke his foot. He said he’s recovering fine. He learned that maybe he tried to make the transition a little too fast from football and basketball.
Who can blame him? He was just itchin’ for another state title. At McGuinness, Ikard won two state championships in football and basketball. Missed out on a third in football this year in the finals and basketball is still pending.
Ikard’s intelligence is going to help him stand out amongst the group. Both with his smarts about the game and his smarts off the field. He has an engaging personality that makes it easy for people to want to cheer him on.
Read about Ikard’s decision and see Ikard give his thoughts about making it official and becoming an Oklahoma Sooner.
