A teen girl walked around in the circle drawn on the map, her gait steady and focus on the other teen across from her. Surrounding the two was a cacophony of sound. Parents shouting encouragement. Coaches shouting orders. All of it mixing and melting together into chaos with five other pairs of teens facing off around it.
If it bothered the girl, it wasn’t noticeable. From watching her, you’d never know that this was freshman Lizzy Pryor’s first time at the Big House - also known as the Jim Norick Arena - for the OSSAA State Wrestling Championships. Although she didn’t go as far as she wanted - of course, Pryor wanted first she still made Chandler history alongside teammate Shailey Penn by being the first girl wrestlers from the school to place at state.
Penn placed third in 120 lbs. and Pryor took fourth in 110 lbs. While their last teammate to qualify, Brylee Waldman, was knocked out before the consolation semis, she was still among the top eight wrestlers in 155 lbs., a feat considering she started wrestling a few months ago. They ranked 11th overall in team points.
“I’m just excited for them. I’m so proud of them,” said Coach Kallie Jo Petrie. “I’m happy to be part of watching them do nothing but be the strongest females they can possibly be.”
She said, yes, they could have done better, but to take three girls to regionals and have all three qualify is still pretty good. Then, to have two get on the podium. The team had a bit of a struggle, with Petrie saying there was a personal situation that hit close to home early in the tournament.
Some wrestlers struggled with it more than others, but Petrie encouraged them, specifically Penn, to focus on the matches, and it paid off.
But they weren’t the only ones facing obstacles and achieving great things this weekend.
The McLoud girls’ wrestling team overcame injuries and medical conditions to end their season clinching the 5A championship and beating out rivals Little Axe by one point earned in their final match.
“It feels awesome. It feels really good to watch how hard all those girls worked to get where they were and just to get it all kind of fall together,” said Coach William Winters.
There’s a friendly rivalry between McLoud and Little Axe, with both coaches at one point during the season saying they were watching the other.
“They’re the ones, right? They got 31 girls on the team, and they’re all such good, tough girls. They don’t have a truly weak weight class,” he said. “I enjoy the competition, the rivalry that we have. I know that they enjoy it too.”
McLoud has only nine on their team making them one of the smallest in 5A. They took eight to state, with one being out for an injury. Individually, Carli Sisco is the state champ for 100 lbs., while Launa Troutt took the title for 115 lbs. Yazmin Nevarez (110 lbs.) and Addie Addams (140 lbs.) took runner-up.
Even Winters walked away with an award, being named Coach of the Year. He said he doesn’t take a lot of credit for his team, though he appreciates the award.
“It being an award that came straight from the refs, it does mean a lot,” he said. “I always try to downplay, like I really don’t think that I do that much. The girls are the ones that do all the work. The reason we look really good is because our girls work really, really hard.”
For Chandler boys, junior Landon Earp walked away with another fourthplace finish in the 113 weight class, and sophomore Bryar Dryden was knocked out in earlier rounds. Coach Franklin Ward said while they could have done better, the team had a pretty good season overall.
“I know he (Earp) was disappointed in not getting at least third, but it was a tough match. He’d beat the kid already the day before, and it was a little bit bigger of a margin of victory for Landon,” he said.
For Dryden, Ward said he’s only a sophomore and was at state his first time, so making the top eight in his class for Oklahoma is still good for his age. “I know he wanted to do better than that, and I wanted him to, but you know, we’ll start preparing for next season tomorrow.”