Meet the 2022-23 News Press All-Area Wrestling Team

Jun. 23—The 2022-23 News Press All-Area Wrestling Team took significant accomplishments to be apart of this season, with many state medalists — and a few finalists — landing on the honorable mention team as six boys wrestlers in the area won state titles and top the list for the all-area team.

In recognition of the the first official girls' state tournament, all five of the area females who qualified to compete — with several of them returning home with hardware — were recognized by the News Press, as girls' wrestling in the state is finally starting to get off the ground. In fact, the Perry girls' wrestling team was even named the state academic champions.

Wrestler of the Year: Cael Hughes, Stillwater (132)

Hughes reached legendary status by becoming just the seventh high school wrestler in the state of Oklahoma to complete his high school career without a single loss to his name. In his final state tournament, he reached the finals for the fourth-straight year with back-to-back first-period falls. It was a slightly tougher outing for his fourth title, earning a 4-0 decision over Edmond North's Hunter Hollingsworth — a wrestler that SHS assistant coach Jeremy Hughes has argued might be the best wrestler on the Huskies program.

Coach of the Year: Ethan Kyle, Stillwater

It wasn't easy, and it wasn't pretty, but Ethan Kyle and his coaching staff made it three-straight state championships since he took over the Stillwater High wrestling program. The Pioneers did not take a full lineup to the state tournament, and needed every single point — even the one and only point scored by Parker Brown by winning his pigtail match at 175 pounds — to fight off Edmond North in the team race. Stillwater also defended its dual state title but rolling through the Edmond North squad, which avenged Stillwater's lone dual loss of the year.

Abbie Rivero, Stillwater (100)

The Stillwater High sophomore picked up a pin of a senior from Anadarko in the opening round of state, but lost her next match to eventual state champion Jadyn Roller of Bixby. She came up one win shy of getting on the medal stand after losing a close 16-15 decision in the consolation semifinals to Telsie Butler, a junior from Altus, after Abbie Rivero was trailing 11-7 heading into the final period.

Robin Moorman, Morrison (100)

Robin Moorman was the lone Lady Wildcat to compete at the girls' state tournament — which pit every classification against one another. Moorman, who finished her season with a 14-6 record, lost in the pigtail at 100 pounds to Durant's Addison Polk, who we advance to the consolation semifinals in the bracket.

Aydan Thomas, Stillwater (106)

The Stillwater High sophomore put behind his disappointment of failing to medal in his freshman season in the best way possible. Aydan Thomas was crowned the 106-pound state champion in Class 6A to cap his year with a 40-2 record. After opening the state tournament with a fall, he scrapped to a 3-0 decision in the semifinals. On the biggest stage, he got an important 12-1 major decision against Jake Goodin of Edmond North — the team Stillwater High beat by one point in the team race.

Rachel Burns, Perkins-Tryon (115)

Rachel Burns had the top finish of any of the area girls at the first official OSSAA girls state tournament. Burns finished third at 115 pounds after losing her first match of the tournament by a slim 3-2 decision. In her third-place match, she beat a girl from a Class 6A school — Kristen DeLaRosa from Broken Arrow — by 7-4 decision.

Grady Mittasch, Pawnee (138)

Grady Mittasch gave Pawnee its fourth-straight season with an individual state champion — an achievement that has happened only once before in Black Bears history. He won his first state title after failing to earn a state medal the year before 126 pounds. Mittasch (48-1) won all three of his state matches by first-period pin, with the shortest taking just 17 seconds in the opening round and the longest by a fall 91 seconds over Marlow's Lawson Knox in the championship match.

Isabelle Stoops, Perry (140)

Isabelle Stoops was the lone state qualifier for the Lady Maroons, and ultimately found her way onto the podium at 140 pounds after having to compete in a wrestle-in bout. She lost her quarterfinal match to Tonkawa's Kylie Freeman — who then bested Stoops again in the third-place match. Stoops responded with back-to-back wins, including a consolation semifinal victory by 6-5 decision over Corin Lowe of Norman.

Kaiser Simpson, Cushing (144)

Kaiser Simpson got his revenge from a year ago, though this time against a different wrestler from the same program. In 2022, Simpson lost by tiebreaker in the 138-pound state final to Jack Golowesnki of Tuttle. A year later, Simpson — after winning his first two matches by fall in less than 80 seconds each — won his state title by tiebreaker in the 144-pound state final over Tuttle's Jaxon Koeltzow. He finished his season with a 19-0 record.

LaDarion Lockett, Stillwater (157)

It's looking more and more likely that LaDarion Lockett will be quick to follow Cael Hughes in becoming Stillwater's fourth four-time state champion. The Stillwater sophomore pinned his way to his second-straight state title, with the fastest coming in just over a minute in the first round of state. In the championship match, he pinned Bixby's Ishmael Guerrero with 13 seconds left in the second period to cap his season with a 43-1 record.

Landyn Sommer, Stillwater (165)

Landyn Sommer had something to prove this season after after a third-place finish at 138 pounds last year. And prove it, he did. Wrestling up at 165 pounds this past season, Sommer went undefeated in the middle of the Stillwater lineup with a 36-0 record. He picked up a fall in the first round of state, then had back-to-back decisions — that he was in clear control of — including a 7-1 decision over Edmond North's Jude Randall in the final.

Kaleb Owen, Perry (175)

Kaleb Owen defended his crown in Class 3A. After winning the 170-pound title last year, Owen had to battle his way to his second-straight state title — this time at 175 pounds. None of his victories at state were by more than a four-point advantage, with the championship being won over Salina's Jack Wilkins in the ultimate tiebreaker. It brought his season record to 52-3.

Joy Robledo-Cervantes, Stillwater (235)

Joy Robledo-Cervantes took the long way to earning a spot in the podium for the Lady Pioneers. After losing to Anadarko's Angeline Wetselline in the quarterfinal, she won back-to-back matches by fall to advance to the third-place match. She then faced Wetselline again in the medal match, losing by fall again to finish fourth.

Honorable Mention

Aydin Machado, Cushing (106)

Beric Jordan, Stillwater (113)

Sam Smith, Stillwater (120)

Iziah Tusler, Cushing (120)

JJ McComas, Stillwater (126)

Mitchell Borynack, Stillwater (144)

Chris Cordova, Perry (150)

Kael Voinovich, Stillwater (150)

Kobe Smith, Cushing (165)

Treg Bowman, Perry (190)

AJ Heeg, Stillwater (190)

Cameron Johnson, Stillwater (285)

Follow News Press sports editor Jason Elmquist on Twitter @jelmquistSW for updates on Oklahoma State and high school athletics.