Guthrie Wrestling will send six BlueJays to the 92nd Oklahoma High School Wrestling Championships to the State Fair Arena.
Blake Finley, Alex Nelson, Tyler Mahan, Timothy O’Connor, Bryan Dutton, Conner Howard and Andrew Toney take time for a photo following the Duncan Regional. Photo By Dawn Hacker.
After competing in the Duncan regional Alex Nelson, Timothy O’Connor, Tyler Mahan, Bryan Dutton, Conner Howard and Blake Finley came away with state berths. Overall, the team finished fourth overall.
Nelson, a 120-pound sophomore, rallied through the consolation side to win his third place match and now will be the No. 3 seed from the west and will go up against Collinsville’s junior Jacob Findley, who will be the No. 2 seed from the east. Nelson will enter the do-or-die match with an 19-5 season record against Findley’s 35-13.
O’Connor, a 126-pound senior, was stellar on the Duncan mat and came away as the regional champion with a win over Lawton MacArthur’s Colby Powers. O’Connor will be challenged by Tahlequah’s sopohomore Paul Sargent in the first round. The Bluejay enters with a 20-3 mark while Sargent qualifies with a 22-5 mark.
At 138 pounds, Guthrie’s Mahan will be challenged by Tahlequah’s Reece Davis. Mahan, who has a record of 19-6, took third in the regional and now faces Davis who is the No. 2 seed from the east. Mahan continues to find his stride toward the end of the year.
Dutton returns one final time to the State F yearair Arena after capturing a state championship back in 2011. This year Dutton returns as the top-seed after eveing the season series with a win over Duncan’s Connor Kelly home mat for the regional championship. Dutton enters with a 28-3 record and will will face Corey Todd, of Shawnee, with a 26-15 season mark.
Perhaps the most consitent wrestler for the Bluejays has been Howard. The junior took down Lawton Mac’s Garrett Shaw for the regional championship for the No. 1 seed on the championship match. Howard draws Tulsa East Central’s Josh Herman, who enters with a 31-7 mark. Howard is 30-3 on the year.
Finley rallied in regionals to capture the third place match and now will face Coweta’s Griffin Qualls. Finley is 16-4 while Qualls, who is just a freshmen, is 31-5. The winner of the match-up very well could see two-time state champion Jacoby Brown in the semifinals.
Dutton is 2-1 against Kelly this season, not 1-1