Elgin crowned 5A West mat champs

MIDWEST CITY — Elgin crowned three individual champions and claimed the team trophy at the Class 5A West Regional wrestling tournament last Saturday at Carl Albert High School.

Hunter Jackson won first at 113 pounds, followed by Dominick Benndetto at 144 and Ritson Meyer at 190 pounds. Finishing second was Nino Vidic at 126 pounds, while Colyn Donnelly was runner-up at 215.

As a team, Elgin ran away with the championship by accumulating 236.5 points, with Lawton MacArthur a distant second with 201 and El Reno with 200 points.

“We had a good day,” Elgin head coach Cody Rowell said. “We qualified 10 for state, and that’s the most I’ve ever had. We had a quick turnaround since Dual State, but our kids are built for this. It’s a grind. It came together like I had hoped it would.”

Rowell is in his seventh season as Elgin’s wrestling coach.

Also earning points for Elgin at the regional meet were Brice Martin, who finished fourth at 106 pounds; Dylen Lazzar, sixth place at 120 pounds; Austin Elam, fifth place at 138 pounds; Jack Anglley, fourth place at 150 pounds; Gabe Dittmeyer, sixth place at 157 pounds; George Tahdooahnippah, sixth at 165 pounds; Jonavin Mullins, fourth place at 175 pounds; and Shay Spencer, fourth place at 285 pounds.

The state tournament will be held Friday and Saturday at Jim Norick Arena in Oklahoma City.

Some of the most dramatic moments for Elgin wrestlers during the regional tournament came at 138 and 144 pounds. Elam led 4-0 after the first period of the 138-pound fifth-place match but had to make a last-second move in the third period that scored one point as the whistle sounded, giving Elam a 5-4 victory. The win ensured Elam qualified for the state tournament.

At 144 pounds, Bennedetto had a slim 1-0 lead heading into third period, but Lawton Mac’s Calvin Moon tallied a one-point escape to knot the score. However, Bennedetto would not be denied as he scored a three-point move as time expired, giving the Elgin wrestler a 4-1 win, a first-place regional finish and a berth in the state tournament.

Sixth-place finishers scored points for Elgin in the regional tournament but did not qualify for the state tourney.

State tournament brackets were released Monday and are available at www.ossaa.net.

Four Elgin wrestlers – Martin, Elam, Mullins and Spencer – will compete in wrestle-in matches to complete the brackets at 106, 138, 175 and 285 pounds. Those matches will begin at 9:30 a.m. Friday, with first-round matches starting at 11 a.m. 

A complete schedule of events is listed on the OSSAA website.