Jackets qualify 5 for state

The reins of the Kingfi sher High School wrestling program are firmly in the grasp of Steven Wilson.

If last weekend’s performance was any indication, those reins are in excellent hands.

Wilson’s Yellowjackets qualified five individuals for the Class 3A state tournament with their showings at the west regional in Marlow.

Jaxon Sheppard won the 126-pound regional championship.

Gant Browning was the 132-pound runner-up and Brayden Kochenower the same at 138.

Mason Alig took fourth at 175 pounds and Damien Haynes fifth at 144.

Each will compete at the state tournament beginning Thursday at State Fair Arena.

The five qualifiers give KHS its most since sending five to state in 2015.

“We were hoping to get five to state, but it doesn’t always work out the way you hoped,” said Wilson, who returned to his alma mater to help take over the wrestling program a year ago.

“We feel like our kids wrestled to their seeds and are wanting to continue to make strides.”

State is nothing new for Browning, who earlier this season won his 100th career match as a Yellowjacket.

The senior is now a fourtime qualifier and was a medalist a year ago.

His spot was locked up this year by Friday night after he defeated Oklahoma Christian School’s Jace Lillie 10-6 in the semifinals.

That came after an 11-2 major decision over Pawnee/Hominy’s Konner Aley and a fall at 2:11 against Zack Griffith of Bethel earlier in the day.

Browning fell short of a regional title when he lost a 9-5 decision to Marlow’s Keller Kizarr Saturday night in the finals.

Kizarr was one of eight regional champs for Marlow, which dominated the team race with 342 points. Berryhill was a distant second with 190.5.

KHS finished sixth with 115.5 points.

One title the Outlaws didn’t win came at 126 pounds.

That championship is owned by Sheppard, who knocked off Jaxson Murray 10-9 in the finals to claim gold.

He pinned Hennessey’s Westyn Hopkins at 5:06 of their quarterfinal match and beat Newkirk’s Colton Miller 9-7 in the semifinals.

He started the tournament with a 15-0 technical fall against Comanche’s Chris Jackson.

Sheppard is a shining example, said Wilson, of the improving wrestling program.

“At the beginning of the year, I wouldn’t have given him much of a shot to be a regional champion,” said Wilson of the freshman.

“But he started peaking at the right time. He placed high at conference and was a champion at Clinton. We knew going in that he had a chance.”

All four of Kochenower’s matches ended with a pin… three were in his favor.

He only needed 1:00 to beat David Hensley of Little Axe in the opening round.

Marlow’s Brennan Harris lasted until the second period before Kochenower pinned him at 3:13 of their quarterfinal.

Legend Yates of Comanche was pinned at only 1:20 of their semifinal.

Kochenower finally met his match in the championship bout as Berryhill’s Kyler Tabor, the top seed, pinned him at 1:31.

Like that trio of wrestlers, Alig also worked his way into his semifinal match.

He pinned Eli Frank of Hobart at 3:46 and Braden Strain of Berryhill in 3:56 to reach the semis.

Marlow’s Lawson Knox then pinned him at 1:21, sending Alig into the consolation bracket on Saturday.

Needing a win to qualify for state, Alig earned it quickly by pinning Frank again, this time in 2:00.

That also put him in the third-place match where Strain gained a bit of revenge with a pin at 3:46.

Haynes had to take the long road to qualifying.

He also took a short road - sort of - to get there.

Unlike most putting on a singlet, Haynes hasn’t been doing so for years.

He only picked up the sport last year as a junior.

“He’s grown exponentially in those two years,” said Wilson.

Haynes picked up a 12-0 major decision against Comanche’s Ty Lane to open the tournament.

However, his quarterfinal match saw him get pinned in 4:31 by Berryhill’s Jack White.

Haynes kept his chances alive with two straight elimination match wins.

He pinned Bethel’s Mavrick Wingo at 2:35 and Perry’s Asher Robinson at 2:14.

That landed him in the consolation semifinals where a win guaranteed him a spot at state.

The guarantee didn’t happen as he got pinned in 4:37 by Little Axe’s Rebel Doiron.

That gave Haynes one last opportunity in the fifth-place match: Win and advance or lose and be eliminated.

He advanced by outscoring Bryar Dryden of Chandler 11-4.

In nearly every match, Haynes faced a foe much more seasoned than himself.

“What he lacks in experience, he makes up for in athleticism,” said Wilson.

He is joined by Sheppard, Kochenower and Alig in making their first appearances at state. Three of them are underclassmen.

“We feel we are set up in a good position to bring home some medals,” said Wilson of this year’s prospects.

He also couldn’t help but look a bit further down the road.

“We’re looking forward to seeing how this year’s success will carry over for our wrestlers in the future,” he said.