Photo by Rachel Anne Seymour/Bigheart Times
The Panthers played host to the Pawnee Black Bears in their final dual of the season Monday. And the results came down to the last match of the evening.
Austin Aguinaga, in his first year of wrestling, was to play a decisive role in the outcome of the dual. Aguinaga, a freshman, faced a much older and much more experienced opponent. If he was to fall by a pin the Panthers would lose the dual, but if Aguinaga won, or even managed to not get pinned, then Barnsdall would win.
“He (Aguinaga) fought hard through the entire match,” Coach Shawn Wilson said. “He fought off his back several times to keep from giving up six-points. He did lose his match, but played his part to help the team win.”
Although Aguinaga lost to Pawnee’s John Sanders, 8-2, he put up a strong fight to help the Panthers win the dual by a narrow margin of 34-33.
“I hated to lose,” said Aguinaga. “But at least I didn’t get pinned. All I wanted to do was help my team.”
Cameron Turley, Lane White, Ethan Shaw, Marlon Houston, and Caleb Hawes all picked up big wins for the Panthers. Shaw, a freshman, also racked up his first victory by fall in high school action.
In other wrestling, the Barnsdall junior high grapplers travelled to Sperry this past weekend to participate in the Will Rogers Conference Tournament, but for the high school this was one of the rare few weekends without action.
“It feels good to have some time off,” said Caleb Hawes, fresh from his first-place finish at the Coweta Invitational Tournament the previous weekend. “A break feels good right before the season really starts to pick up speed and things get serious.”
This was the final school affiliated junior high tournament of the year and the Panthers came through in force. Placing for the Panthers were Chandler Bryant with sixth-place; Logan Bryant, Colton Auschwitz, and Austin Aguinaga with third-place; Colten Allen and Austin Nelson with second-place; and Lane White won first in his weight division.
The Panthers placed fourth as a team.
“We wrestled well as a team,” Coach Wilson said. “There were some individuals I thought might have done better, but as a whole I’m really proud of these guys this season.”
While the official season might be drawing to a close, the junior high wrestlers have their eyes set on other prizes. In the next few weeks their attention will shift to the OKWA Kids State Tournament and Junior High All-State Tournament. In these tournaments the Panthers will face some of the most elite that the state has to offer.
“I love the state tournament,” said Logan Bryant, eighth-grader. “This is the best time of the year. All the hard work is really starting to pay off.”
