Nine Bristow wrestlers head to State competition, Wednesday

Zoey Freeman 1st Girls Regional Champion 125, going to State.

Regional tournament held in Bristow the weekend.

Regional placer going into state are, Placing 1st Hayden Youcham 175 2nd Javon Freeman 120 2nd Chandler Forntey 165 3rd Kale Fruits 126 3rd Hudson Claggett 144 4th Marley Branscum 285 5th Kolson Seachris 106 5th Hank Powell 150 Other wrestlers competing this weekend but not placing 6th Jamarion Langley 113, Dax Davis 132, Asa Fortney 138, and Clay Cain 215.

Submitted by Dana Fortney

This weekend there are nine high school wrestlers who will be representing Bristow as they compete in the 2024 OSSAA Oklahoma State wrestling tournament. It has been over ten years since Bristow has had this many State Qualifiers. Please take a minute to “meet” the wrestlers and to wish them luck as the wrestle.

Chandler Fortney is a Senior and wrestles at 165 pounds. Chandler has been wrestling nearly all of his life. He enjoys wrestling because it is such a tough and challenging sport. There have been a lot of tough and memorable matches, but one that stands out to Chandler is last year at State when he wrestled against the number 1 seed and lost. It was one of the most physically challenging matches he’s had. Chandler has a lot of fans, but says his mom and his Aunt Dana (probably because I was the one asking the question…) top the list. He credits his Uncle Luke for being his best role model and working with him on wrestling, watching all of his matches and going over them move by move with him afterwards. As he heads into State this weekend he is focused on going out there and wrestling hard and proving something.

Hudson Claggett is a Freshman and wrestles at 144 pounds. He has been wrestling since first grade. One of his most memorable matches this year was when he had to wrestle up a weight at 150 pounds at Cushing and still beat his opponent! Hudson says wrestling is different than other sports because it challenges you to be better, and that there are no excuses in wrestling, and no team to rely on, it’s just you out there on the mat. He credits his mom with being one of his biggest fans because she always encourages him and gives him confidence if he’s feeling nervous. This weekend his plans at State are to wrestle tough, solid and to stay in good position, and to take one match at a time.

Kale Fruits is Freshman, who wrestles at 126 pounds. Kale has been wrestling since 1st grade. Looking back at this season his match at Cushing comes to mind because his opponent was a very tough wrestler who beat him by one point. Kale says wrestling stands out among other sports because it is physically demanding requires the right mentality and is just harder than other sports. Kale knows he has a lot of fans supporting him and considers his Grandma to be his Number One fan! Coach Moore is a great role model to him because he pushes him at practice to always be a better version of himself. As he goes into State this weekend Kale plans to upset tougher wrestlers and win his first state title.

Marley Branscum is a Sophomore and is our Heavy Weight wrestler. Marley is one of the wrestlers who is newest to the sport as he just started wrestling in 7th grade. His toughest match this season was against a wrestler from Catoosa in the final match to qualify for state, a match that went into overtime. Wrestling stands out to Marley from other sports because it is a constant grind and is harder physically than other sports. He credits his parents as being his biggest fans and role models. This weekend his focus is to get into the bracket and place.

Hank Powell is a Junior who wrestles at 150 pounds and has been wrestling since 3rd grade. This year his toughest match was against a wrestler from Jay who he wrestled twice this season, with the last match being at Regional’s. His goal is to face him again at State and to win. Wrestling stands out to Hank as being the most physically and mentally demanding sport. Hank has a younger brother, Mack who also wrestles and is his partner in training and is who he considers to be his biggest fan and supporter. As State approaches Hanks plan is to get an upset and place.

Javon Freeman is a Freshman who wrestles at 120 pounds and has been wrestling for nine years. The match that stands out to him this season is in the semi finals at the regional tournament where he was able to beat a wrestler who had beat him earlier this year at the Chuck West tournament. Javon enjoys wrestling more than other sports because he feels it is fun sport that is also challenging and a sport where his parents are his biggest fans and best role models. His plans for this weekend are to make it to Finals.

Haydan Yocham is a Sophomore wrestling at 175 pounds. Haydan began wrestling when he was four years old. He loves the sport because it requires determination and dedication to be good. He has wrestled a lot of good matches this year but his win over a Mannford wrestler at Regionals earning him 1st place stands out among all other matches. His dad is his best role model and he credits his parents with being his biggest fans. His plan for state is to wrestle hard and “give it to them”.

Kolson Seachris is a Freshman who has been wrestling since 3rd grade. His toughest match of the season was against a wrestler from Catoosa at Regionals. Wrestling stands out to him as being different than other sports because of the mindset it requires. His dad is his role model because he helps him get into the right mindset before his matches, and his parents are his biggest fans. This weekend as he heads into state he plans to get into a bracket by winning his wrestle in match and continue winning.

Zoey Freeman is a Senior and wrestles at 125 pounds. Zoey has been wrestling since 4th grade and plans to continue wrestling at college. Her most memorable match this season was in the finals at Regionals where she beat an opponent that she had not been able to beat for a while. She feels like she found her place to fit in with wrestling and thinks it is different than a lot of other sports because she is friends with most all of her opponents. In fact, although she definitely credits both mom and dad as being her biggest fans, she considers the female wrestlers who wrestled before her in high school as being her role models. Zoey’s focus as she goes into this weekend is to wrestle “her way” in each match and to not let her opponents determine how she wrestles.