Newcastle wrestling came in 10th place out of 24 teams at the competitive Duncan Southern Oklahoma Invitational High School Tournament on December 15-16.
Teams took part from Duncan, Lawton MacArthur, Guthrie, Chickasha, Comanche, Sulphur, Owasso, Cache, Lubbock, Texas, Blanchard, Hinton, Cap Rock, Texas, Shawnee, Durant, Plainview, Heritage Hall, Canyon West, Texas, Lawton High School, Davis, Ardmore, and Western Heights.
Racer wrestlers Gage Stark (113) and Shane Lovejoy (190) each placed third to lead local wrestlers. Nic Lozano added a fourth place finish at the heavyweight position.
Coach Zach Hale said, “It was a meat grinder of a tournament. We did well the first day, but just had a bad round that we had to recover from. I felt as though we recovered nicely.”
Hale said he was not content with the 10th place finish, but considering the weight descents and the sickness the Newcastle squad is dealing with, he said he is okay with placing.
“There’s still work to be done in the practice room,” Hale said.
Chickasha dominated the tournament with a total of 257 points. Hale said they are a State Championship-caliber team. Duncan came in second place with 214 points.
“There were some great matches to watch and see how Class 5A will match up come Regionals season,” Hale said.
The Racers beat #5-ranked Carl Albert, and then took the loss to the #3-ranked Chickasha.
“We tried to hold our own the best we could against the State Champion-caliber team, but unfortunately we came up a little short,” states Coach Kevin Sheets.
The Racers are off for Christmas break and will resume wrestling at the Pauls Valley Tournament January 5-6, 2024.
