The medals have been put around necks, trophies given to the teams, and with that the State Tournament concludes Newcastle’s 2023-24 wrestling season.
Five Racers made the trip, resulting in a single thirdplace medal. Nicholas Lozano was the only Racer to end up on the podium, taking 3rd place in the 285 lb weight class.
Lozano started off with a fall in the 3rd period over the 2nd place East Regional placer, Noah Cowan from Pryor. In his semi-final match against Elgin’s Jace Williams, Lozano lost in an exciting three overtime match, 2-1. This placed him in the consolation semifinals, where he had to take on Nik Herendeen from Guthrie. Lozano had a loss to Herendeen at Regionals, but this time he prevailed, winning 5-3 in an exciting match. In the consolation finals, Lozano again faced Cowan and pinned him with 32 seconds left in the second period.
The only other Racer entry in the boys tournament was senior Shane Lovejoy. Lovejoy was unable to take the podium, losing in the first round to Laird Thompson from Grove. He came back in the consolation quarters by pinning Bryson Poindexter of Duncan in the first period, but then lost to Wesley Silvis from Guthrie, who took 2nd at the West Regional, in the consolation quarters.
Coach Zach Hale said this ends a great career for Lovejoy who has led the Racers since he was a freshman and is in the top 15 of our all-time categories including wins and falls.
In the girls tournament, Addison Schuringa was the first Racer to be put out of the tournament in the wrestlein matches on Thursday evening losing to Megan Aaron from Midwest City. Coaches said Schuringa is going to be a force to be reckoned with in the coming years since the sophomore will be returning next season.
Junior Trinity Duran came up short in the first round, losing to Lauren Mullin from Bixby on Thursday. On Friday, during the consolation quarterfinals, she lost to Brooklynn Huggins from El Reno. Duran leads the girls team’s stats in several categories. Coaches said they expect her to return for her senior year with a vengeance.
Senior Aundrea Estrada was excited since she did not have a wrestle-in match this year but was injured during her first-round match of the tournament as her opponent, Zion Moore from Owasso, was attempting to take her down. Estrada has been a solid wrestler for the Racers since taking over the heavyweight class from an injured Callie Rogers in her sophomore year. She went on to become the Racers’ first girls Regional placer (the first year for the OSSAA Girls Regionals that year), and she is a three-time State qualifier for the Racers. Coaches said they hope she has a quick recovery.
