Stillwater Wrestling

Cooking up a new batch of success with a familiar recipe - that's what Stillwater High School head wrestling coach Doug Chesbro is doing in his 13th year as the Pioneer's top chef. His tenure has seen a number of solid wrestlers come out of a program that is consistently in the top ten year in and year out. Although former state champions like Walker Clarke have moved into the college ranks (Clarke is close to home as an OSU Cowboy), new ingredients have been added to the recipe for success as new Pioneers have stepped forward to turn up the heat in the kitchen. "This group is a close bunch. I think success acts as a magnet and we have guys that have stepped into the leadership role to keep the workouts as tough as they've been. The intensity level hasn't changed at all. It's just different guys still filling those roles," Chesbro stated. The recipe for the Pioneers this year is sprinkled with underclassmen and seasoned with veterans. They range from 103-pound freshman Jared Elmore to junior standouts Chris Perry (189), Earl Sparrow (215) and T. Mike Walker (275) and seniors Ky Corley (130), Ben Marks (135) and Austin Standage (140). This group will be tested early in January with the Jenks Tournament the first weekend after the New Year along with tough duals against new conference rivals Sand Springs and Ponca City on January 8 and 10 respectively. The new Centennial Conference opens its inaugural season and Stillwater looks to be a contender for the first conference title. Other conference teams Enid, Sapulpa and Bartlesville. If December is any indicator of future success, this Pioneer team could have a shot for a finish in the top five of the state tournament as it did in 2006 when they were the state runners-up. The team had strong showings at the Ark City Tournament in Arkansas City, Kansas as well as the always demanding Perry Tournament on December 7-8. The team benefitted from the performance of two-time state placer Corley who was a champion at Perry, Standage (1st at Ark City and 3rd at Perry) and two-time state champion Perry who also won the Perry Tournament. Some of the nice surprises for Chesbro and his team have come from Standage who was a state qualifier last year and heavyweight T. Mike Walker. Chesbro says it doesn't surprise him to see these two experience success, but others may not have heard of them since Perry and Corley have received so many accolades. "T. Mike has already won as many matches in December as he did all last year and he is working hard. Austin's success at Ark City and Perry have got people talking about him that didn't notice him before." Other upperclassmen that Chesbro says are showing early signs of success include Marks at 135 and Tyler Pate at 171. "Ben has been a four-year starter and was one match away from qualifying at the state tournament last year. He has the ability to do some damage to people on any given day. He isn't a kid I would want to draw in the first round of regionals just because he goes so hard." Chesbro says of Pate, "Tyler has run into some real studs early. He drew a kid in Ark City that will be a 4-time state champ in Kansas and then had (Kyle) Blevins of Sapulpa in our dual. He has definitely faced some tough competition, but keeps plugging away." Chesbro is also excited about his young 103 pounder. "Jared is as capable a wrestler as any 103 pounder around. There are several of those guys who are very close to the same level. He'll have a good test at the Jenks Tournament with (Jakob) Weis of Jenks." In terms of needed points in duals and tournaments, the top two Pioneers are Corley and Perry. Corley was the state runner-up last year at 125 pounds to Broken Arrow's Drew Partain and placed 3rd in 2005 at 119. Perry was the state champion at 171 last year and 160 in 2005. He's vying for his third consecutive title this year which places him in an elite class. "Ky is hungry and looking for his championship after making it to the finals last year. Chris is working on staying on top of his game and being ready for any challenge that comes." Perry's reputation means that sometimes opposing coaches don't put their best wrestler on the mat to face him. "Chris' challenge continues to be working hard in the room and preparing him each day for all levels of competition. Earl (Sparrow) and others work to push the tempo in the room and keep all of them sharp." Chesbro sees the month of January as the taste-test for what will come about during the Regional Tournament in mid-February. "By the time we get to the Big Four Tournament (January 25-26), we will have seen most of the teams on the East side of the state at least a couple of times and know how we need to approach regional's." The Big Four will be a good test as teams added to the traditional Blackwell, Ponca City and Perry will include Muskogee, Union, Bristow and Enid. Chesbro sees some of the prime ingredients for success in his big-name wrestlers, but knows that the team title at the state tournament comes from the extra seasoning of additional state placers. "If we only have 2 or 3 finalists at state, we might do okay, but to be in the hunt, we need to have 2 or 3 or 4 finalists, with 2 or 3 or 4 other state placers. There have been years where we have done both, but we scare people when we start getting guys into the placement matches. That's what makes this both an individual and a team sport."