Back in Black

Followers of high school wrestling this season may feel "déjà vu all over again" as the Tiger wrestling team of Broken Arrow finds itself in familiar territory in the early part of the season and heading through January. The Tigers won five straight state tournament titles from 1998 to 2002. Former head coach and current Union athletic director Steve Dunlap helped build the dynasty during that span but coaching changes and time took its toll as Midwest City (2007) and Ponca City (2003-2006) took their turn as kings of the mat. After December and January, wrestling fans in Oklahoma and nationwide have found these current grapplers in a more customary location - at the top of the board. In his third year at the helm, head coach Shawn Jones has this program back in the hunt after a 6th place finish in 2006 and a 7th place finish last year. In December, Broken Arrow was joined by Catoosa in Amateur Wrestling News' Prep 40 national rankings (Catoosa was ranked 31 and B.A. was 33) after a strong showing at the Iron Man Tournament in Ohio. Regarded as one of the toughest high school tournaments in the nation, the Tigers placed 11th out of 56 teams. The resurgent Tigers are led by two-time state champion Drew Partain and 2006 state champ Matt Bryan. Both seniors have worked through the tough times in the Tiger wrestling room and lead a class of both upper- and underclassmen who want to restore the program to its glory days. Joining Partain (125 pounds) and Bryan (140) among some of the state's best are seniors Justin Oktay (135), Dakota Pruitt (152), state-qualifier Kyle Cast (160) and Joe Heimdale (215) who won third place by a fall at the Iron Man. Underclassmen such as junior Derek Steeley (119; state runner-up in 2007), sophomore state-qualifiers Dustin Scott (112) and Terry Williamson (189) combine with freshman Zach Skates (145) to create a salty lineup in the lower, middle and upper weights and generate match-up problems for teams who try to adjust their lineups in dual competition. Besides the showing at the national level, the Tigers won the prestigious Geary Tournament and finished behind Ponca City at the Bobby Lyons Invitational at Sand Springs. Bryan achieved a remarkable distinction at Geary by becoming only the second wrestler in the 64-year history of the storied tournament to ever be a four-time tournament champ. (The other wrestler was former Tiger and current Purdue Boilermaker, Brandon Tucker.) As for the second place showing at Ponca, Jones doesn't like to finish behind anyone, but found it a good test for his team. "We wrestled several kids up a weight and they faced some adversity, but I was real proud of how they responded on Saturday to wrestle us into the second spot." Adversity is something Broken Arrow has faced the last couple of seasons and Jones says it has helped mold the team as it is today. "The last couple of years we knew what we had coming up and we started to develop a supporting cast to surround guys like Drew and Derek and Matt. Honestly, they are doing now what we have always expected them to and we are going to keep raising the expectation level. We're down to our last 20 practices and we expect each member of the team to improve each day, whether they're the young guys or the veterans, because each guy can work on something to get better." Jones is pleased with both the number of wrestlers in the room and the amount of work they're putting in to get back to the top. "Now that we're in to second semester we have around 40 kids working hard and they are the ones who really want to be here." One newcomer to the high school mat, but not to Jones' room, is freshman Zach Skates. "Zach worked out with us last year and won junior high state, so we knew what he would bring. In terms of age, he is a freshman, but he's really a 25-year-old wrestler with his maturity and skill level." Putting together the right combination of youth, experience, toughness and tenacity was the hallmark of Broken Arrow's past success. As veterans like Partain (who is shooting for the elite club for 3-time state champions), Bryan and Steeley pass along the secrets of this celebrated program (how many people still ask what is written on their t-shirts?) to the team of today, it seems logical that history can repeat itself and the team trophy can reside next to the hardware won in yesteryear. Dual State Championships 1998, 1999, 2000, 2002 Team State Championships 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002 Individual State Championships 1972 - Gary Dill 1979 - Brad Cast 1982 - Bill Hulsey 1984 - Bobby Crawford 1985 - Bobby Crawford 1988 - Kevin Donathan 1989 - Kevin Donathan 1994 - Joe Zamora 1996 - Skyler Holman 1997 - Jake Harriger 1997 - Scott Douglas 1998 - Branson Phillips 1998 - Skyler Holman 1999 - Daniel Smith 1999 - Skyler Holman 1999 - Branson Phillips 2000 - Chris Cline 2000 - Travis Howe 2000 - Brandon Tucker 2001 - Travis Howe 2001 - Brandon Tucker 2001 - Neil Phillips 2001 - Josh Pulsifer 2001 - Brian Dixon 2002 - Luke Calvert 2002 - Travis Howe 2002 - Brandon Tucker