Tahlequah wins Fayetteville Invitational

Gaven Long (right) of Rogers Heritage and Justin Vaughn of Searcy wrestle Saturday during the 152-pound championship match.
Gaven Long (right) of Rogers Heritage and Justin Vaughn of Searcy wrestle Saturday during the 152-pound championship match.

FAYETTEVILLE --Tahlequah, Okla., took control with a big semifinal round, putting seven wrestlers in the finals, and rolled to the team title at the Fayetteville Invitational wrestling tournament on Saturday at Bulldog Arena.

photo

NWA Democrat-Gazette

Shae Chafin (left) of Rogers Heritage and Frankie Williams of Russellville wrestle Saturday during the 160-pound championship match of the Fayetteville Bulldog Invitational at Fayetteville High School. Visit nwadg.com/photos to see more photographs from the meet.

photo

NWA Democrat-Gazette

Tre Ponce (top) of Springdale High and Jakob Lyons of Tahlequah (Okla.) wrestle Saturday during the 113-pound championship match.

The Oklahoma team put some distance between themselves and second-place Rogers Heritage in the semifinals and, despite going 3-4 in the finals, won easily with 258.5 points, compared to the War Eagles' 197.5.

Prep Wrestling

Fayetteville Bulldog Invitational

Championship Results

106: Julian Brownfield, Tahlequah, def. Thai Ta, Fort Smith Southside, 3-2.

113: Jacob Lyons, Tahlequah, def. Tre Ponce, Springdale, 4-2.

120: Hayden Harris, Tahlequah, def. Brad Brown, Searcy, by fall, 1:58.

126: Chance McCrary, Rogers Heritage, def. Cameron Pitchford, Cabot, by fall, 1:30.

132: Dillan Friesner, Cabot, def. Tate Medlin, Tahlequah, by major decision, 15-5.

138: Caleb Freeman, Searcy, def. Logan Sloss, Russellville, by fall, 3:12.

145: Austin Dye, Cabot, def. Wallace Robinson, Searcy, 10-3.

152: Gaven Long, Rogers Heritage, def. Justin Vaughn, Searcy, 6-5 in overtime.

160: Shae Chafin, Rogers Heritage, def. Frankie Williams, Russellville, 5-0.

170: Kyle Nolte, Fort Smith Southside, def. Kobe Morris, Tahlequah, by fall, 4:53.

182: Chris Clemmons, Little Rock Central, def. Chase Morris, Tahlequah, by fall, 4:52.

195: Jordan Slaughter, Searcy, def. Alex Seaton, Fort Smith Southside, by technical fall, 24-7.

220: Harris Sutton, Cabot, def. Dustin Hicks, Tahlequah, 4-1.

285: DeAndre Mendez, Rogers Heritage, def. Deondra Ewing, Little Rock Central, 1-0.

Outstanding Wrestlers

Light weights: Shae Chafin, Rogers Heritage.

Heavy weights: Justin Slaughter, Searcy.

Team Totals

1, Tahlequah 258.5. 2, Rogers Heritage 197.5. 3, Cabot 178.5. 4, Searcy 164.5. 5, Little Rock Central 150. 6, Fayetteville 107. 7, Fort Smith Southside 90. 8, Springdale High 72. 9, Russellville 66. 10, Fort Smith Northside 23. 11, Shiloh Christian 20.

Heritage coach Doug Freeman said it was almost the exact opposite from what happened in the tournament last year when his team rode the big semifinal round to the tournament title.

"We had nine in the semis last year, and we won eight of those and then we went like 4-0 or 4-1 matching up against them in the finals," Freeman said. "Tahlequah is just a really solid team.

"Last night was a really good night. I think today went exactly like it should have. We maybe lost a couple we shouldn't have and maybe won a couple we shouldn't have. That's just the way it always is. Nobody blew it. Nobody came up out of nowhere and won the tournament either."

Heritage's Shae Chafin, the defending Class 6A-7A state champion at 152, improved to 22-0, winning a tight finals match to take the title at 160. The senior broke a 0-0 tie in the waning seconds of the third period with a flurry to claim the 5-0 win.

Teammate Gaven Long also won in overtime to claim the crown at 152. In addition, sophomore Chance McCrary earned the pin in the finals at 126, and Deandre Mendez claimed a hard-fought 1-0 win to take the heavyweight class.

Tahlequah coach James Rappe said the quality of wrestling in Arkansas is growing and he's pleased to make a short trip to Northwest Arkansas for some solid competition. He was also missing his heavyweight, a state qualifier who was sidelined by an injury.

"These guys have come a long ways; it's good competitions," Rappe said. "It was a good tournament and had some really good matches."

The Tigers took home individual titles at 106, 113 and 120. Rappe said his team was stronger at the lighter weights a year ago but has become more solid throughout the lineup this season.

Tahlequah's Jacob Lyons edged Springdale High's Tre Ponce, 4-2. Ponce finished second in the 6A-7A state tournament at 106 last season.

Chafin and Searcy's Justin Slaughter, who won at 195 by tech fall, were named the outstanding wrestlers in the tournament. Slaughter is the defending 6A-7A state champion at 195.

Cabot's Dillan Friesner, the state runner-up at 126 last year, was dominant, winning at 132 with a tech fall in the finals.

Sports on 01/10/2016

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