Sulphur brought home two state champions and another top four placers last weekend at the OSSAA State Wrestling Championships in Oklahoma City.
Juniors Baer Webb (165) and Justus Gilliam (HWT) each finished off storybook seasons by capturing individual state titles.
It is the first time since 1979 that Sulphur has had two individual state champs in the same season.
“Baer and Justus each had a really good tournament,” said Sulphur head coach Conner Webb. “They both competed hard and wrestled really smart in high pressure matches.”
Webb (27-1) won by major decision in the opening round on Thursday, beating Jance Sommers of Poteau 9-1.
He pinned Chandler Fortney of Bristow in the semis at the 5:06 mark.
Webb won the state championship in a 6-4 decision over Bodie Adams of Sallisaw, who was 32-3 on the year.
Gilliam (35-0) pinned Avry Nation of Weatherford in the opening round at the 5:26 mark, advancing to Friday’s semifinals.
He did the same to Stavro Vafeas of Fort Gibson on Friday at the 2:41 mark of the match, punching his ticket to a 3rd straight state title match.
This time, Gilliam was the once with his hand raised by the referee, as he pinned Hayden Miller of Miami to bring home gold.
“I’m proud of how they competed and were able to overcome the atmosphere and pressure that they felt going into the finals,” Webb said.
Landon Jones (113) finished off his season with a 4th place effort at state and a 25-15 record, as well.
“Landon wrestled great and I knew he could get on the podium if he opened up and wrestled,” Webb said.
Jones lost in the opening round to Jaegen Jones of Skiatook by fall, but worked back to win two in the consolation round.
Jones won an 8-4 decision over Tristan Barnes of Madill and beat David Farmer of Fort Gibson 5-1 to advance to the 3rd place match.
“He avenged al oss from regionals in the consolation semifinals to get to the consolation finals,” Webb said.
Jones fell in the 3rd place match to Gavin Miller of Inola.
Landy DeArman (126) and Jonah Cole (132) each won a match at the state tournament, while Kaleb Madron (150) also competed.
Webb is already looking forward to next year. “I am already looking forward to another year with these guys,” he said.
