By Trey Hunter
Sports Editor
EDMOND – No. 3 Piedmont built an early lead, but a late run by Class 6A No. 7 Deer Creek led to the Wildcats’ second loss of the season Tuesday at Deer Creek.
The Cats led 31-9 after eight matches and following a win by senior Josh Heindselman at 285 pounds, but coach Erik Ford’s team lost the final six, including a forfeit in the final match at 138 pounds on rout to a 42-31 loss.
Junior Bryce DiGiacinto lost a 4-0 decision to Clayton Knapp in the first match of the dual at 145 pounds. Piedmont followed by winning six out of the next seven matches.
Junior Bo Hardy tied the dual, 3-3 with a 6-4 decision over Tim Trigg before junior Landis Scoon gave the Wildcats their first lead with a tech fall, 17-0 over Jack Wells at 160 pounds. Junior Thomas Jenkins followed with a second straight tech fall, defeating Daniel Guerra 22-7 at 170 for a 13-3 lead. Mackaveli Ramirez extended the lead to 19-3 with a fall over Cooper Mendenhall at 182.
After a loss by senior Braden Culp at 195 pounds, junior Austin Cooley gave Piedmont a 25-9 lead with a fall over Gerrick Johnson at 220. Heindselman extended the lead to 31-15 with a fall over Jake Sexton at heavyweight before the Antlers ran off six straight to win the dual.
The Wildcats, who are qualified for the Class 5A Dual State tournament at Firelake Event Center in Shawnee, fell to 7-2 with the loss. The team’s only two defeats have come to ranked teams in Class 6A, including the Antlers and 6A No. 3 Mustang.
Piedmont closes out the dual regular season Thursday, January 31, 2019 at home against Geary.
