By Blake Colston
Sports Editor
Piedmont head coach Erik Ford was cautiously optimistic heading into the program’s first-ever wrestling regional as a member of Class 6A Saturday at Southmoore High School.
When reached by phone Monday, Ford was downright jovial about the Wildcats’ performance. PHS earned two individual regional championships and advanced six wrestlers to this weekend’s state tournament at State Fair Arena in Oklahoma City.
Here’s a recap of how the six wrestlers that will compete for state championships Friday and Saturday in Oklahoma City made their way there.
Barrett Byers, 106
Byers, a sophomore, won all but one of his regional matches with bonus points on his way to a runner-up finish.
“He hadn’t been down in that weight class much, but he really wrestled well,” Ford said.
Cash Donnell, 113
Donnell controlled every match at regionals on his way to a regional title and, including preseason, improved to 33-0 on the season.
Donnell has a state championships on his mind now.
“He’s chomping at the bit to go win three more matches,” Ford said.
Donnell beat Edmond North’s Christian Belford 3-0 in the regional final. He earned a takedown in the first period, added an escape point in the second and rode out Belford for the entirety of the final period to seal the win.
“He’s wrestling really well right now,” Ford said.
As a freshman last season, Donnell finished as runner-up at the state tournament so he has experience wrestling in big matches.
Jayden Fuston, 132
Fuston won three consecutive matches by one point to earn a trip to state as a freshman.
“He was so impressive on the backside of the bracket,” Ford said.
Unseeded entering the regional tournament, Fuston will now get his first experience at state.
“Getting those first matches out of the way at state, it’s hard to put a price tag on that,” Ford said. “It’ll do a lot for his confidence and I won’t count him out on making a little run there.”
Alan Flores, 138
Flores has been in and out of the lineup this season due to injuries, but rallied to make state with a pair of wins by one point in the consolation bracket.
Each time, Flores earned takedowns in the third period to win and seal his fourth trip to the state tournament.
“It’s a big accomplishment to make the state tournament four times,” Ford said.
Makavelli Ramirez, 220
Outside of Donnell, Ramirez has been Piedmont’s most consistent wrestler this season – and nothing changed at regionals.
Ramirez beat top seed Cory Monroe of Choctaw in the finals with a well-timed third-period reversal.
“He really showed a lot of improvement in situations that a month ago we were struggling,” Ford said.
Brogan Hardy, heavyweight
Hardy, who weighs only 220 pounds, wrestled up and showed toughness while earning an overtime win to clinch his second state tournament appearance.
“We are all really, really proud of him,” Ford said of the sophomore.
