By Blake Colston
Sports Editor
OKLAHOMA CITY – Piedmont’s Cash Donnell leaped into head coach Erik Ford’s waiting arms and, for a moment, total exhaustion was replaced by pure joy.
Donnell outlasted Westmoore’s Devon Miller in the 120-pound title match for his second consecutive Class 6A state championship Saturday night at State Fair Arena.
“It came down to the wire and it was all toughness right there at the end,” said Donnell of the more than eight-minute match that ended with Donnell riding out Miller for 30 seconds in the ultimate tiebreaker portion of overtime.
“There’s not very many people in the world who have the will-power to be able to do that,” Ford said.
Donnell said he had a feeling going into the match that it would be decided in overtime. One week earlier in the regional championship, Donnell beat Miller with an escape point in the ultimate tiebreaker.
“We both know how each other wrestles. It’s always really close with us, so I was ready for it,” he said.
Donnell and Miller are close friends who practice together throughout the year, but their friendship took a back seat on Saturday.
“As soon as we step on the mat, we’re just as competitive. We might even want to beat each other more than if we weren’t friends,” Donnell said.
Here’s what Piedmont’s two-time state champ Cash Donnell had to say after his ultimate tiebreaker win in the state title match. #OKpreps pic.twitter.com/pmXpBnoosC
— Blake Colston (@CBlakeColston) February 26, 2023
Neither wrestler allowed the other to gain an advantage, much less score points in regulation. Donnell and Miller remained opportunistic but cautious throughout the first six minutes, opting to avoid a critical mistake.
“Cash has a lot respect for that kid’s counter offense and his re-attacks, and Devon has a lot of respect for ours,” Ford said. “That match was destined to end up in that spot from the get-go and I’m glad that we came out on top.”
Miller took a 1-0 lead on an escape point in the second period, but Donnell earned his own escape in the third period to deadlock the match and ultimately send it into overtime and later into the ultimate tiebreaker.
Though it’s difficult in practice to truly replicate the situation Donnell faced, he’s been preparing in similar scenarios with drill partner Jayden Fuston in practice since January.
Fuston watched from just off the mat Saturday night as Donnell executed what they’d practiced so many times before.
“I battle him every day. I know he was tired, but he pushed through it,” said Fuston, who was one of several PHS teammates to congratulate Donnell afterward. “That means a lot.”
Donnell finishes the season 33-3 and as a senior will have a chance to join an exclusive club of three-time state champions. Last year, Donnell completed an unbeaten season with his first state title after taking runner-up as a freshman.
“Cash is in the conversation as not just one of the best in Piedmont, but I’ll put him up there with a lot of people who have competed in this sport, period,” Ford said.
Building toward next year
None of Piedmont’s five other qualifiers were able to place at state, but four will return next season to take another shot.
Junior Brogan Hardy won his wrestle-in match over Broken Arrow’s Kole Lamont, 2-1, but didn’t advance on the bracket from there.
The same was true for 175-pounder Jackson Blackburn, who won a 2-1 decision over Hunter Sheppard of Sand Springs to earn a spot on the double-elimination bracket but dropped his next matches.
At heavyweight, Jesse Knapp also finished 0-2.
Sophomore Jayden Fuston lost his pigtail match in the 138-pound bracket, which ended his weekend early.
Senior 157-pounder Kolten Luschen is the lone Wildcat who wrestled his final matches for Piedmont this weekend. He also went 0-2.
“Our guys competed well this weekend. The hard thing about this sport is that sometimes you lineup and the guy across from you is better,” Ford said. “You’ve got to find a way to win in some uncomfortable ways and we didn’t quite do that. But we’ll adjust and get better. I don’t think our guys liked the feeling they had this weekend.”
The Wildcats held a team breakfast before Saturday’s action got underway. It was a team bonding experience but also a chance to look forward to next season.
“We had the discussion that this was the last time we eat breakfast on the Saturday morning of a state tournament, because we’re going to be wrestling,” Ford said. “Unless we’re all in the finals.”
