By Trey Hunter
Sports Editor
OKLAHOMA CITY – With a second-period fall in the finals at 285 pounds Saturday night, Josh Heinsdelman capped Piedmont’s season full of firsts with yet another.
The senior became the school’s first ever two-time State Tournament champion and catapulted the Wildcats into a tie for third place overall, the highest Piedmont has ever finished on the leader board at Jim Norick Arena.
It was a rough Saturday for the Cats as they lost three of four State finals matches, but Piedmont coach Erik Ford found it difficult to leave the arena disappointed. His team set a standard throughout the regular season and with a strong postseason, the program is in the best shape it has ever been.
“I kept telling the guys this weekend that there is no place I’d rather be than in this arena with this group of people and I truly meant that,” the ninth-year coach said after presenting Heindselman with his second gold medal in as many years. “They’re a special group and they’ve taught me how to make the sport fun.”
The Wildcats finished with five placers, including Heindselman’s State title. Senior Braden Culp (170) and juniors Landis Scoon (152) and Austin Cooley (182) all finished runner-up while senior Mitchell Lance placed third at 126 pounds. Culp, Scoon and Cooley each lost their finals matches Saturday night after Lance had capped his senior campaign Saturday morning with a win.
“We didn’t have a great day here on Saturday at State, but our guys competed all year long,” Ford said. “We set expectations throughout the year and they responded every time. It just didn’t go our way today.”
The Wildcats tied a school record with 11 State Tournament qualifiers. Freshman Alan Flores (113), junior Tabor McClure (132), junior Bryce DiGiacinto (138), junior Bo Hardy (145) and freshman Jame Maguire (220) all made the consolation semifinals and finished one win away from placing. Sophomore Jayce Jantz lost two straight matches after qualifying at 106 pounds.
Piedmont asserted itself as a Class 5A power this season, going 8-2 in duals and finishing seventh at Mid-America Nationals, 13th at the Geary Invitational, second at the Chuck West Invitational and first at the Carl Albert Invitational. The Wildcats also reached the Class 5A Dual State finals and won the 5A West Regional for the first time program history.
“I think we had the best team in Piedmont history,” senior Mitchell Lance said after receiving his third-place medal Saturday. “I don’t know, I could be wrong about that. But we had a great team all year and accomplished some things Piedmont has never done. As a whole, that’s pretty solid.”
Ford is extremely pleased with where the program is after the strongest season to date. He points to five years ago and compares it to where the Wildcats are today.
“The example they set for our program going forward, I can’t even put into words,” he said. “We went from five years ago being a program where we just wanted to see Piedmont on the board in the top-10.
“We walk away today feeling a little disappointed to finish tied for third, which is big time.”
