By Sports editor Kyle Salomon,

The Mustang wrestling team continued its hot start to the season on Dec. 20 with a runner-up finish in the Norman Wrestling Tournament.

The Bronco grapplers had two first-place finishers in 106-pound freshman Joe Lupton, who remained undefeated for the season, and senior 182-pounder Zach Butler, who is also unbeaten so far this year.

Butler went 13-0 in the one-day event, while Lupton finished 12-0.

Sophomore 132-pounder Trey Edwards had a solid outing as well for Mustang with a second-place finish and a record of 11-1 in the tournament.

Mustang had a placer in all 14 weight classes in the tourney.

“We were sharp from the very beginning,” Mustang technique coach Brad Dick said. “Last year, tournament-style wrestling was something we really struggled with, but we have really worked hard coming into this year and preparing ourselves better for our tournaments. I thought technically speaking, we were very good, but we still can be better.”

Grapplers dismantle Putnam City West

Mustang improved to 2-1 in dual action this year on the mats last week with a 69-9 beating of Putnam City West at home.

The Broncos wrestling team won its second dual of the season on Dec. 16 over PC West. Putnam City had to forfeit six out of the 14 matches due to not having a full roster.

The Patriots were void in the 106-weight class, 113-weight class, 120-weight class, 132-weight class, 138-weight class and 170-weight class. Mustang was awarded six points for every PC West forfeit, so the Broncos started the dual already up 36-0.

“I thought we handled ourselves pretty well,” Mustang coach Will Allen said. “We kept our focus for the entire dual and did what we needed to do in order to get the win.”

Out of the eight matches that took place, Mustang won six, including four pins against Putnam City West grapplers. The Broncos were pinned once in the dual.

In the 145-pound weight class, Gage McBride pinned PC West’s Tanner Haskins at the :19.5 mark in the first period. In the 152-pound weight division, Wyatt Riggs pinned the Patriots’ Wesley Hudron with :13.4 remaining in the third period, and in the 160-pound weight bout, Fazon Denby defeated Putnam City West’s Christian Vargas 6-2.

In the 182-pound weight class, Zach Butler pinned PC West’s Kevin Hart at the :58.7 mark of the second period. In the 195-pound weight division, Kaden Truelove pinned the Patriots’ Paxton Cleaver with :04 seconds remaining in the second period.

In the 220-weight bout, Putnam City West’s Ethan Freeman defeated Austin Brow 7-3 in three hard-fought periods, and in the heavyweight class, PC West’s Nick Jones pinned Briar Brown at the 33.1 mark of the second period.

Up next for Mustang

After going through a week of winter break practice, the Broncos will be back in action on Jan. 9 when they compete in the Geary tournament.

The Geary tournament is the longest running and one of the most respected high school wrestling tournaments across the country.

“We have a lot of work to do on the mats before we are ready for Geary,” Dick said. “We have been pretty good so far, but Geary will test us in a lot of ways we haven’t been tested yet.”