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  • Tuttle Tigers wrestling team, 2012 class 4A dual state champions. Express-Star photo by Aaron Colen

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February 14, 2012

Tigers three-peat at dual state over Blackwell

Aaron Colen, Sports Editor, Aaron.Colen@chickashanews.com The Express-Star

CUSHING —  

The Tuttle High School wrestling team won its third-straight class 4A Dual State championship Saturday night, beating Blackwell at Cushing High School.

The Tigers beat Blackwell 31-16 in a dual that featured close decisions and no falls, and Tuttle only lost three matches on the way to the state title.

“We wrestled well, and won all of the close matches,” head coach Matt Surber said. “We beat two of their state champions. This morning, we lost all of the close ones, and we’re not used to losing close ones.”

Surber said his wrestlers may have gotten a little over-aggressive during the duals earlier in the day, leading them to lose some of the closer matches.

“We always wrestle to win, but somehow we have to make sure we don’t take chances that we don’t need to, and get the W,” Surber said.

To get to the final, Tuttle had to get through Catoosa, which it defeated convincingly in a 61-18 dual, and host-school Cushing, which pushed the Tigers to the limit. Tuttle eventually prevailed 34-24 to advance to the final.

Tuttle won the first four matches of the final dual, with Blackwell winning by forfeit at 113 pounds. The Tigers never trailed in the finals.

Now, the Tigers must turn their attention to the more individually-focused regionals and state tournament.

The Tigers shouldn’t have any trouble moving past this victory and focusing on the tasks ahead, with many of them having been in this situation before, said Surber.

“They just understand, I keep them pretty grounded,” Surber said. “I stress to them that they’ve still got a lot of individual accomplishments left.”

For some of the team, this year presents the first opportunity for them to qualify for the state tournament or place at state.

“They understand this [dual state] is more of a team environment,” Surber said. “Next week is more individual. How you do as an individual takes care of the team. I don’t have to worry about them being complacent or falling back on winning dual state.”

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