By Byron Beers/Staff Writer

OKLAHOMA CITY — Catoosa threw down a reversal against El Reno last weekend at the 86th annual Oklahoma High School Wrestling Championships at State Fair Arena.

And now for the second straight year, Catoosa, which has been the only nemesis for the Indians in over a decade, has ended an impressive El Reno string of championships.

Last year Catoosa snapped El Reno’s streak of 10 consecutive Class 4A dual state titles before the Indians took back the championship two weeks ago.

This time Catoosa took claim of the state tournament team championship, ending El Reno’s state record of 11 straight that is matched by only Perry. Catoosa finished with 116 total points, while El Reno followed in second with 108.5 points.

“It’s disappointing that we didn’t win and that we didn’t break the record,” first-year El Reno head coach Bobby Miller said. “That’s the bottom line. But at the same time I can’t be upset with our performance.

“They wrestled really hard and I’m very happy with them. Catoosa just had a little more than we did. We kind of flipped the bill with them. The kids didn’t come in and wrestle bad at all. We had six kids who placed.

“Our six placers went 16-3 and that’s pretty good. This is the state tournament where it’s the best of the best. When you can do that you normally win, but it just didn’t work out for us.”

The Indians sent five wrestlers to the finals, compared to Catoosa’s four. But it was in the consolation brackets where Catoosa made it count. The Indians were better than Catoosa in head-to-head matches where they posted a 2-0 mark.

Freshmen Hannah Martin (103 pounds) and Colton Gallo (119) both took early exits where Catoosa took advantage and racked up points.

“When you put four freshmen in your lineup out of the nine you send, that’s a tough situation to be in,” Miller said. “But it’s a great experience for them to learn from and now they know what it feels like.”

El Reno went 3-2 in the finals with senior Chris Hacker and freshmen Cory Dauphin and Cody Dauphin snatching individual titles.

Hacker capped a perfect season by earning a 7-4 decision over Bixby’s Clayton Robinson in the finals at 152 pounds. Hacker, ranked third nationally, was rarely even challenged in his final year with the Indians and finished at 39-0 overall. It’s his second straight championship and second in his high school career.

“I set goals for this year, I did what I needed to do and I achieved all of my goals,” said Hacker, who will next continue his wrestling career at the University of Nebraska. “We worked hard as a team. To come in second place is a letdown for us, but you know we have great guys on our team. We were young and a little more inexperienced this year.”

“He finished out his senior campaign undefeated and didn’t get taken down all year,” Miller said of Hacker. “I don’t know how much more dominant you can be.

“I voted for Chris as Outstanding Wrestler and there’s no doubt he’s very deserving of that. There’s probably been 10 times this year where he’s squared off against the best kids in the country and he’s come away with wins.

“Chris Hacker, where does he rank as one of the best? He ranks as one of the best I’ve ever seen and one of the best I’ve ever coached. And he likes wrestling more than any kid I’ve ever been around.”

Cory Dauphin (135 pounds) was convincing in his 19-2 tech fall victory over Travis Quintero, while Cody Dauphin edged Ada’s Bryan Solomon in a 5-4 decision. Cory finishes at 39-6 overall, and Cody closes his first season at 32-7.

The Dauphins are the first brothers to capture state championships in the same season for El Reno since Brandon Shelton and Brian Shelton did it in 2004.

Senior Adam DeLong, a two-time state champion entering this year, was dealt a 3-1 overtime loss in the finals at 125 pounds to Tulsa East Central’s Jeremy Goree. DeLong ends his El Reno career with a 29-4 record in his final season.

“Adam is just a great kid and I told him he’s one of my favorite kids I’ve coached,” Miller said. “I’ve coached a lot of great kids at places like Vinita and Midwest City, but Adam is one of my favorites.”

“Adam is going to have a great career at OCU,” Miller added. “He’s just going to have to use this loss to motivate him and drive him. He wrestles lights out, works his butt off in the weight room and is a great leader. He just lost a match and there’s going to be a winner and loser every time you go out there.”

Junior Derek Thompson overcame a wrist injury early in the year to land his second straight trip to the state tournament. Thompson was defeated by Josh Johns of Noble in a 6-1 decision of the finals at 171 pounds, giving him a final record of 19-5.

“Derek will keep working hard to get better,” Miller said. “He’s been here twice now and just had a tough matchup in the finals against a kid that’s been solid all year long.

“He’s disappointed in himself, but Derek Thompson is a wrestler and he will be right back in the wrestling room because that’s all he knows and that’s what he does.

“He made it to the finals as a junior and will now probably be the No. 1 ranked kid at his weight as a senior. Who knows, if he continues to work hard he will have a great chance to become a champion.”

Sophomore Austin Mogg was a huge lift for the Indians as he worked his way through the consolation bracket and ended with a third-place finish. Mogg picked up a default win over Noble’s Kidd Gomez in the consolation finals Saturday afternoon at 112 pounds.

Mogg, who was a state runner-up as a freshman, closes his second season with a 28-12 overall record.

“Austin Mogg had a great tournament at one of the toughest weights,” Miller said. “Austin came back and got third place for us and beat Kidd Gomez. Kidd was hurt but we forced the issue.

“He lost to the eventual state champ in Casy Rowell, who is probably one of the toughest kids in the state. But Austin battled back, won his next two matches and did a good job for the team.”