Cashion wrestling history in the making
Martinez becomes program’s first finalist; Browning medals; Barnett honored
Cashion wrestling history in the making
Cashion wrestling history in the making
CASHION’S WRESTLING trio of Carlos Martinez (top left), Cale Browning (below right) and Fay Barnett (top right) had a huge weekend at the Class 3A state tournament. Martinez was the 175-pound runner-up, Browning captured bronze at 113 and Barnett (left
It was an historic weekend for the Cashion High School wrestling program.
Two wrestlers earned medals, one of them was the program’s first-ever state finalist and coach Fay Barnett was honored during the Class 3A state tournament at OG&E Coliseum.
Barnett received the Class 3A Coach of the Year honor from the Central Oklahoma Wrestling Officials Association, one that is voted upon by its members.
He was presented a plaque during one of the sessions Saturday, the last day of the tournament.
Barnett had a wrestler competing in each of those final two sessions.
That included Saturday night, which is reserved for state championship matches.
Carlos Martinez was among that group as he became the first Cashion grappler to wrestle for gold.
The junior settled for silver as he was pinned by Blackwell’s Grant Rowe at 1:17 of their final.
Before the tournament, Barnett said Rowe was “one of the best, pound-forpound, in the state.”
The Maroon lived up to it as he won his previous two matches by technical fall (17-1) and major decision (14-1) before defeating Martinez.
Rowe finished his season with a 38-1 record and was one of five Blackwell wrestlers to win gold as the Maroons cruised to the team title.
Martinez ended his season with a 27-2 record.
He earned a come-frombehind win in Friday’s quarterfinals.
Trailing Perry’s Landon Wilde 6-5 entering the third period, Martinez quickly scored a takedown for an 8-6 advantage.
Wilde earned an escape with 1 minute remaining, but couldn’t garner another point as Martinez held on to win 8-7.
The semifinals proved no easier as Martinez outlasted Lincoln Christian’s Ethan Uyetake 3-1.
That was the history- making match as Martinez became Cashion’s first wrestler to reserve his spot in the finals.
However, he wasn’t the only Wildcat to earn a spot on the medal stand.
Joining him this year was Cale Browning at 113.
Browning pinned Tonkawa’s Bodie Swords at 3:15 of their quarterfinal Friday morning.
That pitted him against Blackwell returning state champ Garrett Short in the semifinals.
Short earned an 18-3 technical fall en route to a dominant march to the state championship.
That tossed Browning into the consolation bracket.
He came back Saturday morning in the consolation semifinals to pin Derek Perkins of Chandler at 5:28.
That guaranteed Browning a spot on the medal stand, but his last match would determine where he’d stand.
After losing to Browning Friday morning, Swords weaved his way through the consolation bracket to earn a rematch in the bronze medal match.
This one didn’t end with a pin, but it did end with Browning’s arm raised as he earned the 8-3 decision.
A sophomore, Browning is now a two-time qualifier while Martinez, a threetime qualifier, is a junior. The two combined for 28 points, good for seventh place in the team standings. There were more than 40 3A schools represented at state.
Blackwell won with 182.5 points while Salina was the state runner-up with 106.