8/7/08
Clayton Sanders, all 150 pounds of him, has been huge for Bristow. The 5-foot-8 running back/receiver and outside linebacker is entering his third year as a starter for the Purple Pirates, and hopes for a return to power for the school reside primarily with Sanders
"He's not real big, obviously,” said Bristow coach Kyle Fry. "But he's a state placer in wrestling, and he's an all-around athlete. He's fast, and he plays hard.
"On defense, Clayton plays kind of a hybrid strong safety for us at outside linebacker. And we had him just playing defense for us most the time, but late last season, we put him in the backfield, and in his first start he ran for 160 yards.”
He'll have experienced help as Bristow has seven starters back on both sides of the ball. The Purple Pirates have a storied history, and Fry says this team can reach that level.
"We've got some good, talented kids,” Fry said. "They want to get Bristow football back to where it's supposed to be. We think this could be a breakout year.”
Jason
Leavitt is a 23 year old
Jason
has recently joined the Ponca City Wildcat coaching staff as an assistant
coach for the high school wrestling team. On July 23, Jason was diagnosed
with Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia.
We are planning several activities for Jason. Wednesday, August 27 will be Jason Leavitt Day. We are teaming with the WBBZ radio station for a radio auction the morning of the 27th beginning at 6:30am to raise money for Jason. You may participate in the auction by listening to AM1230 or through the Internet at www.wbbz.com. We are asking for your help with donations to be auctioned off.
~*~*~*Later that afternoon, we will have a credit-to-patient blood drive in Jason's name in front of the Oklahoma Blood Institute from 4-8pm. We will have give-aways provided through our many sponsors, as well as food for all the donors.
If you would like to help with a donation for the auction, or to schedule a time to donate blood, please contact Shanna Branscum at (580) 763-2019 before August 19. Thank you for your consideration for this event!
Donations may be made to:
Jason
Leavitt Benefit
c/o
Shanna Branscum, 342 Whippoorwill,
580-763-2019
This is Jason Leavitt and his 2 yr old son.
This picture was taken from
The website is not completed but is started.
UNIVERSITY PARK — The Penn State wrestling team is replacing a national champion with a two-time
NCAA titlist.
The program
announced Wednesday thatMark Perry,a two-time NCAA champion at Iowa, is
replacing John Hughes as an assistant on coach Troy Sunderland’s staff. Hughes, a 1994 national champion, left his alma mater earlier this summer to take an assistant job on coach Pat Santoro’s staff at Lehigh.
Perry, 24, claimed the 2007 and ’08 NCAA 165-pound titles to become Iowa’s 14th two-time NCAA champion. Perry’s 25 points helped the Hawkeyes claim the national team title this past season. Perry was a four-time All- American at Iowa and went 118-16.
Perry attended high school at New Jersey power Blair Academy and his father, Mark, coached and wrestled at Oklahoma State.
“After spending time working at camps and clinics, I discovered that I have a passion for coaching,” Perry said in a statement. “Once I decided that coaching was the direction I wanted to go in, I had the chance to talk with a lot of prestigious programs about opportunities. Being the son of a former coach, when the Penn State position opened up, I was obviously interested.”
Kerr takes El Reno wrestling job
By Bruce Campbell, Staff Writer
8/7/08
Shane Kerr, who resigned last spring as Enid’s
wrestling coach after eight seasons, has taken a similiar position at
tradition-rich El Reno.
The Indians won 11 straight state championships from 1996-2006 under now
Oklahoma City University coach Archie Randle. El Reno also won 11 state dual
championships.
“I’m very fortunate the position became open and they hired me,’’ Kerr
said.
“It’s close to home (Geary) and that’s what I wanted.’’
Kerr is the second Enid coach to move to El Reno. Football coach Tom Cobble
took the Indians’ job last winter. Kerr did his student teaching at
Weatherford when Cobble coached there.
“It’s nice to have the head football coach as a buddy,’’ Kerr said.
Kerr’s best season at Enid was in 2007 when the Plainsmen qualified three
wrestlers for state. The expectations at El Reno are far different.
“There’s pressure here,’’ Kerr said. “The community, the wrestlers
and parents expect to win state titles. I’m excited to have an opportunity
to have that kind of pressure
“I’m going to miss Enid. It’s a great town and a great community. It’s
a different kind of pressure here. I’m going to have to step up. It’s
going to be crazy, but it’s going to be fun.’’
Kerr wrestled at tradition-rich Geary, giving him an idea of what pressure
will be like at El Reno.
“It’s kind of like my freshman year in high school,’’ Kerr said. “I
was real nervous about it, but I was real excited at the same time. They
return all of their state points, so they have an opportunity to do real
well.’’
Chick wrestling plays host to Olympian Kendall Cross
Chuck Larsen 8/5/08
 |
Kendall Cross was in Chickasha Sunday for a clinic at the high school wrestling room.
For those who don’t follow wrestling, the Mustang native is an icon – his long list of accomplishments on the mat include an Olympic championship, three NCAA All-American selections, an NCAA National Championship, three US National championships and a World Cup championship.
At least sixty youth wrestlers and a large number of parents and current and former Chick wrestlers filled the high school wrestling room Sunday to welcome Cross for a youth clinic.
CHS coach Chad Randle, who put the event together, was delighted.
“We’ve got a bunch of kids from Chickasha and kids from all over the area,” he said, “and they all got an opportunity to meet Kendall. When these kids get to meet an Olympic champion, especially a kid that grew up around here in Mustang, it’s a great inspiration for them. It’s a great story.”
Cross conducted two two-hour training and technique sessions and showed the kids DVD footage of his career highlights in between. The youngsters were glued to the action until it got to the part where he was on the Olympic podium with the anthem playing. At that point, the connection really seemed to hit home with many of them, as they turned to look at him in awe.
We asked him later what that ultimate experience was like.
“It gives me chills every time I see it,” he answered. “All those feelings come back – being on the medal stand, the anthem. I get chills just talking about it sometimes. It’s indescribable, something you just can’t articulate.”
After retiring from wrestling, Cross settled in Boston and became a stockbroker for five years before the mat called him back.
“I still felt I needed to be involved in wrestling,” he explained. “I love the sport. I missed it, missed the athletic life and it finally came around full circle.
“I wanted to work with kids. I want to be significant with young kids - to pass on what I’ve learned – to give something back.”
Coaching seems to be in the near future.
“I’ve been doing camps around the country in the summer and fall for a few years but I want to settle down around the Oklahoma City area and work more one-on-one.”
Randle and wrestling supporter Homer Hulme helped seal the deal to bring Cross to Chickasha.
“I knew Kendall since when we used to compete and from OSU and recently ran into his brother,” the coach said. “When I found out that he was in Oklahoma City I knew it was a great opportunity for this if we could get it all together quickly. Everything came together and so far it’s going pretty good.”
The Mustang High and Oklahoma State graduate won the gold medal at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta at 57 kilograms (125.5 pounds), beating Canada’s Guivi Sissaouri 5-3 in the finals. He also finished sixth at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona.
In 1997 he was lured out of retirement to compete in the World Cup of Wrestling, coincidently being hosted at Gallagher-Iba Arena, and won that title at 128 pounds before “re-retiring.”
Other honors include being inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame (2002), Outstanding Freestyle Wrestler at the U.S. Nationals (1992 and 1995), USA Wrestling Athlete of the Year (1997), Espoir National and Espoir World Cup Champion (1988), bronze medalist at Junior World Championships (1986).
Courtesy: okstate.com Release: 08/05/2008
STILLWATER, Okla. – Oklahoma State wrestling coach John Smith announced
the addition of three-time Cowboy All-American Tyrone Lewis to the OSU coaching
staff today.
While wrestling for the Cowboys from 2001-04, Lewis won Big
12 individual championships in 2001 and 2004 and he compiled a 120-15 record
that included 38 falls. He finished fifth at the NCAA championship in 2001, was
third in 2002, fifth in 2003 and was the national runner-up in 2004. He was a
three-year captain and leader of NCAA champion teams in 2003 and
2004.
“We looked at coaches from around the country for this position and
it became clear that Tyrone was the best person for the job,” Smith said. “He’s
someone who will work hard every day to put Oklahoma State in position to win
NCAA championships. We know Tyrone is up to the challenge and is the right fit
for what we are trying to accomplish. We’re excited to have him on our
staff.”
After graduating from OSU in 2004 with a degree in secondary
education/history, Lewis served as a coach for the Stillwater-based Gator
Wrestling Club from 2005-06 before taking his first college assistant job at
Oklahoma City University, where he helped the Stars to a 12th-place finish at
the NAIA Championship and coached a trio of All-Americans.
“I’m very
excited to return to Oklahoma State as an assistant coach,” Lewis said. “This is
one of the best jobs in wrestling and I consider it an honor to join the Cowboy
coaching staff. This is my alma mater and I am going to do everything I can to
help our wrestlers succeed both on and off the mat.”
Though he was out of
coaching in 2007-08 while training full time for the 2008 Beijing Olympics,
Lewis returned to Stillwater to assist with the Gator Club.
Lewis’ name
is known in national wrestling circles as he was the 2008 runner-up at both the
U.S. Olympic Trials and at U.S. Nationals in the 74 kg/163 pound weight class.
He is an alternate for the 2008 Olympic team.
Lewis competed on both the
national and international levels after leaving OSU, winning the Sunkist Kids
Tournament in 2007 and taking fifth at the Ivan Yarygin Tournament in Siberia.
He represented the United States at the 2005 World University Games in Izmir,
Turkey and was a training partner for the U.S. Senior World Team as it competed
at the 2005 FILA World Championships in Budapest, Hungary.
A native of El
Reno, Okla., Lewis graduated from El Reno HS in 1999 as one of the nation’s top
prep wrestlers. He was a high school national champion as well as a junior
national champion.
Three city doctors are bound for Beijing
At the beginning of their careers, doctors Steve Coupens, Bob Hines and Kevin Hargrove had hopes of one day working for the U.S. Olympic team.This week, the three Oklahoma City orthopedic surgeons will be among just a handful of doctors who will experience that dream.
All three were appointed by the U.S. Olympic Committee to serve as team physicians for the more than 600 American athletes who will compete in the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China.
"This is the pinnacle,” Hines said. "It's really a big honor to be part of the Olympic team.”
Coupens and Hines, who are employed by Oklahoma Sports Science and Orthopaedics, have spent most of their careers working with local and national high school, college and pro teams.
Kevin Hargrove, a doctor at Orthopedic Solutions, has had a long career helping with track and field teams before shifting to softball.
Of the 18 medical doctors selected for the Olympics, three are from Oklahoma. Only California has as many.
"This is a fortunate thing for Oklahoma City,” Hargrove said. "We have a long tradition here of doing volunteer work.”
Hines has been the team doctor for the University of Oklahoma wrestling squad the last 14 years.
In 2005 and 2007 he was the team doctor for the U.S. wrestling team at the world championships. His work with U.S. wrestling has taken him to countries like Budapest, Iran and Turkey.
His experience with wrestling and injuries that go with the sport as well as his familiarity with the team and its coaches were big reasons why Hines was selected as the doctor for the U.S. Olympic wrestling and judo teams.
"The more you know the athletes and the sport, the better you can take care of them,” Hines said.
Coupens will work with the cycling and badminton athletes.
Coupens, who remains an avid triathlete, has worked with a variety of athletes and teams, including U.S. Cycling and the Oklahoma City Yard Dawgz.
"There are a lot of great doctors out there, but the (U.S. Olympic Committee) really looks for doctors who are familiar with specific sports and who communicate well with the athletes and who the athletes feel comfortable with,” Coupens said.
Hargrove, who will work with the U.S. softball and shooting teams, said the Olympic Committee also looks for doctors with a blue-collar mentality.
"We're going to roll up our sleeves and do whatever they need,” Hargrove said. "When they were selecting doctors, they were looking for someone who would pick up a broom and do whatever it takes.”
That's why Beijing won't be a vacation spot for any of the doctors.
Their days will comprise of waking up on dormitory cots at 4:30 a.m. to work out before heading to the U.S. medical clinic.
The doctors will stick with their respective teams while they're competing. When they're not, Coupens, Hines and Hargrove will work with other athletes and help other doctors in the clinic.
Coupens said the clinic doesn't close until 10:30 p.m. and is followed by a nightly meeting with all the U.S. doctors.
The 18-hour work days won't leave much time for sightseeing.
"It's all about the athletes,” Coupens said. "Whether it's carrying bags, mopping floors, filling up the water coolers, it's about doing whatever we can to help them.”