OKLAHOMA CITY — Dalton Duffield became Westmoore’s fourth ever wrestling state Saturday when he defeated Edmond North’s Jordan Prince 4-2 in the finals of 6A state wrestling tournament.
“I was just so excited,” Duffield said. “I couldn’t even think straight. All my dreams came true.”
Duffield (21-7) had lost to Prince just a week before in the 106-pound finals at the regional tournament. He used that as motivation to get his revenge on the biggest stage.
“I think he wrestled really well,” Westmoore coach Mark Peck said. “One of his best matches of the year. And ofcourse a great time to do it. You try to make the most out of any situation that you have. And the fact that we got beat makes you hungry. It gave us our focus point for our training.”
While Duffield was a surprise winner to most, Southmoore’s Nathan Marek was the one area wrestler who everyone assumed would be taking home gold in the 170-pound division. The junior was the defending champion and had only lost two matches the entire season.
However, in one of the biggest upsets of the night, Marek lost 6-4 to the Huskies Derek White to end his bid at a second consecutive title.
Marek fell behind 5-0 in the first period and White was able to hold him at bay the rest of the match.
“This is why you come to this stage to wrestle these kind of matches,” Southmoore coach Gregory George said. “Sometimes you win, sometimes you don’t. When you get a five point lead in the state tournament, against a good quality kid, it really changes things. White had a good game plan.”
Marek was distraught after the match and couldn’t be consoled. He tossed his medal in the trash can before his family and coaches had get it back. George said it was due to the expectations and pressure Marek placed on himself this year.
“Every college in the United State is here to watch him today,” George said. “So they are all watching him and recruiting him. So they see him get beat and that’s hard. You think your life is going to end. But they know what kind of kid he is. He will be just fine.”
Moore’s Derek Silvertsen and the Jaguars John Finn also came up short in the finals. Both of their prep careers have come to an end.
“I just didn’t wrestle my match,” Silvertsen said. “Didn’t do what I planned from the start. It’s been something I dreamed of my whole life. It’s really hard.”
Duffield became the first freshman to ever win a state championship for the Jaguars. He is looking forward duplicating the accomplishment the next three years.
“It feels great,” Duffield said. “Knowing I was the first freshman from Westmoore to ever win it and that I now have the possibility of being a four-time state champion.”
