STILWELL — It was a hit or miss day for local teams at the Maverick Conference Tournament on Friday. While Keys and Sequoyah struggled to find any success, Hulbert made a statement at the Stilwell Activity Center.

The Riders, currently in sixth place with 31 points, advanced four wrestlers — Matt Clay (106 pounds), Marcus Smith (120), Hunter Reagan (132) and Bryson McGowan (195) — into the championship semifinals, which will be wrestled Saturday morning beginning at 11 a.m.

All of Hulbert's wrestlers in the semifinals found success by fall, with McGowan needing the least amount of time in the quarterfinals, pinning Okmulgee's Nate Moss in only 51 seconds.

Sequoyah and Keys would have just preferred to win — period. Yet, it never happened for either club in the championship bracket.

Keys' best chance for a top-three finish, Seth Fritts (145), is sitting out the tournament after injuring his knee in last week's Carmen Classic in Pawhuska.

Fritts' absence on the mat — the freshman was with his club in the gym — was a sign of things to come for the Cougars. Even Kenneth Brown (160) — the Cougars' second-best chance to reach a championship bout — was saddled with a 11-9 loss to Poteau's Kyle Kingrey.

On Saturday, Keys will have Christian Hemmerich (106), Nick Jumper (145), Brown, Seth Alsenay (220) and Frankie Walker (heavyweight) in the consolation bracket. Sequoyah has Connor Boyd (113), Damon Davidson (120), Robert Smith (145), Dylan Carder (152) and Ty West (195) still alive.



Jay leads

At the end of the first day, Jay leads the team standings with 63 points. Vian (60), Wagoner (52.5), Sallisaw (40.5) and Poteau (33.5) round out the top five.



Davenport absent

Sallisaw's reigning state champion, Jaden Davenport (195), was missing in action on Friday for the Black Diamonds.

Reports were that Davenport stayed home this weekend because of an illness.



Big names in semifinals

Even with Davenport gone, still plenty of big names remain with two more rounds left in the championship bracket.

Poteau's Tyler Tustin (138), a two-time state champion, coasted into the semifinals with a bye and a win by fall over Wagoner's Ryan Drake.

Vian's Landon Decker, the 3A state champion at 160 last season, easily took down Talihina's Michael Harjo in the 160 quarterfinals.

At heavyweight, Vian's Tre Locust needed only 57 seconds to dispatch of Jay's Caleb West en route to the semifinals.



Semifinal matchups

106: Travis Greer (Wagoner) vs. Matthew Clay (Hulbert); Anthony Chew (Vian) vs. Treyson January (Jay).

113: Tyson Hume (Webbers Falls) vs. Gus Shell (Sallisaw); Trestin January (Jay) vs. Alex Lockwood (Wagoner).

120: Donald Cannon (McAlester) vs. Marcus Smith (Hulbert); Devin Anderson (Poteau) vs. Tyler Johnson (Wagoner).

126: Wyatt Sheets (Stilwell) vs. Tristan Crutchfield (Sallisaw); Garret Maher (Wagoner) vs. Derick Shrum (Jay).

132: Brett Vastine (Vian) vs. Hunter Reagan (Hulbert); Chance Blount (Sallisaw) vs. Trenton Miller (Wagoner).

138: Tyler Tustin (Poteau) vs. Ryan Drake (Wagoner); Gabe Taylor (Sallisaw) vs. Cole Wheeler (Jay).

145: Brad Boswell (Wagoner) vs. Colton Olivares (Fort Gibson); Peyton Knell (Quinton) vs. Brian Deleon (Jay).

152: Keaton Sheets (Stilwell) vs. Jake Lemons (Quinton); Kaleb Reece (Jay) vs. Tucker Hoffman (Wagoner).

160: Landon Decker (Vian) vs. Kyle Kingrey (Poteau); Fischer Medlin (Wagoner) vs. Remmington White (Jay).

170: Cale Wilson (Sallisaw) vs. Zach Peterson (Fort Gibson); Derek Francis (Poteau) vs. Jerimiah Sirmans (Jay).

182: Rowdy Simon (Vian) vs. Khy Mote (Poteau); Malachi Wood (Stilwell) vs. Roman Rodriguez (Wagoner).

195: Cale Mays (Vian) vs. Gabe Sanchez (Poteau); Riley Smith (McAlester) vs. Bryson McGowan (Hulbert).

220: Derek Marshall (Wagoner) vs. Cody Monholland (Vian); Mickey Brown (Stilwell) vs. Steve McGlorie (Okmulgee).

Hwt: Tre Locust (Vian) vs. Luke Haggard (Jay); Daylon Brewton (Poteau) vs. R.J. Wofford (Webbers Falls).