- Order Now!!! VYPE Oklahoma Announces the 2020 Pigskin Preview
- VOTE NOW! Which North OK Area Track Athlete Should We Feature Next? – Presented by Law Firm of Boettcher, Devinney, Ingle, Wicker (Poll Ends 5/11)
- VYPE Magazine Announces the Shelter Insurance Mr. & Miss Basketball Oklahoma Award Winners – Bryce Thompson & Aaliyah Moore
- VOTE NOW! Which North OK Area Slowpitch Softball Player Should We Feature Next? – Presented by Law Firm of Boettcher, Devinney, Ingle, Wicker (Poll Ends 4/24)
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- Morrison’s Trevor Hughes – Athlete Spotlight Presented By Stillwater Medical Center Clinic of Morrison
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Perry Wrestling: Top of the Mountain – Presented by Perry Memorial Hospital
- Updated: April 10, 2019
By Ryan Stone
Stop me if you’ve heard this before, the Perry High School wrestling team won the 3A State and Dual State Championship this season, their third in a row. The Maroons have won a whopping 43 State and 20 Dual State Titles. They finished the season with a record 20-3.
“A lot of the kids do the youth program starting in seventh grade. Also, we’ve got the Perry Wrestling Monument here in town where the state champions get their names displayed and all the kids know someone who has won a state championship and they want to be a part of that and do it to,” said Coach Ronnie Delk.
This year Perry was led by three individual State Champions with Ryan Smith at 113 lbs, Dylan Avery at 132 and Hadyn Redus at 152. Smith, Avery and Redus are all back-to-back State Champs. The Maroons also had two runner ups in Kohl Owen at 182 and Teaguen Wilson in heavyweight. They also had two third place finishers with Gabe Valencia at 106 and Brandon Speikers at 195.
Despite a dominant performance at the State Tournament, the Maroons still had their share of challenges this season.
“We battled through adversity, because we had a lot of injuries this year and they battled through it and toughed it out strong,” said Delk, “it made them tougher when the State tournament came around, when they got there to the end, Redus pushed through a bad sprained ankle, Wilson missed over two weeks after having his appendix removed. So, it just made them a lot tougher.”
Coach Delk attributes the teams strong leadership for allowing them to push through.
“The boys just grow up knowing when they get to high school they’ll have a chance to win state and the schedule we put together with bigger schools and tough tournaments helps prepare them. Redus was voted the team captain which is a big deal here in Perry, he leads by example and just does everything right, from school to training to nutrition, he just does everything right. Avery was viewed as a leader too, nobody goes as hard as he does and that rubs off, the younger guys want to be just like him,” said Delk.
Perry will have to say goodbye to six seniors this year, but they’ll still get back two reigning State Champions in juniors Dylan Avery and Ryan Smith. So, it’s safe to say the Maroons will be dangerous again next season, but that shouldn’t surprise anyone.
