The Lincoln Christian wrestling team qualified three freshmen for the Oklahoma State Tournament this weekend. Hudson Farris (113lbs), Gabe Huntsinger (120lbs) and Ty Thrasher (138lbs) all qualified by placing in the top 5 of their individual weight classes at the Regional Tournament. The tournament was held at the Jim Norick Arena commonly referred to as the Big House on the OKC Fairgrounds. There were over 560 boys competing from 3A-6A schools and only 60 freshmen qualified for the tournament, including Lincoln's three. Qualifying for the State Tournament places you in the top ten in your weight class, and is a monumental accomplishment for our wrestlers and program. 

Hudson Farris finished the season with 27 wins and 9 losses at 113lbs. He finished 4th at the Inola Tournament, 3rd at the Paul Post Tournament, and 3rd at the Regional tournament. Farris upset the 4 seed and the 3 seed at the Regional Tournament en route to finishing 3rd and qualifying for State. He was beat out of the State Tournament by the 4th place winner. Hudson emerged as a leader in the wrestling room and his hard work early in the season paid huge dividends towards the end of the season. Farris has a bright future and will look to continue to lead the Lincoln Wrestling program for 3 more years. 

Gabe Huntsinger finished the year with 22 wins and 9 losses at 120lbs. He finished 9th place at Paul Post Tournament and finished 5th place at the Regional Tournament. Huntsinger upset the 6th seed and the 4th seed at the Regional Tournament to qualify for the State Tournament. He lost in the wrestle in round and was eliminated from the State Tournament. Gabe started wrestling last season and qualified for the State Tournament as a freshman in his second year of wrestling. This is an amazing accomplishment and is a credit to his work ethic and resiliency. Gabe consistently outworks others in practice and is quickly developing his own style as a wrestler. He will be a leader in the program for another 3 years. 

Ty Thrasher finished the season with 38 wins and 8 losses at 138lbs. He finished 2nd at the Joe Cole Tournament, 5th at Paul Post Tournament, 3rd at the Regional Tournament and 3rd place at the State Tournament. As a freshmen, Thrasher set the school record for wins in a season, pins in a season and became Lincoln's first ever State Placer. Thrasher lost to the 2nd place wrestler in a 6 -3 battle in the Semi-Finals. He then went on to win 2 matches on the backside of the bracket to finish 3rd in the state. Thrasher has emerged as a breakout star in the young program and is the leader of a freshmen class that looks to continue to build on this season's success for years to come. Ty bought in to the training and technique he received in the room and showed hunger and determination in his pursuit of bettering himself as a wrestler and a young man. Ty has a bright future and will continue to take our program to new heights. 

The third season of wrestling at Lincoln Christian has proven to be the best season yet in terms of team numbers, team wins, individual wins, Regional Placers, State Qualifiers and the program's first State Placer. This season has laid a firm foundation to continue the program's upward trajectory for decades to come. The program is currently led by Head Coach Zac Fullingim, and assistant coaches Davey Dolan and Jon Arnold. Coach Davey Dolan has single handedly had the biggest impact on the wrestling program with a vast knowledge of the sport, personal success of being Oklahoma's 29th 4-time State Champion, wrestled at Oklahoma State under Coach John Smith and has led the room and team with Christ-like character and integrity. The Tulsa World wrote an article highlighting Coach Dolan and the Lincoln Christian Wrestling Program's successful 3rd season which you can read here: Tulsa World Article On Lincoln Christian's Blossoming Program

With the wrestling season having officially come to an end, the team's success has left the program with a new momentum and energy heading into the off season. With a talented team returning and a large junior high program feeding the next incoming class of freshmen, the Bulldog wrestling program is laying deep roots and looking forward to continued growth and development.