01/07/2026
Stucker stories
Written by Hall of Fame Coach Mike Henry
FINE TUNING IN THE NEW YEAR
In 1710, the Irish author Jonathan Swift wrote, “everything old is new again.” That seemed to be true as December moved into January for the new year of 1989.
After eight years as vice-president, in January 1989, George W. Bush was sworn into the nation's top job as Ronald Reagan's successor. A few months later, he would be involved in a Middle East showdown with the Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein as part of the Persian Gulf War which would end with an American victory and the liberation of the tiny oil rich country of Kuwait.
Today, Bush and General Norman Schwarzkopf, a former varsity wrestler at West Point, are honored as heroes in that nation's archives. Schwarzkoph was recognized as an Outstanding American by the National Wrestling Hall of Fame in 1992 as were former SHS greats Nick Mauldin (2019) and Kelly Laughlin (2025).
While American soldiers like former Wolves state placer Jeff Davis, who was a teammate of Mauldin and Laughlin, were busy finishing off the enemy combatants at the conclusion of the sixth month conflict, his old team was back home preparing for the January part of the schedule which began with their annual appearance at the Jenks Tournament. The squad had competed in the event since 1984, finishing first or second in each campaign, but they were forced to stay home during the previous year due to bad weather and slick roads.
That January, Class 5A Yukon won the team title edging the Wolves 135.5 to 130 with Darrien Gordon (1st/178), Brett Wood (2nd/123), Richard Wilsie (2nd/168), Chad Humphrey (4th/157), Jason Merrell (5th/101), Cody Wilcoxen (5th/130), Michael Brittain (5th/141), and Jess Abel (5th/148) earning medals. As usual, Henry had changed his lineup to get a look at some of his individuals who were wrestling at different weights. At that point, most of them were still above their minimum classes. Some, like Wilsie, were wrestling up two weights.
However, there was another point of interest that weekend included in the 19 team field. Class 4A's third ranked Bixby finished just 6.5 points behind Shawnee and it was evident that the Spartans would once again be a factor in February.
One week later, the Wolves returned to the road for a four team dual festival at Sallisaw. While none of the other teams had the overall depth of SHS, each had talented individuals who could be used as measuring sticks for the coach's evaluation.
Shawnee defeated Sallisaw ( #6 in 4A), 31-24; Tulsa Union ( #7 in 5A), 44-16; and Miami, 40-18. But there were two matches that caught everyone's attention. At 148, Michael Brittain defeated Union's Chance Skidgel, 1-0, reversing the outcome, a 6-3 setback, from their meeting in the finals of December's Union Tournament. Skidgel, who placed third at state in 1988, went on to win the 5A title in February.
Additionally, the comeback of Cody Wilcoxen continued with positive strides as he battled Aaron Osborn of Sallisaw to a 4-4 draw in their matchup. The Black Diamond standout had been the 4A state runnerup at 130 pounds a year earlier.
" We saw a lot of good things from both Mike and Cody during the festival, " Henry remarked. " They were going in the right direction. Perhaps the fact that they were best friends was having a positive effect on each of them."
That day was a busy one for Gordon who easily won his three matches and was then quickly driven 95 miles by his parents to Tulsa to catch a plane for a football recruiting trip to Notre Dame. The multi-talented honor student was in high demand by many colleges for football, wrestling, and baseball but had already decided to continue his athletic career as a defensive back on the gridiron.
On Monday, Gordon and Henry met in the coach's office to discuss his latest trip as they always did following an on-campus visit. The highly sought after recruit told his coach that he really enjoyed everything about Notre Dame's football program but was disappointed with their engineering department which was his planned major. The Fighting Irish's head coach Lou Holtz was pressuring the Shawnee standout for a commitment but he wanted to see some other universities (by NCAA rules, a recruit was allowed to visit a total of six schools). Henry agreed with his talented prospect that his best move would be to wait before making a final decision.
The team closed out the month with three more dual victories over Carl Albert (53-16), Guthrie (60-5), and Tulsa East Central (39-30). The Carl Albert and Guthrie wins clinched the Suburban Conference team title.
Their final January Tournament would mark a change in the schedule. Since the Wolves had traveled to California in 1988 for the Five Counties Invitational, they now needed to replace it with a third Oklahoma tournament and Henry found just what he was looking for in Lawton. The one-day competition had just 9 teams in its field but two of them were opponents that the Wolves mat mentor had been wanting to see first hand. It was their first appearance at the event.
Class 4A's number one ranked Tulsa Webster, along with western power Lawton MacArthur, were scheduled to compete. Over the years, Webster became notorious for wrestling weak schedules in order to pad their record but at Lawton, they would face adversaries who were an upgrade from their usual opposition. Also, knowing that Webster would have their team down to their regional weights, Henry turned the tables on Coach Ernie Jones and kept the Wolves at the weights where they had been for their other tournaments and duals. Also, he held out emerging freshman Jason Merrell (101) from the meet (at that time, competitors were only allowed to wrestle in just three tourneys per season) so that he could compete at the historic Edmond Junior High Tournament.
" Over the years, we always made it a practice to allow our varsity freshmen the opportunity to participate at Edmond's great event that began in 1941," Henry stated. " That was just months before the United States entered World War II."
Shawnee Junior High continues to compete at Edmond each season on the last weekend in January. They've been doing so since 1983.
Meanwhile in 1989, Class 5A power Lawton won their tournament with 190 points and went on to capture their first state title a month later. They were also recognized as one of the nation's top rated teams. " They were the best team we saw that season, " recalls Henry. " Man, they were a handful ! "
More importantly, Webster finished second with 160 points and Shawnee was third with 144. The disappointed Wolves met in the locker room after the trophy presentation trying to figure out what went wrong ? They seemed bewildered when their coach addressed them with an upbeat tone in his voice as he discussed Webster's performance.
" What are you worried about ? " He calmly asked his team. " That's as good as they (Webster) can wrestle and they're already down to their regional weights. Heck, we haven't even started to push yet. Don't worry, we got 'em right where we want 'em ! "
Within moments the mood changed and by the time they arrived back in Shawnee, their thoughts had turned to February and its big rewards. They would also have an opportunity to be a special part of mat history in the state's legendary status of the world's oldest sport as the sprint to the finish line was about to begin.
(Below) Just like his teammates, co-captain Richard Wilsie used January to get ready for the stretch run in February.
