02/11/2026
The Stucker Stories
Written by Hall of Fame Coach Mike Henry
Back-to-Back
On February 23, 1989, the temperature in Stillwater was a brisk 36 degrees as the Shawnee Wolves wrestling team arrived at Gallagher-Iba Arena to their first weigh-in for that year's state tournament. There was no drama as there had been a year earlier with replacements in their lineup and James Sheldon's effort to gain enough weight in order to make the required minimum. Everyone tipped the scales perfectly on their first time through, checked in at their hotel, and waited for the opening round.
Class 4A featured a number of new faces after so many of the previous year's qualifiers had graduated but it remained the same group of teams that had dominated the number of entries as they had in 1988. Tulsa Webster led the parade with 10 qualifiers headed by their quartet of stingers at the first four weights (Biff Jones, Shawn Harrison, and the McClary brothers). Shawnee and Lawton MacArthur had moved 8 advancers through the west regional while Bixby and McAlester each brought seven from the east.
The SHS contingent was comprised of Brian Janney (108 - Jr.); Brantly Sober (115 - Jr.); Cody Wilcoxen (123 - Sr.); Michael Brittain (141 - Sr.); Richard Wilsie (148 - Sr.); Jess Abel (157 - Sr.); Chad Humphrey (168 - Jr.); and Darrien Gordon (178 - Sr.). Janney, Wilsie and Gordon were returning qualifiers from the '88 squad.
Shawnee had defeated the four top challengers in either dual or tournament competition during the season. Two weeks earlier, the Wolves had scuttled Webster's dream of a championship at the inaugural State Duals, 31-22, and now the Warriors hoped to even the score at the individual tournament.
However, the team that most were overlooking was Sallisaw. The Black Diamonds had only qualified 4 wrestlers but each was a title threat. Shawnee had defeated them 31-24 in a hard fought road dual in January so they knew that the eastern school would be a factor in the outcome.
" The fact that we had faced all of those teams earlier that season gave us an advantage, " recalled Coach Mike Henry. " We weren't fooled by Sallisaw. Even with just four competitors at state, they were a legitimate contender and we well realized that fact."
The tournament began on Thursday evening with Shawnee winning 6 of their 8 bouts, 5 of which were by bonus point margins. After the first round, the Wolves had jumped into the lead scoring 19.5 points ahead of Webster at 19. Bixby and Lawton Mac were tied with 11 points each while Sallisaw won 3 of their 4 matches for 10 points.
However, in Friday's semi-finals, the rich didn't get richer, they only got slapped around by their competition. Wilsie and Gordon each advanced to the finals while their four teammates lost and dropped into the consolation bracket. But things didn't go much better for the other favorites as Bixby and Lawton Mac could only push 3 each to the finals while Webster advanced two of their prized lightweights but lost the other pair.
In a matter of hours, the tournament had flipped upside down as Bixby now led Lawton Mac, 52 to 51.5; Shawnee was in third place with 48.5 points just ahead of Webster at 45. In the middle of the stampede was pesky Sallisaw with 3 finalists and tied for third with the Wolves.
The consolations would prove critical for Shawnee. Janney (108) and Brittain (141) each placed fourth with the 141 pound senior picking up an important fall in his earlier contest. That set the stage for the rematch.
At the State Duals, 123 pounder Cody Wilcoxen had soundly beaten two-time defending state champion Mike McClary 8-2 to the disbelief of the Warrior faithful. It was now two weeks later and the senior pair would face off one last time in the consolation finals for third place and 7 valuable team points.
This time Wilcoxen didn't hurdle a chair on his way to the mat but, other than that, the result was about the same. In his final match, Shawnee's version of the 'Comeback Kid' beat McClary 7-5 helping his team and most importantly proving to himself that he had the heart of a champion.
" Our consolation matches were critical, everyone understood what was at stake, " recalled Henry. " That was the difference between our guys and the competition. Sometimes you don't win it all but it's always important to get a piece of the pie !"
Wilcoxen's victory put Shawnee ahead for good as they surged ahead of Bixby 66-65. A short time later, fellow seniors Wilsie (148) and Gordon (178) captured individual titles. The Wolves finished with 74 points just ahead of the surprise team of the event, Sallisaw, at 70.5, followed by Bixby (69); Tulsa Webster (64); and Lawton MacArthur (59.5). That season's Class 4A top five finishers had the lowest team scores of any of the other classes.
" We had just five placewinners (the most of any team) but still won the tournament, " said Henry. " No doubt that was unusual but years later, the only thing anyone ever sees is that big trophy resting behind the glass."
State Tournament Notes
* Former City League champions Mike Stith and Jeff Parsons did make a brief comeback to wrestling as seniors in 1989 when they received special permission from the OSSAA to compete in the Class 2A regional tournament. They represented Dale, even though their school no longer had a program, and practiced with Shawnee's state championship squad for about three weeks in preparation for the event where neither placed.
" I think that they were curious to find out if they still had enough left in the tank for one last go at it, " said Henry. " It didn't work out for them on the mat but they each had an outstanding senior year in baseball."
* There is a trio of Shawnee wrestlers who have earned all three state championship rings. Michael Brittain, Darrien Gordon, and Brett Wood (all from the Class of '89) each own the jeweled trifecta. They are the only competitors to achieve this honor in the history of the program.
Incidentally, all of Shawnee's 1989 state qualifiers were honor students.
* Sallisaw chased the Wolves to the end of the tournament under the direction of Joe Chamberlin, one of the top coaches of his era. He had wrestled at OU and coached for a decade at Tulsa Hale before taking over at Sallisaw. Just three years after nearly beating Shawnee, Coach Chamberlin passed away from cancer. He was 51 years old.
* Shortly before his match with McClary, Cody Wilcoxen was a spectator at the Class 5A mat for the consolation finals match at 101 pounds. That's because he had a rooting interest in both of the parties who were involved.
One year earlier, Dusty Mauldin had been Cody's teammate and a frequent workout partner. Following the season's conclusion, Dusty's family moved from Shawnee into a 5A school district. He was now a sophomore and competing in the consolation's third place match.
Cody was also familiar with Dusty's opponent, Wade Gall of Yukon. He was one of the best at a weight class that was overflowing with talent which was proven by his 30-6 record. Cody had also worked out with the junior standout because Gall was his cousin.
Wilcoxen watched as the two competitors scraped back and forth. In the end, Gall won a hard fought 6-3 victory proving once more how the world's oldest sport can connect people in different locations.
* On Monday following the tournament, Coach Henry was walking through the halls of the high school after a celebratory meeting with athletic director Mike Sperry. The mood was upbeat as the latest State Championship trophy was temporarily resting on the entryway counter of the school's main office for the students to view on their way to class.
The coach was about to return to the Junior High when he saw superintendent Jim Archer entering the building. As was the case with most administrators and board members over the years, the school boss was visibly absent from every session of the championship event.
As the two men approached each other, Henry prepared himself for a verbal congratulations and handshake from his boss. However, what he received was unexpected.
Archer was never bashful about expressing his opinions to anyone whose ears were within a listening radius even though he had no knowledge of the topic being discussed. In this case, knowing nothing about wrestling, he wasted no time in offering Henry his personal insights.
" I saw your last home match, after watching that (a win over a good Tulsa East Central squad), I didn't think you'd win anything ! "
The history teacher/coach didn't respond, he simply shook his head and walked away with the words of the famous Oklahoma philosopher and statesman Will Rogers now echoing between his ears, " After eating an entire bull, a mountain lion felt so good he started roaring. He kept it up until a hunter came along and shot him.The moral was that when you're full of bull, keep your mouth shut ! "
(Below) Hail to the Champions...Again !
