The three-a-days have been paying off for Eli Kirk.
Kirk, a wrestler at Guthrie, competed in USA Wrestling’s Junior National Dual Championships in Tulsa from June 14-18.
Kirk and three other Guthrie Blue Jays represented Oklahoma in the team event. Khaleah Kirk, Eli’s sister, Cheli Hernandez and Hayden Sompson were the other Guthire competitors.
The wrestlers in the tournament competed in Greco-Roman and Freestyle disciplines. Held at the Cox Business Center, some of the best junior wrestlers in the country came to Tulsa. It is a group Eli and his Guthrie teammates are working hard to compete against.
“I’ve been doing three-a-days, and I’m just trying to keep my body healthy,” Eli said. “So I mean, going into like, five, six times a week and then that seven day I’m just doing recovery. And it’s been like that all summer.”
The Oklahoma Boys team placed fourth. Eli Kirk beat Florida’s Ethan Vugman 8-0 and Minnesota’s AJ Smith 16-8. He beat Iowa’s Jaiden Moore 8-0 and lost to Colorado’s Otto Black by pin.
Eli, who competed in the tournament last year, said he had a successful return trip to Tulsa.
“It was just something really fun and something I’ve been planning to compete at for a long time,” Eli said. “And last year, I just went out there and had fun and hung out with my friends. But this year, it was more like I just wanted to prove how good I am and how hard I’ve been working and it showed off and I’m really glad that I got the job done.”
On the girls’ side, Khaleah won six of her eight matches.
It was an impressive showing. Eli said there were 25-30 mats in the center and top college coaches such as Oklahoma State’s John Smith were in attendance.
Team Oklahoma Girls beat teams from Georgia, South Carolina, Kansas and Texas.
The Kirks travel often for wrestling in the summer. They have been to Texas, Kansas, North Carolina, Virginia, Florida, North Dakota and Iowa, so having a huge tournament in Oklahoma made travel a little easier.
Both Kirk’s wrestled nationally ranked opponents. But for Khaleah, who will wrestle at Oklahoma City University, and Eli, a class of ‘23 wrestler who plans to wrestle in college as well, it was business as usual.
“I know who they are,” Eli said. “But I mean, I’m putting that aside and I’m just going out there and I’m wrestling. And if you’re nationally ranked, I’m not gonna really just overwhelm myself. I’m just gonna go out there and wrestle.”