Oklahoma
At least 2 dead, catastrophic damage reported after tornadoes tear across Oklahoma
HOLDENVILLE, Okla. – At least two people were killed, and several others were injured Saturday when devastating tornadoes tore through several Oklahoma cities during a severe weather outbreak that caused catastrophic damage to numerous homes and buildings and knocked out power to tens of thousands of utility customers.
The two deaths were reported in the city of Holdenville, and FOX 25 in Oklahoma City reports an infant is among the dead.
The Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management (OEM) said 14 homes were damaged or destroyed in Holdenville, and Highway 9 had been blocked due to debris in the roadway.
In addition, Oklahoma City Task Force One was responding to the area on Sunday to provide search and rescue support.
Significant damage was reported across the region, including in Marietta, where damage was reported to Marietta Hospital.
The OEM said hospital patients took shelter during the extreme weather, and no injuries had been reported there.
The storms also forced the closure of Interstate 35 North at the Texas state line because of overturned vehicles and power lines that were thrown across the roadway.
The OEM said the Chickasaw Nation was providing support for the storm response in Marietta.
Murray County Emergency Management said significant damage was also found in the town of Sulphur, and numerous injuries have been reported.
The OEM said search and rescue operations were ongoing there, and the Oklahoma Highway Patrol (OHP) was responding to apartments on Woodruff Blvd, where tornado damage was reported.
At least four structures were damaged northwest of Newkirk in Kay County, with numerous trees and power lines being brought down due to the effects of the storms.
Two weather-related crashes were also reported, and heavy rain led to flooding on several roads in the area.
Cotton County was also hit hard by the severe weather, and the OEM said three to five homes were damaged there.
About 43,000 customers were left without power as a result of the storms, with the highest number of outages being reported in Tulsa, Carter, Murray, Love, Hughes, Pontotoc and Seminole counties, according to the OEM.
State of emergency declared in 12 Oklahoma counties
Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt issued an executive order on Sunday morning declaring a state of emergency in Carter, Cotton, Garfield, Hughes, Kay, Lincoln, Love, Murray, Okfuskee, Oklahoma, Payne and Pontotoc counties because of the damage left behind in the wake of the severe weather on Saturday.
“There is hereby a declared a disaster emergency caused by the severe storms, tornadoes, straight-line winds, hail and flooding in the State of Oklahoma that threatens the lives and property of the people of this State and the public’s peace, health and safety,” the executive order read.
The executive order will remain in effect for the next 30 days.
FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell said she was in contact with Gov. Stitt and said the department stands ready to support the affected region if necessary.
Hospital, nursing home damaged in Marietta, Oklahoma
The Love County Sheriff’s Office said in a Facebook post that a tornado was reported in the Marietta area that destroyed several buildings and brought down power lines “everywhere.”
“Please stay home and off the roads as it’s causing severe congestion and issues for responders working this disaster,” the sheriff’s office pleaded. “Again, please stay home and off the roadways.”
The sheriff’s office said significant damage was reported to a Dollar Tree warehouse, Homeland, Dollar General, a nursing home and part of a hospital.
“There is heavy damage to our town and we have every responder out checking homes, businesses, etc.,” the sheriff’s office said. “Please be patient as this is a natural disaster and will take time to restore power and get things in some sort of order before cleanup.”
The sheriff’s department said all hospital patients were moved from the area, and crews were working to remove the last few people from the nursing home that was damaged.
Survey teams investigating damage
The National Weather Service office in Norman said it appeared as though at least 20 tornadoes were reported in its forecast area on Saturday.
Forecasters said that number is preliminary and could be higher or lower than 20.
Four teams have been sent out across the area to investigate damage in communities such as Marietta, Ardmore and Sulphur, as well as Holdenville, Dibble and Norman.
The NWS said on X, formerly Twitter, that additional areas would be surveyed soon in communities to the west of Oklahoma City, as well as locations to the southwest into portions of Texas.
Steve McGehee reports live from Paycom Center with the latest on SGA’s return after missing nine games, the Thunder’s push to hold the top spot in the Western Conference, and what getting healthy means for OKC’s title hopes.
Oklahoma general manager Jim Nagy experienced great success during his first year in Norman.
Nagy, who joined OU’s staff in February 2025, oversaw the Sooners’ scouting staff as Oklahoma reached the College Football Playoff for the first time since 2019. He also helped OU sign a top-15 2026 recruiting class and land several key transfer portal players after the 2025 season.
Though the wins outweighed the losses in Nagy’s first year, the Sooners’ general manager knew that there was much to fortify during the offseason.
Oklahoma’s offense sputtered late in the season, as the Sooners scored fewer than 25 points in each of their last four games.
For Nagy, a major focus was surrounding OU quarterback John Mateer with quality talent.
“(We wanted to) just really put more around John Mateer,” Nagy said on The Dari Nowkhah Show on KREF on Friday.
Nagy and his scouting team added plenty of pieces from the portal that should elevate Oklahoma’s offense.
The Sooners signed three portal wideouts — Trell Harris (Virginia), Parker Livingstone (Texas) and Mackenzie Alleyne (Washington State) — after the 2025 season to join returning receivers Isaiah Sategna, Jer’Michael Carter and Jacob Jordan.
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Sategna, who transferred to OU from Arkansas after the 2024 season, served as Mateer’s safety net in 2025. The receiver finished the year with 965 yards and eight touchdowns on 67 catches.
Harris and Livingstone are both proven producers at the Power Four level, and Nagy believes that those two will make OU’s receiving corps stronger in 2026.
“Those two, we’re very excited about both of those guys,” Nagy said.
Nagy also did plenty of work to ensure that OU’s run game improves in 2026.
The Sooners added three tight ends — Hayden Hansen (Florida), Rocky Beers (Colorado State) and Jack Van Dorselaer (Tennessee) — from the portal. They also added three transfer offensive linemen: Caleb Nitta (Western Kentucky), E’Marion Harris (Arkansas) and Peyton Joseph (Georgia Tech).
OU will have its two top running backs from the 2025 squad, Xavier Robinson and Tory Blaylock, back in 2026.
For those two to reach their full potential, the Sooners’ blockers will have to regularly open up running lanes — and Nagy is confident that they will.
“We have to run the ball better, there’s no way around that,” Nagy said. “Our job is to create more competition in every room in the offseason. I feel like we’ve done that.”
On the show, Nagy revealed that the Sooners added nearly 9,000 collegiate snaps to their roster during the offseason.
The general manager believes that both sides of the ball will be stronger as a result of his scouting team’s offseason efforts and their collaboration with OU’s coaching staff.
“I’ve tried to be really intentional with our communication,” Nagy said. “There’s a common goal: We’re trying to win a national championship. This is a true partnership, and we all have the same goal in mind. It’s going to continue to evolve and get better.”
Oklahoma will open its 2026 season against UTEP on Sept. 5.
Elgin’s Ritson Meyer becomes four-time OSSAA wrestling state champion
Elgin’s Ritson Meyer beat Coweta’s Aiven Robbins 8-7 in the Oklahoma high school wrestling Class 5A 215-pound finals on Saturday, Feb. 28, becoming a four-time state champion.
The loss was on Ritson Meyer’s mind all week as he prepared for his final state wrestling tournament.
A senior 215-pounder at Elgin, Meyer isn’t used to getting beaten, but he got a wake-up call when he lost against Coweta senior Aiven Robbins by five points in their regional championship match.
For Meyer, it set in that winning his fourth state championship wouldn’t be an easy task.
“I lost to him last week and I’m not a loser, so it was eating on me all week in practice,” Meyer said. “So (in) practice, I really leveled up everything. Everything about it.”
Meyer and Robbins met again on Saturday, this time with the Class 5A state championship on the line.
Intensely focused from the start, Meyer came out aggressive. And although it was another great match, Meyer did just enough to etch his name in the state history books.
Meyer held on to beat Robbins in an 8-7 decision in the new OG&E Coliseum as he claimed his fourth state championship, while Coweta won the team title.
An Abilene Christian football signee, Meyer’s wrestling days are over, but he leaves the sport with satisfaction.
“I came out here — even though it hurt, even though I was tired — I got it done,” Meyer said. “I’m so happy. I got to celebrate with my parents, my family, my friends. It’s a crazy feeling.”
A standout running back and linebacker on the gridiron, Meyer helped his team win the Class 4A state title in football as a junior before Elgin lost to Tuttle 23-20 in the 2025 championship game in December.
It’s a different sport, but that loss fueled Meyer’s wrestling season in a way.
“I like to tell people that wrestling is like offseason football,” Meyer said. “I can’t go out, lose. Everybody wanted me to win this. I won it for the whole entire community. First four-timer at Elgin. And that football (loss) really did eat me alive. It didn’t feel good at all, and I didn’t want that same feeling again.”
Meyer had a great start against Robbins on Saturday and never trailed, but Robbins battled to set up a great finish and both were gassed when it was over.
“I just gave it my all,” Meyer said, “and I got it done.”
This article will be updated.
Nick Sardis covers high school sports for The Oklahoman. Have a story idea for Nick? He can be reached at nsardis@oklahoman.com or on Twitter at@nicksardis. Sign up forThe Varsity Club newsletter to access more high school coverage. Support Nick’s work and that of other Oklahoman journalists by purchasing adigital subscription today at subscribe.oklahoman.com.
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