By CONOR NICHOLL for Sports in Kansas
Class 6A: Mill Valley to No. 1, competes well at KC Stampede
Mill Valley jumped from fourth to first in Class 6A from the Dec. 16 to Dec. 30 rankings. MV went to the Kansas City Stampede, Missouri’s toughest in-season tournament, on Dec. 20 and 21. The tournament had 50 teams.
Mill Valley had several improvements in its individual rankings. Mill Valley freshman Eddie Hughart improved from fifth to fourth at 106. MV senior Zach Keal, an Army West Point signee, continues to rank first at 132.
Senior Carson Dulitz is ranked third again at 138, and senior Austin Keal is fourth again at 145, while junior Brodie Scott is second at 170 again. Senior Ethan Kremer stayed first at 285. Senior Tyler Green bumped two spots from fourth to second at 195.
Mill Valley coach Travis Keal, the only coach in program history, posted via Twitter: “Very proud of this group for the toughness and grit they showed at the 50 Team KC Stampede this weekend. The team finished 13th and made big gains this weekend.”
Zach Keal took second at 126, while Kremer was second at 285. Austin Keal, a Little Rock signing, finished eighth at 145. Coach Keal also posted that he is “enjoying my last year in the Dad/Coach role with my boys. Both boys had a great weekend.”
Washburn Rural ranked second in 6A, wins BC tournament
Washburn Rural, which moved from first to second in 6A, won the Dec. 21 Bishop Carroll tournament with 161.5 points, 12 ahead of Andale. Dodge City, up two spots to fifth in 6A, was third with 149 points. Rural senior Bishop Murray is ranked first at 113.
Murray is 10-3 this season and opened the tournament with three big wins, a pair of falls and a technical fall victory. However, Murray medical forfeited his final two matches.
Sophomore Jacob Tangpricha (10-3, No. 3 at 106) took fourth in the tournament. Caleb Douglas (6-4) was second at 120. Junior Bowan Murray (10-3) is ranked fifth at 132. Murray won his weight class, including 13-12 and 8-7 decisions in the semifinals and finals.
Nick Vincent (11-4) and Johnathon Vincent (10-4) took fourth and third, respectively, at 138 and 145. Cole Wells (10-5) placed fourth at 160. Remington Stiles (8-5) earned fourth at 182.
Gavin Carter, ranked first at 195, stayed perfect with a 15-0 record. Carter won all of his matches by fall: 14 seconds, 1:33, 36 seconds, 1:52 and 2:15.
Caldwell wins key 285 match against Huckstep
Senior David Huckstep (14-1) took second at 285. In the finals, Valley Center’s Tony Caldwell (14-0) defeated Huckstep, 8-2. Caldwell continued to stay first in the 5A rankings at 285.
6A: Q. Saunders stays perfect
At 182, Wichita West sophomore Quentin Saunders (15-0) is first in 6A. He dominated his way through the field with two wins by fall (1:16, 3:01). Then, he had a bye, and a fall in 3:45. In the title, Saunders defeated Dodge City’s Ryan Parga by fall in 3:35. Parga (14-3) is ranked sixth at 182 in 6A.
Saunders is the defending state champion at 170 pounds after he went 30-1 last winter.
Class 5A: Rankings came out Dec. 24 – limited changes in the top-10
While the other new class rankings came out either Dec. 30 or Dec. 31, 5A released its latest rankings Dec. 24. Maize and Goddard remained first and second, respectively. Blue Valley Southwest, Great Bend and McPherson was third through fourth.
In the Dec. 17 poll, Great Bend was third, BVSW fourth and McPherson fifth.
St. Thomas Aquinas, Arkansas City, Newton, Lansing and Kapaun Mt. Carmel rounded out the top-10 in the Dec. 24 poll.
5A: Blue Valley Southwest wins Johnson County Classic
Many of the Kansas City area teams went to the Johnson County Classic on Dec. 20-21. Blue Valley Southwest won the 19-team tournament with 540.5 points, well ahead of second place Olathe South (488.5). Sophomore Hayden Mills, ranked first at 113, improved to 19-2 and won the title. He defeated St. Thomas Aquinas’ Zak Kalafut by major decision in the championship.
Brett Umentum, ranked third at 126, is 17-3 and won the championship. Umentum earned four wins by fall, a technical fall victory and had a medical forfeit victory against teammate Weston Becker in the final. At 145, Brandon Madden (17-2) is ranked first and placed first. He went 7-0 with six wins by fall and a technical fall victory.
Also at 170, Seth Nitzel (18-0) is ranked first and won a title. He won his first five matches by fall in three minutes or less. In the championship, he defeated Olathe South’s Zack Leskovac by major decision. At 182, Jackson McCall (20-3) is ranked third – and placed third.
BVSW’s Hubbel into rankings; defeats 6A ranked Younggren and Lister
At 220, junior Mack Hubbel has enjoyed a surprising season. Hubbel was unranked and then moved to fourth. He is 18-1. Hubbel went 6-0 at the tournament. His first four wins came by fall.
In the semifinals, Hubbel defeated Olathe South’s Alec Younggren, 7-5, in the semifinals. In the championship, Hubbel defeated Blue Valley’s Trevor Lister by tiebreaker. Lister was undefeated before the Hubbel loss.
In Class 6A, Younggren is ranked fourth and Lister first.
Eight wrestlers record six pins; Aquinas’ Carrolls up in rankings
There were eight wrestlers that tied for the tournament best six wins by fall: St. Thomas Aquinas’ Danny Carroll, Olathe Northwest’s Caden Howard, McCall and Madden, Olathe South’s Abel Perez, St. James’ Mio Cregan, Younggren and Aquinas’ Jordan Habben.
Habben (11-1) took first at 106, and remains fourth in the 5A rankings at 106. Cregan (10-4) took second at 106, and Perez (13-8) took third.
Tommy Carroll (16-1) was first at 195. Danny Carroll (6-0) won at 285. Tommy Carroll is ranked fifth at 195, up a spot from the Dec. 17 poll.
Danny Carroll jumped into the rankings at fourth in 5A. In the final, he defeated St. James’ Harry Spencer by fall in 4:27. Spencer was ranked fourth and moved to fifth.
Howard (18-0) is third at 126 in 6A.
Class 4A: Andale and Chanute switch places at the top
In the Dec. 17 poll, Chanute, Andale, Marysville, KC Piper and Scott City were the top-five. On Dec. 30, the rankings switched with Andale, Chanute, Marysville, Scott City and KC Piper in the top-five.
A key change happened at 170. El Dorado senior Kai Wernil switched from second to first, and Rose Hill senior David Leck went from first to fourth.
On Dec. 17, sophomore Colton Miller was ranked fourth at 106, and junior Caleb Pavlacka was fifth at 113. Now, Pavlacka is fourth at 106, and Miller is fourth at 113.
Andale had another a big move from freshman A.J. Furnish at 120. He leaped from sixth to second. Junior Hector Serratos remained first at 126. Senior Dawson Chavez stayed second at 152, and junior Eli Aouad stayed at fourth at 160. Senior Cayden Winter was unranked and is now fifth at 220.
4A: Andale takes second at Bishop Carroll
Andale had a strong showing at the Dec. 21 Bishop Carroll Invitational, which helped with the rankings changes. In the 15-team tournament, Washburn Rural won with 161.5 points. Andale was second with 149.5 points. Dodge City took third at 149, and BC was fourth at 107.
At 106, Pavlacka (11-3) won at 106. In the finals, he defeated Maize South’s Ian Demoss, 6-3. Demoss was 15-0 before the match. Demoss is ranked third at 106 in 5A in the latest rankings after he was first Dec. 17.
Furnish (11-4) went 5-0 with three victories by fall, a technical fall, and a major decision to earn the 120 title. In the final, he defeated Washburn Rural’s Caleb Douglas in 1:33.
Serratos (11-1) took first at 126 with a bye, two wins by fall and a pair of decisions (4-3 and 7-0) in his last two matches. Chavez (6-4) took second at 152. He lost to Campus’ Nathan Bowen, 6-4, in the finals. Bowen, a junior, is ranked first in 6A at 152 and is 14-2.
Aoud (8-3) earned third place at 160. Winter (9-3) earned first at 220. In the finals, he defeated Wichita Northwest’s Mason Ross, 11-5. Ross was 7-0 before the loss.
Class 3-2-1A: Slight changes in the Dec. 30 rankings; Pedigo among those who move a class
Class 3-2-1A had a couple of adjustments in the top-10 in the Dec. 17 to Dec. 30 rankings. Hoxie, Beloit, Norton and Goodland remained in the top-four. Hoisington and Phillipsburg flipped spots at fifth and sixth, respectively. As well, Riverside replaced defending state champion Eureka at No. 10.
Riverside features seniors Beau and Luke Horn. Beau is ranked second at 138, and Luke is third at 152. Beau remained in the same position from the Dec. 17 ranking, and Luke improved a spot.
Larned sophomore Dillen Hook and Republic County sophomore Jonathan Dyke are fifth and sixth, respectively, at 113. Neither was ranked Dec. 17.
Weight class 120 had a new No. 1 with Jayhawk Linn senior Brody White moving from 120 to 126. He was 120 and is now second at 126 behind Phillipsburg senior Jacob Sisson. Smith Center senior Colton Shoemaker improved from second to first at 120. Hoxie freshman Drew Bretz took a big jump from unranked to second.
Class 138 had some changes at the back end of the rankings, notably Larned junior Braydon Lemuz moving from unranked to fourth.
Fredonia senior Matt Weilert opened the season first at 145 and then was ranked at 152 in the last two polls. Weilert is again back to 145 and is ranked No. 1. Kingman sophomore Colby Schreiner went from first to second behind Weilert.
Ellis sophomore Mason Gottschalk and Fredonia junior Buddy Claiborn came into the rankings at fifth and sixth at 170.
As well, Hoisington senior Wyatt Pedigo – a North Dakota football signee and two-time Class 3-2-1A wrestling champion – has moved back down to 195. He is ranked first at 195 after he was first at 220. Osage City junior Dane Whalen switched from second to first at 220.
Johnson/Zimmerman lead at 285; Beloit wins dual
At 285, Beloit senior Creighton Johnson and Republic County senior Eyann Zimmerman remained first and second. They are two excellent linemen in football. Johnson earned a Shrine Bowl selection Saturday, and Zimmerman has committed to Bethel College.
On Dec. 19, Republic County and Beloit met in a dual. Beloit won 39-28. Johnson, Brennan Walker, Hunter Prochaska and Braden Burks are all undefeated. Walker is ranked first again at 182. Prochaska was not ranked at 152 and moved to fourth Dec. 30. Sophomore Tate Kadel remains third at 145.
At the Marion County duals on Dec. 21, Republic County defeated Marion, 60-6 and beat Riley County, 66-9. As well, RC beat Wellington, 60-24. In the semifinals, RC beat Clay Center, 54-29. Zimmerman won by fall in 56 seconds against Clay Center’s Logan McDonald. He is ranked fourth in 4A. In the finals, RC defeated Burlington, 38-37, which featured Cael Johnson, ranked first in 4A at 160.
RC’s Kaleb Talkington, who is ranked fourth at 126, won by fall in 49 seconds. Johnson won his match in 56 seconds. Zimmerman helped to seal the win with a victory by fall in 18 seconds.
3-2-1A: Hoxie wins Goodland Holiday Classic
On Dec. 21, Hoxie won the 18-team Goodland tournament with 167.5 points. Colby was second at 149, and Ulysses third at 124.5. At 113, Dayton Bell (13-3) took second to Hill City’s Kaleb Atkins, who improved to 13-2. Atkins, a freshman, won 7-6 and is ranked third in 3-2-1A. Atkins jumped three spots from Dec. 17. Bell is ranked fourth at 113.
Drew Bretz (14-2) won at 120 with a 5-0 record. In the semifinals, Bretz defeated Colby’s Tyler Voss, 3-1, in sudden victory. Voss is 15-2. In the finals, Voss beat Ulysses’ Jonathan Lara, 3-2.
At 126, Drew Bell (15-1) went 4-0 with its first three victories by 1:45 or less, and a 6-4 finals victory. At 132, Derek Johnson (17-0) continued his great start with five wins by fall: 1:14, 17 seconds, 3:22, 5:15 and 2:50.
Dylan Weimer (4-0) earned the championship at 138. Weimer won by fall in 2:26, 4:50 and decisions by 7-0 and 9-3. Aidan Baalman (17-0) earned the title at 152 with five victories by fall: 46 seconds, 4:31, 14 seconds, 3:48 and 3:14.
Bell and Johnson continue to rank third, and Weimer stayed first. Baalman bumped from third to second at 152.
Concordia wins Hoisington Corner Classic, Hoisington second, Larned third
In the nine-team tournament, Concordia won with 215 points, Hoisington was second at 148.5, and Larned third at 128. Eureka was fourth at 105.5. Hoisington’s Evan Foltz (9-1) was second at 132, while Cole Steinert (7-3) earned runner-up at 152.
Steinert is into the rankings at sixth.
At 195, Wyatt Pedigo (9-0) dominated with four wins by fall in nine seconds, five seconds, 13 seconds and six seconds. Cole Gilliland (5-3) won at 220 with three victories by fall: 24 seconds, 13 seconds and 3:09.
Larned enjoyed a strong tournament with Dillen Hook (7-1) winning at 113. Gatlin Hoch (5-3) took second at 126.
Braydon Lemuz (10-0) earned the championship at 138. He won four matches by fall and one by technical fall. Samajay Alboyd (5-0) took first at 145, including his last three wins by fall. Carter Atteberry (7-3) took second at 182.
Girls: Key KSHSAA information released
McPherson, Great Bend and Nickerson continue to hold down the top-three rankings for the girls. KSHSAA also realized the girls’ postseason information. This is the first year of girls’ wrestling as a KSHSAA sanctioned sport.
The competition will have two regionals: McPherson and Paola. KSHSAA lists 150 schools having girls’ wrestling. The all-classes meet will be Feb. 27 at the Tony’s Pizza Events Center in Salina.
Goodland and Hoisington tournaments headline late Dec. schedule
Hoxie’s Marissa Porsch improved to 11-1 with two wins by fall against Hugoton’s Suheila Rosas at the Goodland tournament. Ashlyn Kaus (7-5) placed third in the 143/155 division. Porsch is again ranked sixth at 136.
At the Hoisington tournament, Concordia’s Kassidy Leiszler earned the title with Great Bend’s Breckyn Elliott second at 101. Leiszler and Elliott are both 8-3.
Leiszler and Elliott are again ranked first and third at 101.
At 109, Holcomb’s Amilia Martinez earned the championship, and Stafford’s Daisy Rayburn finished second. Martinez stands at 9-2, and Rayburn is 6-4. Martinez jumped into the rankings at No. 3.
Eureka’s Sierra Miller defeated Hoisington’s Kiana Grandclair by fall in four minutes in the 116 final. Miller is 9-2, and Grandclair stands at 6-1.
Hoisington’s Emily Lovett (3-1) won the 123 bracket, and her teammate Tally Wikum (6-1) earned the title at 136. At 155, Hoisington’s Bailey Sanders (5-0) won all five of her matches by fall in 1:37 or less.
Also at 130, Great Bend’s Breanna Ridgeway (9-0) earned the championship. GB’s Marissa Hanrahan captured the 143 title. Larned’s Ava Mull (8-0) won at 170. Great Bend’s Kyeal Mogbo earned the crown at 191. Ridgeway and Mull continue to be ranked No. 1 at its classification.
