By CONOR NICHOLL
Sports In Kansas looks at several major wrestling tournaments and results – and looks at how it affected the updated Jan. 17 Kansas Wrestling Coaches Association rankings.
Maize won Newton Tournament of Champions
The Newton Tournament of Champions is generally considered the most prestigious regular season tournament on the wrestling calendar. This year, Maize captured the 32-team competition with 214.5 points. Andale was second at 187, Newton third at 183, Rose Hill fourth at 151.5, and Derby fifth with 144.5. The top-11 teams scored at least 100 points.
This is an incredibly loaded field and is often harder to win at Newton than a state championship.
Maize is ranked first in 5A, Newton second. Maize has a remarkable 11 ranked wrestlers. Andale is ranked first in 4A. Derby is ranked first in 6A. Rose Hill is ranked second in 4A.
For Maize, Talon Verbeck (23-5) was second at 106. Manhattan’s Caeleb Hutchinson (25-3) captured the championship with a 7-0 decision. Verbeck is ranked first in 5A.
At 138, Nakaylen Shabazz took second. He faced Andover’s Adam Maki, who is 25-0 and remained undefeated. Maki won with a 7-6 decision, and Shabazz improved to 28-4. They are ranked 1-2 in 5A.
Clayton Bowers took second at 150. Emporia’s Xerarch Tungjaroenkul won with a 5-1 decision. Tungjaroenkul improved to 14-0, while Bowers was 17-4. They are ranked 1-2 in 5A.
Connor Padgett was second at 175 with a 26-3 record. Dodge City’s Luke Barker remained undefeated at 24-0 after a 2-1 tiebreaker championship versus Padgett. Ronan Wunsch (23-6) was third at 190. Ayden Flores (23-3) took second at 215. He won an ultimate tiebreaker match in the semifinals against Rose Hill’s Bronx Wood. Entering the match, Wood was undefeated and currently stands 18-1.
In the 215 final, Lawrence Free State’s Matthew Marcum remained undefeated at 24-0 against Flores in a 4-2 decision. Flores is 23-3.
Two wrestlers finished with five pins: Andale’s AJ Furnish and Owen Eck. Eight wrestlers delivered four pins: Newton’s Rio Gomez, Emporia’s Lukas Hainline, Maize’s Shabazz, Newton’s Nick Treaster, Norton’s Corbin Puga, and Washburn Rural’s Landen Kocher-Munoz and Kristian Marshall.
In addition to the aforementioned champions, Newton sophomore Lucas Kaufman (23-5) delivered the 113-pound championship with a 3-2 decision. Washburn Rural sophomore Easton Broxterman took second and stands at 26-3. Kaufman is ranked first in 5A at 113.
Newton’s Treaster, one of the state’s best regardless of weight class, improved to 21-1 in his senior year after a major decision win in the championship. Treaster is ranked first at 120.
Two seniors met up in a 7-2 decision at 126. Derby’s Braden Tatum (14-2) defeated Newton’s AB Stokes (21-4).
Andale junior Owen Eck improved to 28-0 at 144. He won by fall in 1:14.
Andale is ranked first in 4A, while Eck is ranked No. 1 in 4A.
At 157, Blue Valley Southwest’s Cole Cronk improved to 13-0 in his senior year. He beat Goddard’s Zach Wessley with a 3-2 decision.
At 165, Arkansas City senior Wyatt Bahm defeated Holton senior Jayden Fletcher with a 5-3 decision. Bahm is 22-2, while Fletcher is 24-2.
At 190, Valley Center’s Dai’mont Mucker, a transfer who enjoyed a mammoth year as VC’s running back this fall, won the championship. Mucker earned a 6-4 sudden victory championship and moved to 17-2. Norton senior Garrett Urban, a defending 3-2-1A state champion, improved to 19-1.
Mucker is ranked third in 5A, while Urban is ranked first in 3-2-1A.
At 285, BVSW’s Torin Forsyth improved to 26-1 with a 3-1 decision. Newton senior Rio Gomez was second.
Hays High girls wins HHS Prairie Classic
The Bob Kuhn Senior Prairie Classic, named after the legendary former Hays High coach, is a longtime midseason anchor in wrestling. In the last couple of years, the Classic has expanded to include the girls’ side. The boys’ tournament will be this Saturday.
Hays High girls rolled to the tournament crown with 156 points. WaKeeney-Trego had an impressive showing among 3-2-1A teams with 99 points. Salina Central was third with 96. Junction City took fourth with 82, followed by Dodge City, Buhler, Salina South, Colby, Great Bend, Plainville and Stockton. Dodge City, the defending 5-6A state champs, did not have its usual varsity lineup for the competition.
Hays High’s star is 110-pounder Sarah Zimmerman. The defending state runner-up, Zimmerman collected career win No. 100 at a dual earlier this week. Zimmerman is easily the best Indian girl wrestler in school history. At the Classic, she went 3-0 with wins in 39 seconds, 16 seconds and 43 seconds.
She is ranked third in 5-6A.
At 115, Hays High’s Tionna Napue, a transfer after an impressive freshman year at Russell, took second and stands at 18-3. She is ranked fourth at 115 in 5-6A. In the championship, WaKeeney’s Adrian Wynn (19-4) won by fall in 2:34. At 120, Addison Otte (15-7) finished second.
Stockton’s Ashlyn Hahn, among the top 3-2-1A wrestlers, improved to 14-1 with a win by fall in the championship. In a high-profile championship at 135, Hays High’s Lexi Burton took second after a 6-5 loss in the championship to Trego’s Cali Wagoner. Burton is 17-3, Wagoner stands at 21-3.
At 100, Salina South’s Mykayle Sutton remained undefeated at 15-0 with a fall in the championship. Sutton is ranked first at 100. Another close championship came at 140. Plainville’s Ella Normandin (18-6) won in a tiebreaker against Junction City’s Naomi Tanaka.
Colby’s Kathie Chavez (17-1) earned a big championship at 125. Chavez is a defending state runner-up. Chavez defeated Great Bend’s Daizy Gomez by fall in 4:43. Gomez stands at 17-4 and is ranked third in 5-6A.
Six wrestlers picked up four falls: Buhler’s Emilie Schweizer, Hays High’s Katie Gutierrez, Garden City’s Margarita Guzman, Hays High’s Moriah Hallam, WaKeeney’s Kaley Logue, and Minneapolis’ Grace Johns.
Schweizer is a former state champion. Johns transferred from Chapman after she took second last year. Sixteen wrestlers had three pins; Zimmerman had the least pin time.
At 130, Colby’s Amanda Jaeger picked up the championship and improved to 18-1. She won by major decision in the title. Plainville sophomore Zoe Brown (18-3) picked up the 145-pound championship. Johns, a junior, improved to 19-0 after the 170-pound title. Schweizer, a senior, stands at 18-0 at 190. She is ranked first at 190.
Kapaun girls win Best of the West
Kapaun Mt. Carmel girls delivered 137 points and won the 26-team Best of West competition. Liberal was second at 124.5. Olathe Northwest finished third at 111.5. Winfield took fourth with 106, Olathe North fifth at 104.5, and Basehor-Linwood sixth with 103. For KMC, Taylor Barringer (16-2) took second at 105. Winfield’s Hannah Selle captured the title with a 12-6 championship and moved to 14-1.
KMC’s Vy Do improved to 14-2 with an 8-1 championship at 125. She won her first two matches by fall in 4:40 and 1:01. Do is ranked fifth at 125 in 5-6A.
Aalyra Arguelles (21-4) took first at 135. In the finals, she won by fall in 51 seconds. She handed Wellington’s Bri Walker (22-1) her first loss of the winter.
Jayla Johnson (15-3) and Chinyereugo Okafor (16-4) finished third at 140 and 155 pounds, respectively. Thirteen wrestlers had four pins – including several of Kansas’ top girls.
Wichita West’s Dru Johnson had the lowest collective total pin time at 3:31, while Goodard’s AshLynn Goodwin was second at 4:53. Johnson improved to 13-0 at 190. Goodwin stands at 15-1 at 140. She won a big matchup against Wichita North’s Jaycee Tyler in the championship. Tyler stands at 17-4.
Johnson is ranked second in 5-6A at 190. Goodwin is ranked first at 140, Tyler fourth at 140.
Hoisington rolls at own tournament
Hoisington girls dominated at its own tournament with 185 points. Smoky Valley took second at 92.5, while Chaparral was third at 69.5. For Hoisington, Kiana Grandclair was first at 120 with a 4-2 decision in the championship against Bluestem’s Cadence Williamson. Grandclair is 20-2, while Williamson stands at 11-2. Lillian Gradig (10-7) was second at 125. Plainville’s Caxton Smyth (12-4) captured the championship.
At 130, Daijah Jones (24-1) won the championship. Jones won all five matches by fall in 1:06, 1:41, 1:01, 2:27 and 1:20. Tally Wikum, a state runner-up last winter, won at 140 and improved to 17-3. Wikum won her four matches in 1:12, 53 seconds, 29 seconds and 57 seconds. Lyrica Orosco (19-6) took second at 145, while Peyton Schneider (7-5) was second at 155.
As well, Zayda Urban (170), Yessica Esquivel (190) and Amerie Hinz (235) were all second.
Hoisington is ranked tenth in 4-1A. Grandclair is sixth at 120, Jones is third at 130, Wikum sixth at 140, and Orosco is fifth at 145.
