Nineteen area boys wrestlers clinched their tickets to the Class 3-2-1A State Championships on Saturday.
Three Chase County Bulldogs qualified for state in the 3-2-1A Regional A in Eureka. Silus Hernandez qualified for state by being the regional champion at 150 pounds. Hernandez pinned Cooper Johnson of Jayhawk-Linn in 4:55 for the regional championship. Micah Cauthers finished second at 190 and was pinned by Douglass’ Carter Green in 3:25. Brock Griffin finished third at 165 and defeated Eric Westhoff of Erie, 1-0, in the third-place match. The Bulldogs finished sixth in the team standings.
Three Northern Heights Wildcats qualified for state in the 3-2-1A Regional D in Rossville. Leo DeDonder finished third at 126 by defeating Burlingame’s Eli Moon by sudden victory, 3-1. Logan Schlimme at 150 finished third by winning a 12-8 decision over Jacob Waldy of Cair Paravel. Cole Gerleman at 113 was defeated in the third-place match to Council Grove’s Nate Seimears by fall at 2:18. Northern Heights finished ninth as a team.
Also in Rossville, Burlingame qualified four for state with two regional champions. Logan Courtois at 132 defeated Cullen Wikle of Sabetha, 8-2. Jose Arevalo won the regional title at 175 by pinning Alex Beggs at 3:32. Chase Courtois finished second at 106 and was defeated by Harry Langill of Nemaha Central by a major decision, 10-2. Moon finished fourth at 120. Burlingame finished fifth as a team.
Council Grove had three regional champions in the Rossville regional as the Braves will send nine to state. Bradley Doornbos won the regional championship at 120 by defeating Maur Hill Mount Academy’s Jaxson Vice by a major decision, 15-2. Ace Monihen won the regional championship at 190 by defeating Sabetha’s Dalton Rokey by a major decision, 11-0. Holden Ziegler won the regional championship at 285 by defeating Sabetha’s Joshua Grimm by an ultimate tiebreaker, 6-5. Tyler Hutchinson (215) and Seimears each finished third in their respective weight classes. Jameson Fetters (106), Mason Wilkens (132), Hadley Smith (145), and Caden Honer (157) each finished fourth in their respective weight classes. Council Grove finished third as a team.
The Class 3-2-1A State Championships begin on Thursday at 5:15 p.m. at Tony’s Pizza Events Center in Salina. Before the 3-2-1A tournament begins, the Class 4-1A girls will start at 1:30 p.m. Area qualifiers include Burlingame’s Maliyah Lopez (105), Council Grove’s Brenah Cannon (170), Chase County’s Kinzie Rogers (110) and Osage City’s Caydance Eastman (125). All four area girls qualified for state on Feb. 10.
