Great Bend Post Sports
Few teams have beat Hoxie over the past four seasons. Saturday in Phillipsburg, the top-ranked Indians (3-2-1A) scored 166 points to win the Panther Classic wrestling tournament. No. 6 Great Bend scored 136 points for second, and No. 4 Phillipsburg (3-2-1A) finished third with 130 points. No. 2 Norton (3-2-1A) placed fourth with 121 points, and No. 6 Abilene (4A) capped the top five.
Second-ranked Jace Schartz advanced to the finals at 157 pounds. He tech-falled his first two opponents, then needed just 41 seconds against Osborne to secure his spot in the championship match. Schartz was pinned in the third period against third-ranked Duncan Bell of Hoxie.
Sixth-ranked Kaiden Hoffman advanced to the finals at 132 pounds. The senior opened with a pin, then won an 8-1 decision against Phillipsburg and a 17-3 major against fifth-ranked Cael Castro of Abilene to reach the championship. Hoffman lost a 10-3 decision to sixth-ranked Shane Todd of St. Francis (3-2-1A) in the finals.
Fifth-ranked Triston Tomlinson placed third at 120 pounds. After a bye, Tomlinson fell to the back side with a 7-0 loss to second-ranked Chase Johnson of Minneapolis (3-2-1A). Tomlinson won a 11-0 major against St. Francis, defeated Phillipsburg 7-4, then beat Norton's Ayston Kats 6-1 in the consolation finals. Top-ranked Ian Giancola of Hoxie won a 15-3 major over Johnson in the finals.
Sixth-ranked Aiden Davidson finished third at 175 pounds. The junior opened with a bye before beating Ellsworth 8-2. Fifth-ranked Braden Suchy of Russell (3-2-1A) beat Davidson 9-3 on his way to a second-place finish. Davidson rebounded with a 53-second pin against Plainville, then won a 5-2 decision against Phillipsburg in the consolation finals. Top-ranked Aiden Amrein of Hill City (3-2-1A) pinned Suchy in the finals.
Fourth-ranked Trenton Kern placed third at 190 pounds. The sophomore needed just 33 and 29 seconds to get by his first two opponents, respectively. That pitted him against second-ranked Micah Cauthers of Chase County (3-2-1A), who defeated Kern 7-2. Kern answered with a pin over Russell's Alec Huck, and 7-2 decision against fifth-ranked Logan Wilour in the third-place match. Top-ranked Samuel Watkins of Hoxie pinned Cauthers in the finals.
Fifth-ranked Matthew Johnson was another third-place finisher for the Panthers at 215 pounds. After a bye, Johnson lost a 13-5 major to fourth-ranked Colton Stover of Norton in his opening. Johnson cruised through the back side of the bracket with three-straight pins in under a minute. He avenged his earlier loss by pinning Stover in the third-place match.
Brody Schnoebelen kept the trend going with a third-place finish at 285 pounds. Schnoebelen advanced to the semifinals with a bye and pin against Stockton before getting pinned by top-ranked Corbin Puga of Norton. Schnoebelen won a 6-4 decision against Abilene, then pinned reigning state champion and third-ranked Gavin Schippers of Hoxie in the consolation finals.
Hayden Liles placed fourth at 126 pounds. After a bye, he was pinned by second-ranked Kaden Sisson of Phillipsburg. Liles won a 4-2 decision against Hoxie, edged Norton's sixth-ranked Jatin Weigel 5-4, then got pinned by fifth-ranked Brayton Peters of Minneapolis in the consolation finals.
Ambrose Kramer met stiff competition at 113 pounds. He opened with an 18-4 major against Rossville before getting pinned by top-ranked Brogan Monty of Beloit in round two. On the back side, Kramer was pinned by fifth-ranked Alexander Hamel of Hill City.
Hayden Kelly posted a 2-2 record at 138 pounds. After a pin, he lost a 6-3 battle to Hoxie. Kelly pinned his Osborne opponent on the back side but bowed out with a loss to Russell's Trey Zorn. Blake Stein posted a 1-2 record at 144 pounds. He opened with a loss to second-ranked Brennen Pfannenstiel of Norton, then stayed alive with a 6-5 win against Stockton. Stein made his exit with a loss to third-ranked Skylar Rohr of Hill City. Alexis Reyes went 0-2 in contested matches at 106 pounds, including a loss to top-ranked Kaleb Keiswetter of Norton.
Third-ranked Cooper Liles did not wrestle at 150 pounds. Michael Montoya was also absent at 165 pounds.