With the majority of Class 5A's ranked individual wrestlers, and seven of the top-10 teams in the classification, Friday and Saturday's super regional in Andover lived up to its name. Great Bend paid no mind, qualifying 10 of its 14 wrestlers to next week's state tournament. Top-ranked Maize won the team title with 243.5 points, followed by second-ranked Newton with 220.5 points. The third-place spot was up for grabs with No. 4 Goddard scoring 149 points, followed by No. 5 Valley Center with 146 points, and the No. 9 Panthers placing fifth with 144 points.
All six ranked wrestlers made up the field at 144 pounds where Panther sophomore Jace Schartz, ranked No. 5, finished third. As the No. 6 seed, Schartz opened with an 8-0 win over Hutchinson, then upset third-ranked Bradley Trimmell in sudden victory to secure a spot at state. Schartz blanked the No. 6 wrestler from Eisenhower 9-0 to reach the consolation finals where he won by forfeit. Schartz enters the state bracket with a 38-8 record.
The 106-pound bracket was filled with five of the top six wrestlers, but freshman Triston Tomlinson still managed a third-place finish. After a bye, he pinned an opponent before losing a 7-2 decision to second-ranked Talon Verbeck of Maize. On the back side, the fourth-ranked Tomlinson won a 4-1 decision over the No. 6 wrestler from Ark City, then beat fourth-ranked Grady Lind of Hays 5-4 in the consolation finals. Tomlinson takes a 30-11 record to state.
Sixth-ranked Skyler McMullen was one of five ranked wrestlers at 138 pounds, but he also made it to the consolation finals. The senior pinned his first two opponents to qualify for state before losing 15-7 to top-ranked and one-loss Adam Maki of Andover. McMullen needed just 46 seconds to pin his Valley Center opponent in the consolation semifinals, but he lost an 8-2 decision to fourth-ranked Brady Duling of Bishop Carroll to fall to fourth. McMullen enters state with a 32-11 record.
Junior Cooper Liles was one of five ranked wrestlers in the 150-pound bracket where he finished fourth. As the No. 3 seed, Liles got by his first opponent in 22 seconds, but needed all six minutes to beat fifth-ranked Dave Sample of Goddard 10-9 to clinch a state spot. Third-ranked Liles beat his Bishop Carroll opponent in 58 seconds before getting pinned by fourth-ranked Kade Smith of Hutchinson in the consolation finals. Liles heads to state with a 34-8 record.
Junior Matthew Johnson exceeded his No. 5 seed with a trip to the consolation finals at 175 pounds for a fourth-place finish. Johnson pinned his first opponent, then pulled a mild upset against the No. 4 seed from Hays 11-3 to qualify for state. After a loss to top-ranked Connor Padgett of Maize, Johnson pinned his Bishop Carroll opponent to advance to the consolation finals. There he lost 9-2 to the No. 3 seed from Hutchinson. Johnson takes a 32-11 record to state.
Junior Keyven Schroeder almost followed his No. 4 seed at 215 pounds but still qualified after a fifth-place finish. Schroeder opened with a pin before losing 5-4 to the No. 5 seed and eventual third-place finisher from Hutchinson. Schroeder advanced out of the blood round by fall, then pinned his Valley Center opponent. After losing 6-5 to sixth-ranked Marcel Gonzalez of Newton, Schroeder secured fifth place with a pin against Hays. Schroeder heads to state with a 37-11 record.
Fifth-ranked Kaiden Hoffman entered the 126-pound bracket as the No. 4 seed and qualified with a sixth-place finish. He pinned his first opponent before losing a 9-0 major decision against the eventual third-place finisher from Andover. On the back side, Hoffman secured a spot at state by pinning Topeka West, then picked up another win against Andover Central. Hoffman lost a 4-0 decision to third-ranked Kolton McElwain of Goddard in the consolation semifinals, then lost to Hays in the fifth-place match. Hoffman takes a 24-15 record to state.
Freshman Hayden Kelly had an exciting tournament at 132 pounds to qualify in eighth. After an 8-1 loss to Andover to open the tournament, Kelly stayed alive with a pin against Emporia, then punched his ticket to state with a sudden-victory win against Goddard. Kelly lost a 12-1 major decision to fifth-ranked Abram Owings of Salina Central, then was pinned by Andover Central in the seventh-place match. Kelly heads to state with an 18-21 record.
Freshman Trenton Kern took the final qualifying spot at 190 pounds. As the No. 5 seed, he pinned his first opponent before getting pinned by fifth-ranked Logan Buchanan of Newton. Needing one win to qualify, Kern did just that with a pin against Hays. Kern then lost a sudden-victory match against Bishop Carroll, then fell 3-2 to Salina Central in the seventh-place match. Kern advances to state with a 27-20 record.
As the No. 9 seed at 285 pounds, sophomore Brody Schnoebelen was on the outside looking into state, at least on paper. He picked up a small upset in round win, advancing by injury default against Hays. After getting pinned by second-ranked Rio Gomez of Newton, Schnoebelen ended any state drama with a 35-second pin against Topeka West. Schnoebelen was pinned by Hutchinson and Salina Central to drop to eighth place. He takes a 25-19 record to state.
Sophomore Michael Montoya made it to the blood round at 165 pounds. After a loss to fourth-ranked Keon Edwards of Newton, Montoya stayed alive and secured a winning record with a pin against Kapaun. His season came to an end with a loss by fall to Bishop Carroll.
Senior Ambrose Kramer came up one win shy of qualification at 113 pounds. He opened with a loss to third-ranked Braxton Moody of Valley Center, but stayed alive with a pin against Topeka West. His season came to a close with a loss by fall against Hays. Freshman Aaron Ramirez went 0-2 at 120 pounds, including a first-round loss to the fourth-ranked wrestler from Andover. Freshman Trevin Maciel lost both of his matches at 157 pounds.
The Class 5A State Wrestling Championships are scheduled for Feb. 24-25 at Park City's Hartman Arena.