Thirty-two teams from five states. The Rocky Welton Invitational, celebrating its 65th year, is always one of the premiere wrestling events in the state of Kansas. Battling Friday and Saturday, Great Bend scored 118 points to finish fifth among Kansas schools and eighth overall. Pine Creek, Colo. scored 198 points for the win, followed by Andale with 190 points, and Garden City with 164.5 points.
Third-ranked Cooper Liles made it all the way to the finals at 150 pounds. The junior pinned each of his first four opponents in 66 seconds or less, including a 65-second win against fourth-ranked Rhett Briggs of Rose Hill (4A) in the semifinals. Scott City's top-ranked junior Collin McDaniel (4A) was able to beat Liles 11-4 in the championship match. McDaniel also pinned his way to the finals.
Keyven Schroeder placed fourth at 215 pounds in a bracket that featured teammate Brody Schnoebelen. Schroeder pinned his first two opponents before losing a 7-5 decision against Newton's sixth-ranked Marcel Gonzalez, who wrestled in the finals. Schroeder pinned his next three opponents to reach the consolation finals against second-ranked Riley Marx of Andale (4A). Marx was able to secure the pin to win the bronze.
Sixth-ranked Skyler McMullen battled to a fifth-place finish at 138 pounds. After a bye win, he pinned his first opponent before being pinned by top-ranked Cael Alderman of Olathe North (6A), who finished second in the bracket. McMullen won a pair of decisions before getting pinned in the consolation semifinals. He rebounded by pinning his Kearney, Neb. opponent in the fifth-place match.
Fourth-ranked sophomore Jace Schartz also pulled out a fifth-place finish at 144 pounds. He won a pair of matches in the championship bracket before getting pinned by top-ranked Jacob Goodwin of Goddard. Schartz won his next two matches before suffering another loss to top-ranked Wyatt Gardner of Wichita County (3-1A). Schartz won an 8-1 decision against Kearney, Neb. to capture fifth. The bracket also featured the top-two wrestlers from Class 4A with Andale's Owen Eck beating Abilene's Tucker Cell for the title.
Matthew Johnson had another fifth-place finish at 175 pounds. The junior pinned his first two opponents before getting pinned by a Pueblo East, Colo. senior who advanced to the finals. Johnson won his next two matches with a pin, then was pinned in the consolation semifinals. He pinned his Scott City opponent in the fifth-place match.
Freshman Trenton Kern pulled out a ninth-place finish the hard way at 190 pounds. After a round-one loss to an eventual semifinalist from Scottsbluff, Neb., Kern won his next three matches with a pair of pins. A 4-3 loss against Garden City put him in the seventh-place match where Kern lost a 4-2 decision against third-ranked Justin Degallodo from Ulysses (4A).
Fifth-ranked Triston Tomlinson placed 10th at 106 pounds. The freshman opened against top-ranked Griffin Rial of Pine Creek, who went on to win the bracket. He won his next four matches with a pair of falls and two tech falls, before losing a 5-4 decision to fourth-ranked Taylor Rickard of Newton in the 10th-place match.
The sophomore Schnoebelen moved down to 215 pounds where he was able to secure a first-round upset against Pueblo East. After an 8-2 loss to Ulyesses, Schnoebelen needed just 14 seconds to pin his Garden City opponent. After another loss to Hutchinson, Schnoebelen pinned his final two opponents to secure 13th place.
Ambrose Kramer lost both of his matches at 113 pounds. Zaiden Burkes finished with an 0-2 record at 120 pounds, and Hayden Kelly dropped two matches at 126 pounds. His first loss came against second-ranked Damon Ingram of Rose Hill, who advanced to the finals. Trevin Maciel finished at 0-2 in the 157-pound bracket, and Michael Montoya went 0-2 at 165 pounds. Maciel's first loss came against sixth-ranked Ethen Allen of Garden City, and Montoya dropped his first match to third-ranked Alan Flores of Dodge City.