HAYS – Hoisington’s Joshua Ball became the fourth member of his family to earn a state wrestling title and younger brother Josiah earned a fifth place finish Saturday at the 3-2-1A state wrestling championship tournament in Hays.
Joshua Ball finished his senior season a perfect 37-0 and claimed the state championship at 182 pounds.
He opened the tournament with a 4-0 win over Beau Wassenburg of Marysville.
He would follow that first-round win with back-to-back falls, including a first-period fall over Jayce Hamel of Hill City to claim the state title.
Ball finished third as a junior and fifth as a sophomore, both at 170 pounds and sixth as a freshman at 160 pounds.
The younger brother, Josiah finished his freshman campaign 29-8 and in fifth place at 113 pounds.
Josiah opened the tournament with a third period fall over Cullen Wikle of Sabetha. But he then lost two straight matches on the consolation side of the bracket before pickup with a fall in the fifth and sixth place match.
The Ball brothers’ older brothers, Brandon, was a four-time state champion, Christopher a three-time state champion and Jonathan also won a state title as a senior.