Great Bend Post Sports
The competition is always fierce at the Bob Kuhn Prairie Classic in Hays. Second-ranked Manhattan (6A) took this year's team trophy Saturday with 245.5 points, followed by No. 3 Phillipsburg (3-2-1A) with 136 points. No. 5 Russell (3-2-1A) scored 117.5 points for third, and Great Bend placed fourth with 111 points.
Russell freshman Xzander Donner, ranked No. 3, went 3-0 at 106 pounds to win that bracket. He won a major against Hays sophomore Cyler Luck in the finals. Great Bend's Abel Spencer was tech-falled by Luck in the quarterfinals. Spencer won his next two matches before losing in the consolation semifinals to a Colorado wrestler. Spencer lost a major to Hays' other wrestler in the fifth-place match.
Panther senior Jace Schartz, ranked No. 3, made it to the finals at 165 pounds. He inched closer to the state tech-fall record, then won an 11-7 decision against Russell senior Teagen Pfeifer, ranked No. 4. Schartz was pinned by a Colorado wrestler in the finals. Pfeifer pinned Buhler's fourth-ranked Luke Kerns (4A) in the consolation finals.
Panther junior Trenton Kern, ranked No. 6, had one of the most impressive wins on the day. Kern pinned his first opponent in 43 seconds, then pinned third-ranked Lucas Freeman of Goddard-Eisenhower in 49 seconds to reach the finals. Third-ranked Landon Dobson of Manhattan saw even less mat time in the other half of the bracket. He pinned Kern in the finals.
Great Bend junior Triston Tomlinson, ranked No. 6, advanced to the finals at 138 pounds. Tomlinson pinned his first opponent and won an 11-5 decision against Hugoton to reach the semifinals. There, he edged sixth-ranked Hunter Sisson of Phillipsburg 4-2. Top-ranked Carter Krier of Oakley (3-2-1A) was able to pin Tomlinson early in the second period of the finals.
Area wrestlers took two of the top-three spots at 113 pounds. Russell junior Xzephren Donner, ranked No. 2, made it to the finals where he lost in sudden-victory to fourth-ranked Jack Hutchinson on Manhattan. Great Bend freshman Cal Schartz, ranked No. 5, had a tough open with a loss to Hutchinson. He rebounded to win a pair of tech falls and a major on the back side to finish third.
The 175-pound bracket featured another premium finale. Russell senior Brayden Suchy, ranked No. 3, tech-falled his first opponent and won a 12-7 decision of Ellsworth's Micah Galvan. In the finals, Suchy was tech-falled by Manhattan's second-ranked sophomore Max Evans-Pryor. Galvan went on to finish fourth for Ellsworth.
Great Bend's Hayden Kelly, ranked fifth, pulled out a third-place finish at 150 pounds. He pinned his first opponent and tech-falled fifth-ranked Dayton Fromholtz of St. Francis (3-2-1A) to reach the semifinals. Kelly went the distance in a 7-0 loss to fourth-ranked Logan Lagrman of Manhattan, who won the bracket. On the back side, Kelly pinned his Trego opponent and defeated Fromholtz 10-3 in the consolation finals.
Hayden Liles placed eighth for Great Bend at 132 pounds. He pinned his first opponent before getting pinned by No. 6 Kaden Sisson of Phillipsburg, who made the finals where he was pinned by top-ranked Caeleb Hutchinson of Manhattan. Liles won a 3-1 decision against Hays, lost a 6-0 decision to Santa Fe Trail, and lost a 12-4 major to the Huguton wrestler he pinned in round one.
Russell senior Ethan Koetkemeyer finished third at 157 pounds with a pin against Kapaun in the consolation finals. Great Bend's Josue Bustamonte finished sixth at 285 pounds.
Panther senior Ambrose Kramer had a tough draw at 120 pounds. After a bye, he was pinned by the eventual runner-up from Santa Fe Trail. Kramer was also pinned by the seventh-place finisher from Kapaun.