By MIKE COURSON
Great Bend Post
The Class 5A wrestling super-regional in Arkansas City Friday and Saturday may have been the toughest in the state. The 18-team field included eight of the top teams in the classification, including top-ranked Goddard and seventh-ranked Great Bend. Those two teams finished atop the regional. Goddard scored 207.5 points for the title and Great Bend edged fourth-ranked Andover 163.5-161.5 for second. Junior Jace Schartz won a regional title and 10 Panthers qualified for next week's state tournament.
Schartz's road to the title was not an easy one. He opened with a pair of decisions, including a 13-7 win against fourth-ranked Elijah Means of Bishop Carroll to reach the finals. There, he needed an ultimate tie break to get by top-ranked Kade Smith of Hutchinson. Schartz picked up a late escape point to force overtime, then hung on from the top position to win 3-2.
"I got my shot," Schartz said. "I was thinking fireman's, fireman's but he knew it was coming. He had the long arm brace on so I couldn't grip his elbow. I thought, forget it, we're going to stop shooting and take it to double-overtime."
In the tie break, Smith took the down position and just needed an escape to advance. Neither wrestler had been able to ride the other for more than 10 seconds.
"You have to stay tight-waist. I wasn't really hard on the tight waist, and when it came to the third overtime, I knew we had to ride tight tight waist. You've got to be mean with the tight waist. You want to make it where they can't breathe."
Two of the top seeds in the other half of the bracket, including third-ranked Josh Berlin of Maize South, were knocked out before the finals. Schartz was able to pin Goddard junior Eastyn Vieyra for the title. He takes a 35-7 record to state.
Senior Kaiden Hoffman dropped to No. 6 at 132 pounds heading into a tough bracket but still pulled out a third-place finish to qualify. He pinned his first opponent and won a 7-5 decision over Goddard to reach the semifinals Friday evening. Top-ranked Luke Potter of Andover was able to defeat Hoffman 7-4 on his way to the title. Hoffman pinned his final two opponents, including fourth-ranked Julian Glover of Salina Central in the consolation finals. Hoffman takes a 32-8 record to Park City.
Third-ranked Cooper Liles battled through a tough 150-pound bracket for third place. The senior pinned his first two opponents before getting pinned by second-ranked Brady Duling of Bishop Carroll in the semifinals. Liles needed a total of 78 seconds to pin his final two opponents, including fifth-ranked Abram Owings of Salina Central in the consolation finals. Liles heads to state with a 26-3 record.
Fourth-ranked sophomore Trenton Kern had to contend with some top competition for third place at 190 pounds. After a bye, Kern lost an 8-7 to fifth-ranked Steel Shomacher in the quarters. Top-ranked Omari Elias of Kapaun awaited the winner. Kern dominated his way through the back side with a tech fall, a quick pin, and a forfeit against third-ranked Tate Hutchinson of Andover on the consolation semis. Kern avenged the earlier loss by pinning Schomaker for third place. He takes a 30-6 record to Hartman Arena.
Sixth-ranked Aiden Davidson also navigated his way through a tough bracket for third at 165 pounds. The junior opened with a 6-0 decision before getting pinned by Andover. Davidson advanced to the consolation finals with a pin and two decisions on the back side. He won a 6-1 decision over fifth-ranked Johnny Rigler for third place. Davidson heads to state with a 23-6 record.
Hayden Kelly finished third at 138 pounds to punch his ticket to Hartman Arena. The sophomore opened with a 5-4 decision against Hutchinson before getting tech-falled by second-ranked and eventual champion Adam Maki of Andover in round two. Kelly won four-straight decisions on the back side to capture third, including a 2-1 thriller against sixth-ranked Nate Barron of Newton in the consolation finals. Kelly takes a 26-11 record to state.
Fifth-ranked Triston Tomlinson finished fourth to qualify for state at 120 pounds. After a bye, he was pinned by fourth-ranked Conner Landers of Bishop Carroll. Tomlinson pinned his next two opponents in short order to secure a spot at state. He advanced to the consolation finals with a forfeit win, then lost a 6-5 sudden-victory match to Ark City junior Carlos Leyva. Tomlinson takes a 23-16 record to state.
Senior Matthew Johnson dropped out of the rankings at 215 pounds heading into regionals but qualified for state with a fifth-place finish Saturday. He pinned his first two opponents to reach the semifinals opposite second-ranked Dai'Mont Mucker of Valley Center. Mucker won 9-3 and pinned his opponent in the finals. With a spot at state secured, Johnson lost a 7-6 decision to fourth-ranked Marcel Gonzalez of Newton. Johnson pinned his Eisenhower opponent for fifth to improve his record to 28-12.
Junior Michael Montoya placed seventh at 165 pounds to earn a spot at state. He pinned his first opponent before being tech-falled by fifth-ranked Tristen Ring of Andover in round two. Montoya won a 4-2 decision against Kapaun to secure a spot at state, lost a decision to Bishop Carroll, then defeated his Ark City opponent 5-0 in the seventh-place match. Montoya heads to Park City with a 24-16 record.
Freshman Hayden Liles grabbed the eighth-place and final qualifying spot at 126 pounds. He pinned his first opponent only to get pinned by second-ranked Jase Adams of Salina Central. Liles pinned his next opponent to secure a spot at state. He lost his final two matches to drop to eighth with a 22-15 overall record.
Brody Schoebelen came up a win shy of state at 285 pounds. He was upset in round one by the eventual sixth-place finisher from Salina Central. Schnoebelen stayed alive with a pin against Topeka West but bowed out a round early with a loss to Salina South.
Alexis Reyes lost both of his matches at 106 pounds in a bracket that included two of the top-three wrestlers. Ambrose Kramer went 0-2 in a 113-pound bracket that featured four ranked wrestlers.
This year's Class 5A and 6A boys' and girls' state wrestling championships will be held at Park City's Hartman Arena Feb. 22-24.