With action in Ellis being canceled Friday, the Panther wrestlers made their most of the drive to Wichita Saturday. After a loss against Topeka Seaman in pool matches, Great Bend beat Olathe Northwest to set up a rematch with the Vikings, winning that dual 38-34 for the tournament title.
Keyven Schroeder’s open match at 215 pounds in the dual championship helped seal the deal for the Panthers. Triston Tomlinson and Kaiden Hoffman each pinned their opponents at 106 and 126 pounds, respectively, and Zaiden Burkes won a 2-1 decision at 120 for a quick 15-4 lead. Skyler McMullen and Trevin Maciel, at 138 and 157, respectively, also picked up pins, and No. 4 Cooper Liles tech-falled his opponent at 150 to bump the gap to 32-16. Seaman scored the next 12 points before Schroeder got the six points at 215. Third-ranked Jace Schartz tech-falled his opponent at 144 pounds in the first meeting, but was pinned in the championship.
The first meeting almost mirrored the championship dual with Tomlinson, Hoffman, and Liles each winning by fall. Schroeder won his match at 215 by injury default. Fifth-ranked Jaxson Thomas was able to pin Brody Schnoeleben in both meetings, the first time to help secure the dual. McMullen won a 13-6 decision in the first meeting, and Schartz picked up five points with the tech fall.
The Panthers were otherwise completely dominant on the day, beating Campus 84-0 with a perfect score. Tomlinson, Burkes, Hoffman, Kelly, McMullen, Schartz, Liles, Maciel, Schroeder, and Schnoebelen all won by fall, as did Matthew Johnson at 175 pounds and Michael Montoya at 165 pounds. Liles, Maciel, and Montoya all wrestled for under a minute, and Schroeder had the quickest pin in the dual at 18 seconds.
Great Bend missed a perfect score by just three points in an 81-0 win against Wichita Southeast. Hoffman, Kelly, McMullen, Schartz, Liles, Maciel, Montoya, Johnson, Kern, Schroeder, and Schnoebelen each pinned their opponents. Tomlinson picked up open points at 106, and Burkes pulled out a 12-11 decision at 120. Johnson and Hoffman both won in under 60 seconds, and McMullen had the quickest pin at 37 seconds.
With the first loss against Seaman, Great Bend squared off against Olathe Northwest in cross-pool competition. The Panthers won that 60-24. Tomlinson was again open at 106, and Aaron Ramirez lost to a ranked wrestler at 113. Schartz lost to No. 4 Noah Conover, who was wrestling up a weight. Schroeder was pinned by second-ranked Lucas Conover at 215.
Kelly, McMullen, Liles, Maciel, Montoya, Johnson, Kern, and Schnoebelen each pinned their opponents. Hoffman beat his opponent in sudden victory at 126.
The Panthers host Hays in dual action on Tuesday.