Great Bend Post Sports
The Panther wrestlers were back home for dual action against Dodge City Thursday night. The fifth-ranked Panther boys (5A) led 32-30 before picking up 18 straight points in the heavy weights to beat the No. 8 Red Demons (6A) 50-30.
All but two of the varsity matches were decided by fall or forfeit. Ambrose Kramer kicked things off with the pin at 113 pounds. Second-ranked Kaiden Hoffman pinned his opponent at 132 pounds to give the Panthers an 18-12 edge on the scoreboard. Fifth-ranked Cooper Liles needed just 30 seconds to pin his opponent at 150 pounds. Michael Montoya won the best match of the night 13-11 in sudden victory at 165 pounds. Second-ranked Trenton Kern pinned his opponent in 47 seconds at 190 pounds. Fourth-ranked Matthew Johnson followed that with a pin at 215 pounds.
Ernan Rodriguez was pinned by second-ranked Raymond Hernandez at 126 pounds. Dodge City's fifth-ranked Ramses Ruiz moved up a weight to defeat Great Bend's Blake Stein with a late pin. Dylan Wainscott filled in at 138 pounds for the Demons, defeating Trevin Maciel in the first period. Conner Holladay was pinned in the final seconds of his match at 175 pounds.
Hayden Liles (120), No. 2 Jace Schartz (157), and Brody Schnoebelen combined for 18 points in open weights. Dodge City picked up open points at 106 pounds.
Lady Panthers fall to top-ranked Red Demons
Prior to the varsity boys taking the mat, Lady Panther senior Daizy Gomez fired up the home crowd with a win against Dodge City senior Ariana De La Rosa. De La Rosa, back to No. 2 in the latest rankings after an 11-2 win over Gomez at last weekend's Christmas Clash, had defeated Gomez in each of the pair's first 14 meetings, including back-to-back regional finals and the state consolation finals in 2022. De La Rosa had an early takedown Thursday, but Gomez, ranked No. 3, had the final say with a pin early in round two.
"We’ve been wrestling since my freshman year," Gomez said. "I was so calm and relaxed this time. I was literally dancing right before my match. I got told by many, many people to just go out there and have fun. I took that into consideration and the outcome speaks for itself. It feels good to win, yes, but it should’ve happened a long, long time ago. I am not satisfied and I'm still hungry for that state title."
Sixth-ranked Camdyn Post pinned her 105-pound opponent in the first period. Dodge City scored the next 15 points with an open weight at 110 pounds, a pin against Keira Leyva at 115 pounds, and an 8-2 loss by Braelyn Turner at 120 pounds. Fourth-ranked Kaylea McMullen picked up six open points at 125 pounds and Gomez followed at 130 pounds to level the team score at 18 apiece.
Dodge City took over from there. Third-ranked Hailey Ramos pinned Kaydence Demel at 135 pounds. Shatarah Newton was pinned at 140 pounds, and Josie Blevins was pinned by fourth-ranked Yareli Garcia at 145 pounds. Danica Cline was pinned at 155 pounds.
Kirra Stevens ended the run by pinning her opponent at 170 pounds. Fourth-ranked Natalee Daniels won by fall at 190 pounds. Dodge City closed out the night with an open match at 235 pounds.
Kayle Baldwin went the distance with second-ranked Elizabeth Ramirez in a 6-2 loss at 100 pounds.