Rossville regional brings end to droughts
By Brent Maycock
The Capital-Journal
Published Sunday, February 17, 2008
ROSSVILLE — The last time St. Marys could boast a regional wrestling champion was 2000.
The last time Mission Valley could make the same claim was 1999.
Both schools saw their championship drought end at Saturday's Class 3-2-1A regional at Rossville.
Brandon Tyler turned the trick for St. Marys, pinning Horton's Kyle White with 34 seconds left in their 135-pound final. About an hour later, Auston Sommer ended Mission Valley's long dry spell by pinning Sabetha's Matt Bosworth 12 seconds into the second period of their 215-pound final.
"I was just hoping I'd do well," said Sommer, who was up just 4-3 before catching Bosworth trying to reverse him and got the pin. "Maybe my coaches expected this, but I was hoping for it."
In a sense, Sommer's title was truly unexpected. He was seeded fourth at the regional and his record was a modest 10-6 entering the weekend. But finally healthy after battling injuries early in the season, Sommer came alive in Rossville, pinning his way through the bracket.
That included a 37-second pin of top-seeded Brian Heintzelman in Friday's semifinals. In the finals, he worked two takedowns of Bosworth, though he struggled to keep the Bluejay down after getting them before finally catching Bosworth on his back.
"Things just seemed to fall together this weekend," Sommer said. "I just sealed the deal."
Tyler, meanwhile, was a regional runner-up a year ago but faced one heck of a battle with White to get that elusive regional crown. The two had met three times already this season with White winning two and Tyler earning a one-point win in the other meeting.
Like Sommer, he worked a pair of takedowns, but was potentially in trouble when the pin came. White was trying to work a reversal and had nearly completed the move when Tyler grabbed White's head and leg and stacked him for the pin.
"He's a great wrestler," Tyler said. "We were spinning around and I just grabbed his head, grabbed his leg and stuck him."
Regional titles are nothing new to Silver Lake, which captured its fifth straight crown with 161 points and picked up six state-qualifiers.
Senior Collin Hase won his fourth straight title with a first-period pin of Atchison County's Cody Phillips in the 119 final, though from his comments afterwards one might have thought he was going for his first.
"I was a little nervous because it was the last time I was going to wrestle regionals," Hase said. "But after the first takedown, it was all good from there."
Silver Lake also got a title from Kyle Wichman, who dominated Wellsville's Cody Gray for a 15-0 technical fall victory in the 130-pound final.
Rossville's Duane Zlatnik captured his third straight regional title at heavyweight, manhandling Central Heights' Logan Hughes before pinning him early in the second period. Zlatnik was one of two champions for the Bulldogs, who qualified five, with Michael Provencher starting the finals off with a 20-4 technical fall victory at 103.
Sabetha's Jordan Meyer was the tournament's most outstanding wrestler after running his record to 33-0 with a pin of Rossville's Colton Gentry in the 152-pound final.
Other regional champions from the area included Wellsville's Zach Hoehn (112) and Aaron Patton (125), Herington's Nick Trapp (140), Atchison County's Jordan Noll (145), Horton's Frankie Moran (160), Doniphan West's Brett Dunlap (171) and Pleasant Ridge's Matt Meinert (189).
TEAM SCORES
Silver Lake 161, Wellsville 116.5, Rossville 114.5, Sabetha 113.5, Pleasant Ridge 107, Herington 101.5, Atchison County 87, Horton 83.5, Onaga 77, Mission Valley 72, Rock Creek 49, Council Grove 47.5, Doniphan West 44.5, Central Heights 44, St. Marys 42, Burlingame 40, Southeast-Saline 25, St. John's Military 25, Oskaloosa 24, Wabaunsee 12, Immaculata 6.
CHAMPIONSHIP FINALS
103 — Provencher, Ross won by tech. fall over Mieher, Her, 20-4. 112 — Hoehn, Well, maj. dec. Taylor, SL, 10-2. 119 — Hase, SL, pinned Phillips, AC, 1:36. 125 — Patton, Well dec. Merriman, Ona, 6-4. 130 — Wichman, SL, won by tech. fall over Gray, Well, 15-0. 135 — Tyler, SM pinned White, Hor, 5:26. 140 — Trapp, Her, dec. Boaldin, SL, 6-2. 145 — Noll, AC dec. Melcher, Her, 4-3. 152 — Meyer, Sab, pinned Gentry, Ross, 3:01. 160 — Moran, Hor, pinned Niehues, Ona, 4:19. 171 — Dunlap, DW, dec. Harris, Bur, 12-7. 189 — Meinert, PR, dec. Wahlmeier, RC, 6-4. 215 — Sommer, MV, pinned Bosworth, Sab, 2:12. 275 — Zlatnik, Ross, pinned Hughes, CH, 2:24.
CONSOLATION FINALS
103 — Breen, Well, pinned Roggenkamp, Sab, 0:38. 112 — Unruh, RC dec. Heneley, Her, 10-5. 119 — Graves, Ross, maj. dec. Lickteig, CH, 11-0. 125 — LaMar, SL, dec. Bingham, Bur. 130 — Hurla, Ross, pinned Scott, Hor, 3:45. 135 — Cobleigh, PR, dec. Morey, Sab, 13-8. 140 — Mathews, PR pinned Myers, Ona. 145 — Johnson, CG dec. Pineau, PR, 8-1. 152 — Frenzel, PR dec. Mapes, Ona, 6-1. 160 — Rausch, Sab, dec. Beach, Osk, 9-2. 171 — Shearer, Her, dec. Koelliker, Hor, 10-8. 189 — Mellies, SL pinned Morris, MV, 3:50. 215 — Heintzelman, PR, pinned Ryburn, Well, 1:39. 275 — Schaefer, MV, pinned Shaver, Sab, 3:16.