Link to Video GOODLAND, Kansas -
Heading into Saturday’s Great West Athletic Conference wrestling tournament you kind of had a feeling it might come down to the fifth and final round of the day. After all waiting there at the bottom of the schedule was a final round match-up between the number 4 ranked team in Class 4A Goodland and the number 5 ranked team in Class 4A Colby.
“When we wrestle Colby it’s always really close,” said Goodland head coach Joe Sramek. “It’s always really fun and it’s always a competitive dual. Every time we get to wrestle them it’s fun, and I think it’s fun for both our teams.”
Sure enough, the day unfolded just as one might imagine. The Cowboys won their first four matches in pretty convincing fashion. The Eagles did the same. Meaning the fifth and final round, would be for all the marbles.
Colby had a decided advantage coming into the match, because Goodland had two open weights a 220 and 285. Meaning the Cowboys would need to be up by more than 12 points before the two hit those weights.
“I knew that and kind of as the match went on, when we lost some matches at the lower weights, we needed some falls,” said Sramek. “I knew our 160 pounder and 170 pounders needed to come away with some big pins and I told them that before they went out there.”
The Cowboys got exactly they needed. After John Peden and Colton Cooper got pins at 160 and 170 respectively, Goodland was clinging to a 12 point lead after the bouts at 182.
It would come down to the match at 195 between Ian Bonsall and Jays Zieglmeier.
“He (Bonsall) has been battling an ankle injury,” said Sramek.”We’ve kind of wrestled him sparingly, but I told him we were going to have to use him for this dual.”
Bonsall fought through to get a pin sealing the deal for the Cowboys.
“He toughed it out and got out there and got the win for us “said Sramek. “We’ve been working each week and I think if we keep sticking to what we’ve been working on that we can really take then next step here.”