TOPEKA — Thirty-one Great Bend wrestlers set out to compete with 1,400 other wrestlers from the state in the final tournament of the Kansas Kids State Wrestling Championships on March 29-30 at the Kansas Expocentre.
Eleven of the 31 wrestlers placed in the top six in their division to help lead Great Bend team to a 12th-place finish out of 165 teams.
Leading the way for Great Bend were five state champions: Scott Heilman 8-under (88 pounds); Christopher Ball 12-under (120); Cody Liles 14-under (125); Jonathan Ball 14-under (130); and Brandon Ball, High School division (132). All brought home championship awards.
Luke Barker 8-under (55) and Wyatt Weber 8-under (58) earned fifth-place finishes, while Chayse Gruber 8-under (80), Joshua Ball 10-under (110), Jose Batres 14-under (155) and Cody Lytle, High School division (132) came home with sixth place.
At a different tournament in Salina on Feb. 24 Great Bend had four wrestlers compete in the Kansas 6-under Kids Wrestling State Championship tournament. Matthew Johnson won the state championship at 95 pounds; Josiah Ball came up one match short, placing second at 49 pounds; Keyvan Schroeder brought home third at 64 pounds; and Jett Schwartz won four matches but came up one match short of placing at 43 pounds.
Kaylea McMullen competed in the Kansas Girls State Championships in McPherson on March 24 and placed second in the 6-under 46-pound bracket.
“It is great to see all the hard work and dedication of the kids, coaches, and parents pay off at the end of the long grueling season. Congratulations to these wrestlers for their accomplishments as well as all other wrestlers who stepped on the mat for Great Bend this year,” Great Bend Kids Wrestling head coach Corey Chansler said.

— Mack McClure