GARDEN CITY — Great Bend Panthers George Weber (35-1, 138); Gage Fritz (35-2, 145) and Alex Randolph (29-5, 152) placed third at the Rocky Welton Wrestling Tournament, a multi-state wrestling event.
George Weber defeated Scott City's Kaden Wren 5-1 for third place after beating him 6-4 in overtime in the quarterfinals. Weber lost his first match to Aaden Valdez 13-1 from Pueblo (Colo.) East. Vadlez downed Blue Valley Southwest's Brandon Madden 11-0 in the finals.
"George didn’t wrestle his best match, but he’ll learn from it. Valdez is a solid physical wrestler," said Nathan Broeckelman, Great Bend coach.
No. 3 ranked Fritz downed Goddard's No. 5 ranked Caleb Atkins 5-3 for third place after edging Atkins 3-2 in the quarterfinals.
Wyatt Weber (25-10, 106) finished fourth. Wyatt Weber defeated No. 1 seed Brenden Olsen from 4A state champion Silver, N.M. No. 5 ranked Randolph pinned Dodge City’s Ruben Rayes in the quarterfinals.
“Wyatt Weber got a big-time win against Brenden Olsen, a wrestler from New Mexico," said Broeckelman. "Wyatt’s grown a lot as a wrestler. He hates losing. That’s the biggest thing that drives him.
The Panthers placed sixth with 116.5 points. Kadin Spragis (106) placed 11th. Jeffrey Spragis (132) finished 13th. Scott Heilman (160) finished 15th. Andrew Wettengel (195) placed 16th. Kevin Miramontes (285) finished 10th.
The Panthers placed sixth with 116.5 points.
"We’re extremely pleased with how we performed. A sixth-place finish is pretty good, the best finish since 2007," said Great Bend coach Nathan Broeckelman. "With had no champions, but everyone pushed and learned some lessons this weekend. We're gearing up for last few weeks before regionals and state which is what we have been working toward all year."
ROCKY WELTON INVITATIONAL
TEAM SCORES—1—Goddard 220; 2—Pueblo Colo. East 206; 3—Kearney, Neb. 176; 4—Garden City 141.5; 5—Randall 131.5; 6—Great Bend 116; 7—Blue Valley SW 110; 8—Dodge City 105.5; 9—Pueblo, Colo. Centennial 103.5; 10—Newton 95.5
GREAT BEND RESULTS
106—Wyatt Weber, GB (25-10), fourth; Weber pinned Price, Scottsbluff, Neb. 0:52; Weber pinned Bergmann, Lewis-Palmer, Colo. 3:09; Weber def. Olsen, Silver, N.M. 7-4; Mills, BVSW def. Weber, 9-5; Weber pinned Steele, Pomona, 2:57; third place—Damian Mendez, DC def. Weber, 9-3
106—Kadin Spragis, GB (11-6), 11th; Pavlacka, Andale pinned Spragis, 1:11; Spragis pinned Price, Scottsbluff, Neb. 1:14; Spragis pinned Fuller, Vista Ridge, Colo. 1:21; Bybee, Newton def. Spragis, 18-1; Pauda, Ulysses pinned Spragis, 2:25; 11th place—Spragis def. Bergmann, Lewis-Palmer, Colo. 5-4
113—Pineda, GC pinned John Szot, GB (4-4), 1:12; Pauda, Ulysses pinned Szot, 1:51
113—Brantley Baldwin, GB (6-3); Marin, Silver, N.M. pinned Baldwin, 1:43; Ramirez, DC def. Baldwin 4-1
113—Avery Wolf, GB (14-15); Umentum, BVSW pinned Wolf, 3:50; Honeycutt, Goddard pinned Wolf, 1:57
126—Carsyn Schooler, GB (26-8); Sellers, GC def. Schooler, 8-5; Enockson, Bear Creek, Colo. def. Schooler, 8-5
132—Jeffrey Spragis, GB (23-7), 13th; Spragis pinned Young, Pueblo, Colo. 3:59; Ruona, Canon City, Colo. def. Spragis, 19-6; Spragis def. Fine, Vista Ridge, Colo. 10-4; Rankin, Lamar, Colo. def. Spragis, 12-4; Spragis pinned Estrada, DC, 2:11; 13th—Spragis pinned Newell, Hays, 3:09
138—George Weber, GB (35-1), third; Weber forfeit; Weber pinned Schwab, Pine Creek, Colo. 0:51; Weber def. Wren, Scott City, 6-4, OT; Valdez, Pueblo, Colo. def. Weber, 13-1; Weber pinned Janas, GC, 4:08; third place—Weber def. Wren, Scott City, 5-1
145—Gage Fritz, GB (35-2), third; Fritz def. Lazano, Holcomb, 16-0; Fritz def. Chavez, Andale, 10-3; Fritz def. Atkins, Goddard, 3-2; James, Kearney, Neb. pinned Fritz, 4:39; Fritz def. Chavez, Andale, 12-1; third place—Fritz def. Atkins, Goddard, 5-3
152—Alex Randolph, GB (29-5), third; Randolph pinned Snyder, Vista Ridge, Colo. 1:59; Randolph pinned Garcia, Ulysses, 1:23; Randolph pinned Rayes, DC, 0:32; Craine, Goddard pinned Randolph, 4:37; Randolph pinned Crosson, Pueblo, Colo. 2:14; third place—Randolph def. Tyson Beauperthuy, Doherty, Colo. 10-6
160—Scott Heilman, GB (16-15), 15th; Heilman def. Zapien, Liberal, 2-0; Dopps, Goddard pinned Heilman, 3:02; Heilman pinned Quinn, St. James, 2:34; Nakamura, Pueblo, Colo. pinned Heilman, 2:15; McCall, BVSW def. Heilman, 10-0; 15th—Heilman def. Aguilar-Espinoza, GC, 7-4
195—Andrew Wettengel, GB (13-24), 16th; Wettengel def. Villna, Silver, N.M. 6-3; Quezada, Pueblo, Colo. def. Wettengel, 6-2; Wettengel pinned Mendoza, Ulysses, 2:29; Aguilera, Liberal pinned Wettengel, 4:06; Simmons, Republic Co. def. Wettengel, 4-2; 15th—Peabody, La Junta, Colo. pinned Wettengel, 4:44
220—Branum, Colby pinned Ever Chavez, GB (9-15), 1:54; Pruitt Canon City, Colo. pinned Chavez, 1:46
285—Kevin Miramontes, GB (11-17), 10th; Darville, DC def. Miramontes, GB, 0:38; Miramontes pinned Mills, Randall, 0:27; Miramontes pinned Interial, Holcomb, 2:17; Miramontes pinned Mansell, Liberal, 1:48; Spitz, Lamar, Colo. pinned Miramontes, 1:45; Miramontes pinned Ryan, Colby, 4:46; 9th place—Spoencer, St. James pinned Miramontes, 2:31
