By JIM MISUNAS
jmisunas@gbtribune.com
State runner-up
Great Bend earns seven state medals
BY JIM MISUNAS
jmisunas@gbtribune.com
PARK CITY – Great Bend Panther Carsyn Schooler pulled one of the biggest upsets of the 5A state wrestling championship to reach the 126-pound finals.
But Salina Central’s crafty Drew Burgoon ruined Schooler’s state championship goal with a solid 5-2 victory, his third head-to-head win over Schooler. Burgoon pulled off an effective takedown move for a 5-0 lead.
Schooler (34-10) lost twice during the season to Burgoon, 3-1 in double overtime at the Hays Tournament; and 8-2 at 5A regionals last week at Arkansas City.
“You want guys wrestling Saturday night, but Carsyn came up short,” said Great Bend coach Nathan Broeckelman. “Burgoon is a tough kid who is flexible. He caught us on a ‘tilt’ move that I’ve seen one other time at Hays. It’s a weird move that put him up. It comes down to styles.”
Broeckelman said Schooler achieved his goal of reaching the state championship after a shocking 5-2 semifinal upset over Goddard’s No. 1 Jerrdon Fisher.
“That’s the best match Carsyn has ever wrestled,” he said. “He gained the 3-point lead on a near fall, which was the difference in the match. Carsyn is really good on his feet and fought him off. Fisher got out of his comfort zone from what he likes to do.”
Spragis joined Fritz with a giant wave after they captured third-place matches over Goddard wrestlers. Spragis defeated Logan Davidson 53 in overtime. Fritz defeated Cayleb Atkins 5-3
“He deserves every minute of it,” Broeckelman said “Jeffrey always looks out for our team and has wrestled up a weight. He takes our team aspect to heart.”
The Panthers finished sixth in the team standings with 93 points. Goddard won the team title followed by Arkansas City, last year’s 4A state champion.
Five of the Panthers, including Schooler, finished higher than their final postseason ranking – No. 4 Jeffrey Spragis (34-12, 132) finished third; No. 5 Gage Fritz (44-4, 145) finished third; No. 5 Alex Randolph (37-8) placed fourth; and unranked Wyatt Weber (3-14) placed sixth.
“At state, we showed that anything goes,” Broeckelman said. “Overall, it was a good weekend. I’m very proud and excited for next year. We return six medalists. We had some other guys who came up short of their goals.”
The Panthers achieved an 8-0 first-round start and all eight wrestlers reached the third round.
“It’s been a lot of fun,” he said. “We had guys battling hard up-and-down our lineup. We wrestled really well both days. We wanted to contend for a top five and we did that.”
The Panthers faced seven No. 1 ranked wrestlers – Arkansas City’s Jevin Foust (106); Goddard’s state champion Jason Henschel (113); Goddard’s runner-up Lucas Glover (120); Goddard’s third-place Jerrdon Fisher (126); Maize’s runner-up Aidan Campbell (132); Maize’s state champion Devin Gomez (145) and Arkansas City’s state champion Montez Robinson (152).
“It’s good we saw those No. 1 ranked wrestlers. It helps to know where you’re at,” Broeckelman said. “Our guys competed with them.”
5A STATE WRESTLING
GREAT BEND RESULTS
106—Wyatt Weber, GB (35-14), sixth; Weber pinned Brayton Oledsen, Basehor, 1:44; Weber def. Derek Duffett, Bonner, 8-1; Ian Demoss, SS pinned Weber, 4:12; Bubba Wright, KMC def. Weber, 12-4; 5th place—Jevin Foust, AC def. Weber, 8-3
113—Avery Wolf, GB (23-20); Wolf pinned Tucker Bieber, Lansing, 3:54; Jason Henschel, Goddard pinned Wolf, 1:37; LaShawn Blick, Andover def. Wolf, 5-2
120—Drew Liles, GB (23-11), sixth; Liles pinned Cohen Suchhy, Basehor; Lucas Glover, Goddard def. Liles, 8-0; Liles def. Taylor Matthews, Eisenhower, 3-0; Liles def. Bob Primers, KC Schlagle, 6-4, OT, 6-4; Cruz Lara, KC def. Liles, 8-0; 5th place—Elix Hernandez, SC def. Liles, 3-0
126—Carsyn Schooler, GB (34-10), second; Schooler def. Lane Warner, DeSoto, 15-3; Schooler def. Joe Walter, KMC, 3-2; Schooler def. Aidan Campbell, Maize, 3-2; 1st place—Drew Burgoon, SC def. Schooler, 5-2
132—Jeffrey Spragis, GB (34-12), third; Spragis def. Zach Radefield, Bassehor, 13-4; Aidan Campbell, Maize pinned Spragias, 4:50; Spragis def. Dan McMullen, BVSW, 7-1; 3rd place—Spragis def. Logan Davidson, Goddard, 5-3, OT
138—George Weber, GB (43-5), sixth; Weber def. Jakob Stovall, SH, 7-1; Michael Daniels, Bonner def. Weber, 12-4; Weber def. Caden Walker, SH, 13-2; Weber def. Quentin Kirk, VC, 6-0; Trig Tennant, AC def. Weber, 7-5; 5th place—Daniels, Bonner def. Weber, 10-5
145—Gage Fritz, GB (44-4), third; Fritz def. Jacob Boone, BVSW, 13-5; Fritz def. Joe Irwin, Lansing, 7-0; Devin Gomez, Maize def. Fritz, 7-0; Fritz pinned Chris Robinson, AC, 2:14; 3rd place—Fritz def. Cayleb Atkins, Goddard, 5-3
152—Alex Randolph, GB (37-8), fourth; Randolph def. Baily Meredith, Seaman, 7-2; Randolph def. Dayne Holmgren, Eisenhower, 11-9; Montez Robinson, AC def. Randolph, 9-5; Randolph def. Joe Tapia, Bonner, 6-4; 3rd place—Joe Hancock, Aquinas pinned Randolph, 0:55
TEAM SCORES—1—Goddard 225; 2—Arkansas City 151; 3—Blue Valley SW, 125; 4—Maize High 123.5; 5—St. Thomas Aquinas, 97; 6—Great Bend 93; 7—Bonner Springs 88; 8—McPherson 80; 9—Salina Central 77.5; 10—Newton 73; 11—Wichita NW 64; 12—Lansing 57; 13—Hays High 42; 14—Wichita Carroll 41; 15—Valley Center 37.5; 16—Maize South 32; 17—Emporia 30; 18—Lenexa St. James 29.5; 19—KC Turner 28; 20—Wichita Kapaun-Mt. Carmel 27; 21—Shawnee Heights 23; KC Schlagle; 23—Goddard Eisenhower 20; 24—Highland Park 13; Topeka Seaman 13; 26—Basehor 9; 27—Andover Central 7, Salina South 7, Spring Hill 7, 30—Topeka West 6; 31—Andover High 4; DeSoto 4; 33—Wichita Heights 3; 34—Pittsburg 2
