HAYS — With two first-place finishers, the Hoisington High School wrestling team finished fourth at the Bob Kuhn Prairie Classic on Saturday.
Brandon Ball (126-pound weight class) and Chance Demel (145) led the Cardinals, who finished with 135 points.
“Proud of our kids efforts,” Hoisington head coach Dan Schmidt said. “Brandon Ball and Chance Demel wrestled exceptionally well in bringing home gold medals.”
Hoisington, which is ranked No. 4 in Class 3-1A in the latest Kansas Wrestling Coaches Association poll, finished behind St. Thomas Aquinas (187), Phillipsburg (146.5) and Kapaun Mt. Carmel (137).
St. Thomas Aquinas is ranked third in 5A, and Phillipsburg is No. 8 in 3-1A.
“The tournament will contribute in a major way in bringing a very sharp focus to how we work on getting better,” Schmidt said. “When you look at who was at the tournament and do a bit of research as to the teams that are well respected in their classes, you realize that the tournaments that we will wrestle in the remainder of the season will be no tougher, including the state tournament, than what the Bob Kuhn Classic was.”
Cayton Janousek (220) finished third in his weight class.
Avery Urban (195) and Darwin Brickley (285) took fourth in their respective classes.
“Cayton Janousek, Avery Urban and Darwin Brickley battled back exceptionally well to pick up top four places,” Schmidt said. “Our staff felt that we should of had more kids place, but given the places they were at on the brackets we knew it would be very difficult.
Hoisington is back in action on Friday when it hosts the Cardinals Classic, which starts at 3 p.m.

                                      — Kevin Price

HIGH SCHOOL WRESTLING
Bob Kuhn Prairie Classic

Saturday

At Hays

Team results
1. St. Thomas Aquinas, 187.5; 2. Phillipsburg, 146.5; 3. Kapaun Mt. Carmel, 137; 4. Hoisington, 135; 5. Spring Hill, 128; 6. Buhler, 123.5; 7. Wichita Haysville Campus, 119; 8. Hays, 117.5; 9. Goodland, 93; 10. Salina Central, 92.5; 11. Ulysses, 92; 12. Hugoton, 74; 13. Riley County, 72; 14. McPherson, 68; 15. Maize South, 67.5; 16. Oakley, 63.5; 17. Russel, 51; 18. Ellsworth, 39; 19. Trego, 35; 20. Ellis, 28; 21. Goddard Eisenhower, 7; 22. Wichita Independent, 0

Hoisington results
106 — Hiladio Rosales, 0-2
113 — Landon Harmon, 1-2
120 — Lexi Sanders, 0-2
126 — Brandon Ball, 4-0, first place
145 — Chance Demel, 4-0, first place
152 — Zach Sanders, 2-2
160 — Austin McHenry, 1-2
170 — Chris Crawford, 1-2
182 — Hagen Hanzlick, 2-2
195 — Avery Urban, 3-2, fourth place
220 — Cayton Janousek, 4-1, third place
285 — Darwin Brickley, 3-2, fourth place