HOISINGTON —Two-time defending state champion Christopher Ball (40-1, 152) led five Hoisington Cardinals to regional championships Saturday at Hoisington. Ball defeated Smith Center’s No. 2 ranked Colton Hutchinson 2-0 in the finals. Christopher Ball captured the 152-pound state titles the past two years and finished runner-up in 2015.
The Cardinals compete at the 3-1A state wrestling tournament at Fort Hays State next weekend.
No. 1 ranked Ball joined teammates No. 5 Tanner Cassity (34-3, 138), No. 3 Joshua Ball (36-4, 160), No. 4 Sean Urban (37-1, 170) and No. 1 Wyatt Pedigo (34-3, 182) to regional championships. Cassity placed sixth and Urban finished fifth in last year’s 3A state meet. Smith Center scored 194 points to edge the No. 1 ranked Cardinals (174) for the regional team title.
Joshua Ball defeated Bennington’s Layne Wilton 12-2 in the finals. Urban pinned Beloit’s Blaine Burks (0:59) in the title match. Pedigo pinned No. 5 ranked Tyson Villapando (0:15) in the championship match.
Hoisington’s Cole Steinert (16-11, 120) placed third with a 5-3 victory over Smith Center’s Joe Stocker to qualify for the state meet.

3A HOISINGTON REGIONAL
TEAM SCORES—1—Smith Center 194; 2—Hoisington 174; 3—Beloit 139; 4—Minneapolis 135; 5—Belleville 77; 6—Chaparral 75.5; 7—Osborne 56; 8—Ell-Saline 48; 9—Salina St. John’s 46; 10—Russell 45; 11—Ellsworth 37.5; 12—Garden Plain 34; 13—Lyons 33; 14—Bennington 28; 15—Mankato-Rock Hills 17; 16—Cheney 16; Sterling 16; 19—Norwich 14; 20—Lincoln 4
HOISINGTON RESULTS
106—Quentin Boxberger, H (17-15); Boxberger pinned Reed, Minneapolis, 5:05; Baldwin, Russell def. Boxberger, 19-4; Fuller, Beloit def. Boxberger, 11-0
113—Nicholas Rubio, H (15-16); Rubio pinned Sayles, Salina St. John’s, 3:14; Roth, Minneapolis pinned Rubio, 0:59; Saksit, Norwich pinned Rubio, 0:21
120—Cole Steinert, (16-11), third; Steinert def. Escobar, Chaparral, 8-6; Harris, Beloit pinned Steinert, 0:46; Steinert def. Hall, Ellsworth, 5-3, OT; 3RD—Steinert def. Joe Stocker, Smith Center, 5-3
126—Jarrett Shives, H (7-17), Emmot, Beloit def. Shives, 8-3; Bergman, Salina St. John’s pinned Shives, 4:28
132—Hunter Morris, H (7-14); Morris def. Gassman, Garden Plain, 17-8; Filinger, Belleville def. Morris, 4-2; Powers, Russell pinned Morris, 2:42
138—Tanner Cassity, H (34-3), first; Cassity pinned Teage, Cheney, 1:45; Cassity pinned Conrad, Smith Center, 1:25; 1ST—Cassity pinned Tristin Hauck, Minneapolis, 5:03
145—Dayne Yott, H (22-19); Yott pinned Harrington, Ell-Saline, 2:23; Escobar, Chaparral pinned Yott, 4:39; Daerr, Garden Plain pinned Yott, 3:54
152—Christopher Ball, H (40-1), first; Ball pinned Shoa, Salina St. John’s, 0:13; Ball pinned Rieke, Belleville, 0:11; Ball def. Kuder, Minneapolis, 13-0; 1ST—Ball def. Hutchinson, Smith Center, 2-0
160—Joshua Ball, H (36-4), first; Ball pinned Hopkins, Ell-Saline, 0:31; Ball pinned Muller, Chaparral, 0:58; Ball pinned Conn, Beloit, 3:18; 1ST—Ball def. Wilton, Bennington, 12-2
170—Sean Urban, H (37-1), first; Urban pinned Black, Cheney, 1:02; Urban def. Schneider, Ellsworth, 6-0; 1ST—Urban pinned Burks, Beloit, 0:59
182—Wyatt Pedigo, H (34-3), first; Pedigo pinned Beeson, Belleville, 1:50; Pedigo pinned Topel, Smith Center, 2:27; 1ST—Pedigo pinned Villapando, Minneapolis, 0:15
195—Jason Bradley, H (10-21); Paul, Beloit pinned Bradley, 1:03; Bradley pinned Marinhagen, Lincoln, 0:54; Nowak, Garden Plain pinned Bradley, 0:15
220—Zach Rubio, H (11-15); Rodriguez, Salina St. John’s pinned Rubio, 2:14; Rubio pinned White, Ell-Saline, 2:36; Tripp, Ellsworth pinned Rubio, 2:25
285—Riley Philborn, H (17-16); Philborn pinned Hopkins, Ell-Saline; Kisner, Salina St. John’s def. Philborn, 2-1; Philborn pinned Kadel, Beloit, 2:36; Eslinger, Chaparral def. Philborn, 10-4

TOP FOUR FINISHERS
106—1—Shoemaker, SC; 2—Basldwin, Russell; 3—Schneider, Ell-Saline; 4—Fuller, Beloit
113—1—Roth, Minneapolis; 2—Lee, SC; Sayles, SSJ; 4—Saksit, Norwich
120—1—Harris, Beloit; Talkington, Belleville; 3—Steinert, Hoisington; 4—Stocker, SC
126—1—Rundus, Belleville; 2—Schoenberger, Russell; 3—Emmot, Beloit; 4—Randall, Minneapolis
132—1—Goans, Lyons; 2—Atwood, SC; 3—Prochaska, Beloit; 4—Anderson, Bennington
138—1—Cassity, Hoisington; Hausck, Minneapolis; 3—Conrad, SC: 4—Harris, Beloit
145—1—Geise, Osborne; 2—Escobar, Chaparral; 3—Spiess, SC: 4—Daerr, Garden Plain
152—1—Ball, Hoisington; 2—Hutchinson, SSC; 3—Colson, Mankato; 4—Kuder, Minneapolis
160—1—Ball, Hoisington; 2—Wilson, Bennington; 3—Stewart, Sterling; 4—Williamson, Minneapolis
170—1—Urban, Hoisington; 2—Burks, Beoit; 3—Schneider, Ellsworth; 4—Roenne, Osborne
180—1—Pedigo, Hoisington; 2—Villalpando, Minneapolis; 3—Brown, Osborne; 4—Topel, SC
195—1—Daveenport, Ell-Saline; 2—Paul, Beloit; Simmons, Belleville; 4—Korinek, Minneapolis
220—1—Kuhn, SC; 2—Gerber, Chaparral; 3—Rodriguez, SSJ; 4—Barrientes, Sylvan Grove
285—1—Hawkins, SC; 2—Donovan, Minneapolis; 3—Eslinger, Chaparral; 4—Kisner, SSJ