BY JIM MISUNAS
jmisunas@gbtribune.com
Great Bend wrestling coach Nathan Broeckelman can’t wait until Friday night when “Grapple on the Gridiron,” becomes a reality.
The Panther wrestlers will experience the Kansas heat with a forecast temperatures around 90 degrees when they take the mat Friday night at Memorial Stadium. The public is invited to attend.
Each wrestling team will compete 11 times against high schools from Kansas and Colorado. Manhattan, Wichita South and Norton placed high at state last year. Pueblo East, Colo. was a state runner-up.
“I’d heard that Ottawa staged a wrestling match outdoors, so we thought we’d get mat time without leaving Great Bend,” Brockelman said. “It’s a great opportunity for our wrestlers.”
Friday’s first six rounds will be staged indoors at the Great Bend PAC starting at 10 a.m. Four mats will stage competition indoors and outdoors.
Friday’s final two rounds will be staged outdoors at Memorial Stadium.
“It’ll be hot. We can guarantee that,” he said. “This helps our wrestlers get extra mat time against quality competition.”
The Panther wrestlers posted a 75-41 match record last week at Pueblo, Colo. The Panthers won all five overtime matches. They earned team bonus points in 55 of the 75 wins, including 45 pins. Panther wrestlers were pinned 15 times in the 41 losses.
George Weber, Carsyn Schooler and Gage Fritz will join the wrestlers who competed in Colorado last week.
“We wrestled a great dual match against Pueblo East, which placed as state runner-up in Colorado this spring,” Brockelman said. “The guys wrestled good and we came through injury free.”
Great Bend varsity wrestler George Weber and ninth-grader Avery Wolf will compete in July at the 2018 Freestyle-Greco nationals at Fargo. N.D.
GREAT BEND COLORADO DUALS
Cooper Liles, 4-0; Alex Randolph, 8-1; Kaden Spragis, 5-1; Scott Heilman, 3-1; Drew Liles, 7-2; Stephen Baldwin, 7-2; Quinn Hoffman, 7-2; Avery Wolf, 6-3; Wyatt Weber, 4-2; Owen Ridgeway, 5-3; Wiley Brand, 3-2; Jeff Spragis, 4-3; Skylar Burkes, 4-4; Barrett Lutt, 2-2; John Szot, 2-2; Andrew Wettengel, 3-4; Jonah Meeks, 2-4; Natalie Garza 1-2
FRIDAY’S SCHEDULE
9:30 a.m.—Coaches meeting
10 a.m.—Rounds 1-2 (PAC)
Noon—Hour Lunch after completion of Round 1.
1 p.m.—Rounds 3-4 (PAC)
3 p.m.—Rounds 5-6 (PAC)
6 p.m.—Dinner break (set up at Memorial Stadium)
8:30 p.m.—Rounds 7-8 under the lights (Memorial Stadium)
SATURDAY’S SCHEDULE
8 a.m.—Rounds 9-11 (Memorial Stadium)
TEAMS ENTERED
Great Bend
Dodge City
Liberal
Manhattan (3rd 6A state, 2018; state champions, 2017)
Wichita South (6th 6A state, 2018)
Norton (5th state, 2018; 3A state champions 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013)
Pueblo East, Colo. (state runner-up, 2017)
Goddard Eisenhower
St. George-Rock Creek
Labette County
Doherty, Colo.
Pueblo West, Colo.
Russell
Individual wrestlers—Larned, Pratt, Abilene
