With everything at the whim of the weather, the state wrestling tournaments are no different.
For the Class 5A tournament and the nine Great Bend High School wrestlers, the winter weather is messing with the timing today and Saturday.
Weigh-in will be at 2 p.m., with the first round following at 4 p.m. today at Hartman Arena in Park City. Both times have been pushed back twice.
“Hopefully, we can stay focused,” Panthers head coach Norbert Muth said. “I guess everyone else is going through the same thing we are, with the snow and everything. We just need to keep our minds on the matches.”
The nine wrestlers representing Great Bend are Cody Liles (120-pound weight class), Chris Burley (126), Greg Burley (132), Kade Sander (138), Bryce Hofmeister (160), Darion Yager (170), Joe Lindenberger (182), Justin Henry (195) and Jacob Crane (285).
Of those nine, four qualified last year — Chris Burley, Greg Burley, Hofmeister and Yager.
Senior Chris Burley, who was a state champion as a sophomore at 112, lost 15-2 to Isaac Dulgarian of St. Thomas Aquinas in a 120 weight class state championship match last year. He was behind 2-0 when he injured his elbow but he finished the match.
Greg Burley finished third at 132 last season.
Yager, who was the only other wrestler from Great Bend to advance to the second day of the competition, finished 2-2 at the state tournament.
Hofmeister was 1-2 at the state meet last season at 170.
Sander, a junior, didn’t compete last season due to a knee injury. He was a regional champion as a freshman at 130.
“Hopefully that’ll help us,” Muth said of his team’s experience. “Usually, we go down the day before so they can work out at the arena. It lets them get used to it. This year, we couldn’t do that, obviously.
“We’re leaving (today) at 8 a.m., so hopefully we can get there early enough so we don’t have anyone starstruck.”
CLASS 5A STATE WRESTLING TOURNAMENT
Great Bend qualifiers
120 — Cody Liles
126 — Chris Burley
132 — Greg Burley
138 — Kade Sander
160 — Bryce Hofmeister
170 — Darion Yager
182 — Joe Lindenberger
195 — Justin Henry
285 — Jacob Crane
State wrestling tournament schedules (for both Hays and Park City)
Today
2 p.m. — Gates open, weigh-in
3:45 p.m. — Parade of Champions
4 p.m. — First round matches
Note — Second round matches start immediately following first round (championship quarterfinals/first-round consolation matches)
Saturday
7 a.m. — Gates open
9 a.m. — Championship semifinals/consolation cross-bracketing
10:45 a.m. — Consolation quarterfinals
12:30 p.m. — Consolation semifinals
2:30 p.m. — Finals (championship/third-place/fifth-place matches)
