7 MHS wrestlers qualify for state

Remington Putter wrestles Canton-Galva?s Ian Alumbaugh at 160 pounds in the first round of the Class 3-2-1A regional hosted by Marion last weekend. Putter won by fall and went on to finish second in the tournament with a 3-1 record, becoming one of seven Warriors to qualify for state. Alumbaugh was 0-2.<p>Seven Marion wrestlers punched their ticket to the state tournament with top-four finishes at the Class 3-2-1A regional tournament the Warriors hosted Friday and Saturday.

Seven top-three finishes boosted the Warriors to a first-place team title with 165 points, well ahead of Chase County (971?2) and Eureka (95).

?They worked really hard,? coach Chad Adkins said. ?It paid off. We wrestled really well.?

Two Warriors won their respective weight classes to headline the outing.

Bryce Shults (34-6) earned his third championship of his junior season with a 3-0 record at 138 pounds. After a first-round bye, Shults won his next three matches by fall, including over Jared Hartzell of Erie in the championship.

Sophomore Tyler Palic (35-9), who entered the outing ranked sixth in Class 3-2-1A, recorded his third championship of the season with a 3-0 record at 195 pounds. Following a first-round bye, Palic won all three matches by fall, including in the championship over Wyatt Anderson of Caney Valley.

Four additional Warriors wrestled in championship matches, but came away with second-place finishes.

Junior Jarrett Johnson (30-8) went 2-1 at 126 pounds, winning by fall and by tie-breaker before losing a 7-1 decision to Jayhawk-Linn?s Trevor Compton, who ranks fourth in Class 3-2-1A, in the finals.

Ezra Darnall (32-9), a junior, went 3-1 at 132 pounds. He won his first three matches by fall before losing a 9-1 major decision to Fredonia?s Devin Voth in the finals.

Marion?s only senior qualifier, Remington Putter (34-11) went 3-1 at 160 pounds, winning his first two matches by fall, then winning by technical fall, 17-2, in the semifinals. Putter lost a 4-0 decision to Fredonia?s Logan Sherman in the finals.

Charlie Nordquist (28-16) went 2-1 at 182 pounds to qualify for state as a freshman. Following a bye, Nordquist won two matches by fall before losing by fall to Burden Central?s Michael Delaney in the finals.

?We are capable of beating those guys,??Adkins said of the eventual regional champions to whom Marion lost. ?Our guys (need) to believe that they’re capable of beating them. That?s a lot of it. We didn?t particularly wrestle very well in those finals matches. This week we’ll spend a little bit of time trying to fine-tune a couple things.?

Junior Noah Albin (26-15) was Marion?s final state qualifier. He placed third at 145 pounds with a 3-1 record. Albin won his first match by technical fall, 19-4, then lost by fall to the eventual champion in the semifinals. In the consolation bracket, Albin won two matches by fall to claim third place.

Also competing for Marion were Ethan Darnall (14-25), who went 1-2 at 120 pounds; Kolton Brewer (11-19), 1-2 at 152; Garrett Hoffner (13-19), 1-2 at 170; and Jarrett McLinden (17-16), 2-2 at 285.

Coming?Marion?s seven state qualifiers will wrestle at the Class 3-2-1A state tournament at Fort Hays State University Friday and Saturday. Five of Marion?s seven qualifiers have prior state experience. Adkins said he would like to see Marion finish among the top five teams at state.

?We have quite a few of our kids setting pretty good, kind of right where we want to be in the bracket at the state tournament,? he said. ?If we go out and do the things that we’re supposed to do, then some pretty cool things can happen.?

For a slideshow of photos from the regional tournament, visit hillsborofreepress.com

Written By
More from Janae Rempel
Wheat State League football athletes earn recognition
Wheat State League football coaches have released the 2014 all-league team, with...
Read More