Panthers have seven wrestlers earn trip to state tournament

CHAPMAN — Seniors Taelor Mendenhall and Jordan Brown captured individual championships, and the Concordia Panthers had seven wrestlers earn trips to state by placing in the top four at the Class 4A regional tournament.
Mendenhall won three of four matches by fall on his way to placing first in the 126-pound class for Concordia.
Brown placed first in the 220-pound class, and won two of three matches by fall.
Concordia also had sophomore Skyler Hittle advance to the finals, and finish second in the 195-pound class.
Derek Mead, 113, and Brentin Hake, 182, finished third for the Panthers.
Brad Hake, 120, and Dylan Moore, 138, qualified for state by placing fourth.
The state tournament is scheduled for Friday and Saturday at the Bicentennial Center in Salina.
Concordia finished fourth as a team with 134 points.
Colby won the tournament with 171 points. McPherson was second in the 14-team field with 139 points and Smoky Valley was third with 134.5.
Mendenhall, who is now 28-1 on the season, needed just 42 seconds to pin Gage Stude, Larned, in the opening round. He pinned Davis Floyd, Chapman, in 30 seconds and then won a 15-4 major decision over Andy Dennison, Santa Fe Trail, in the semifinals.
Ranked third in 4A in his weight class, Mendenhall pinned fourth-ranked Alex Wolf, Smoky Valley, in 1:41 in the championship match.
Brown pinned Ryan Vance, Wamego, in 56 seconds in the first round of the tournament. He pinned Andrew Archer, McPherson, in the second period in the semifinals.
Matched up against third-ranked Edward Fitzgerald, Santa Fe Trail, in the finals, the sixth-ranked Brown won a 5-2 decision and is 35-3 heading into state.
Hittle received a bye in the first round and then took just 27 seconds to pin Wyatt Haberman, Larned. He pinned Drake Ewing, Holton, in 41 seconds in the semifinals to set up a showdown with top-ranked Taylor Krier, McPherson.
Krier won a 6-3 decision over second-ranked Hittle in the title match.
Hittle is now 37-4.
Mead, following a bye in the opening round, pinned Taylor O’Leary, Colby. He lost a 5-1 decision to Simon Munoz, Topeka Hayden, in the semifinals.
A 3-1 decision over Logan McDowell, Abilene, in the consolation semifinals assured Mead of qualifying for state. Mead (33-8) pinned Austin Ashley, Royal Valley, in 54 seconds in the match for third and fourth.
Brentin Hake defeated Adam McKenna, Holton, 7-0 in the opening round. He was then pinned by top-ranked Kane Kelly, Abilene, in the semifinals.
Kelly went on to place first.
Hake needed overtime to beat past Brad Standlee, Wamego. He then beat McKenna for a second time, 7-1, in the consolation finals, and is now 31-9.
Brad Hake pinned Dalton Carley, Wamego, in 1:00 and Justin Twombly, Holton, in 1:50. He lost a 12-4 decision to second-ranked Tim Prescott, McPherson in the semifinals.
Hake (32-9) knocked off Mason Kerns, Smoky Valley, 5-0, in the consolation semifinals before suffering a 9-4 loss to Ty Kolterman, Clay Center, in the third-place match.
Moore received a bye in the first round, and pinned Michael Bailey, Royal Valley. He lost by technical fall, 16-1, to top-seeded and eventual champion Konnor Kriss, Colby, in the semifinals.
Moore (31-14) beat Mitch Boudeman, Santa Fe Trail, and then lost 2-1 to Thomas Rickley, Clay Center, in the consolation finals.
Drake Hake narrowly missed earning a trip to state for Concordia in the 145-pound class. He received a bye and then beat Grady Ware, Clay Center, 8-0.
Tanner Ogden, Royal Valley, defeated Hake 6-2 in the semifinals, and went on to take first.
Hake was beaten 2-1 in overtime by Jake Ryals, Smoky Valley, in the consolation semifinals.
Concordia’s James McCabe, 106 pounds, was pinned by Nathan Nelson, Chapman, and then lost 6-3 to Zac West, Santa Fe Trail.
Blake Mikesell, 132 pounds, was pinned by Michael Tubbs, Colby. He dropped a 6-4 decision to Troy Crane, McPherson.
Shea Crum, 160 pounds, was pinned by top-seeded and eventual champion Gavin Grater, Clay Center. He beat Richard Vargas, Wamego, 6-4, and lost by fall to Christian Matthews, Royal Valley.
Blane Payeur, 170 pounds, pinned Robert Walsh, Chapman, in the opening round. He lost by fall to third-ranked Trevor Whittaker, Smoky Valley, and fell 9-4 to Chance Ogden, Royal Valley.
Kyle Marks, 285, was pinned by top-ranked Zach Lanning, McPherson. He lost by fall to Paul Hartwich, Wamego.

CLASS 4A REGIONAL
at Chapman
Team Scores
Colby 171, McPherson 139, Smoky Valley 134.5, Concordia 134, Abilene 117.5, Holton 116, Clay Center 94.5, Santa Fe Trail 70, Royal Valley 68, Wamego 38, Topeka Hayden 22, Larned 22, Chapman 11, Nickerson 0.

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