Staff writer
Four Marion High School wrestlers placed at the state wrestling tournament Saturday at Hays.
Cody Wildin, for the fourth time this season, lost to Tyler McMichael of Central-Burden in the third-place match of the 140-pound weight class to take fourth.
Dillon Wildin, for the second time this season, lost to Nick Hockett of Cherryvale in the third-place match of the 145-pound weight class to also place fourth. He finished the season with a 40-3 record.
Tylor Neil defeated Zach Eaton of Smith Center to take fifth in the 152-pound weight class. Neil ended the season with 35-11 record.
Colten Johnson defeated Matt Menear of Council grove to take fifth in the 160-pound weight class. He concluded the season with a record of 29-14.
The Warriors’ goal at the beginning of the tournament was to finish in the top 10 as a team; they finished 13th with 45 team points.
The Warriors were undone in the first day of the tournament. Cody Wildin was the only Marion wrestler to make it to the semifinals.
“We’re capable of wrestling much better,” Marion Head Coach Chad Adkins said.
However, Adkins was more jubilant after the effort of his wrestlers on Saturday.
“I was very pleased with the way all the guys wrestled on Saturday,” he said.
Day One
119 –First round
Randy Regnier lost, 5-3, to Adrian Lange of Lyons.
Consolation – second round
Regnier defeated Brody Laflen of Bennington, 16-2, by technical fall early in the third round of the match. Regnier came close to pinning Laflen several times in the second round, building a 15-2 lead.
130 – First round
Brody Carroll lost by pin to Kregg Clarke of Lyons. The match was a defensive battle in the first round, but Carroll tired and Clarke got the pin.
Consolation second round
Carroll lost, 8-2, to Nolan Peters of Oberlin-Decatur.
135 – first round
Andy Shipman lost, 9-2, to Eddie Creek of Marysville.
Consolation second round
Shipman was pinned in a cradle by Matt Schneider of Phillipsburg in the second round of the match.
140 — first round
Cody Wildin defeated Nathan Deeds of Goodland, 7-3.
Quarterfinals
Wildin defeated Michael Forbes of Effington-Atchinson County, 6-0. Wildin kept Forbes locked up on the mat for the majority of the match, leaving Forbes unable to create any offense.
Semifinals
Wildin was pinned by Levi Schneider of Ellsworth in the second round of the semifinal match. Wildin was in control of the match — leading 2-0 after the first round — and looked poised to get out from under the down position in the second period, turned Schneider around, and scored 2 points.
In the midst of the move, Wildin found himself with his back to the mat and Schneider opened the door when opportunity knocked. The Ellsworth wrestler laid on top of Wildin and trapped the Marion grappler’s head under his stomach.
“He walked right into a move,” Adkins said. “He was fighting off one move and he stepped right into another one.”
145 – first round
Dillon Wildin dominated Ryan Canaan of Ellsworth, winning by technical fall, 16-1.
Quarterfinals:
Wildin suffered his second loss of the season to Kevin Wolters of Atwood Rawlins County, 7-4. The match was close from the opening round where Wildin and Wolters traded points, but Wolters was able to escape from underneath Wildin to capture the lead at the end of the round, 3-2.
From then on Wolters was able to score the rest of his points using technical mat skills. Every time Wildin looked as though he would be able to escape from Wolters or score points, Wolters would reverse the move and leave Wildin face down on the mat. Wildin, for the first time this year, found himself in the unfamiliar position of climbing the consolation bracket.
“The kid just had leverage on him,” Adkins said. “The kid scrambled really well. (Dillon) was out of gas.”
152 — first round
Neil performed the most impressive maneuver for the Warriors in the first round. Neil was down 3-0 in the second round of the match to Dylan Bainter of Hoxie. When the wrestlers tangled chest-to-chest at the far end of the mat, Neil powered Bainter onto his back and scored a pin.
Quarterfinals
Although Neil was able to fight his way to score 2 points in the third round, Adam Klein of Minneapolis won the match, 6-2.
160 — first round
Johnson lost, 12-6, to Eric Hellerud of Hoisington.
Consolation second round
Johnson defeated Quincy Hodges of Mound City-Jayhawk Linn with only seconds left on the clock, 9-7.
Day Two
119
Regnier lost to Garth Griffith of Atwood Rawlins County, 8-5.
140
Cody Wildin defeated Brandon Melcher of Herington, 13-2, but lost to McMichael of Central-Burden, 7-3.
145
Dillon Wildin defeated Brock Wagner of Effington-Atchinson County by technical fall, 15-0; Eric Albers of Oakley, 5-3; and Sheldon Graves of Rossville, 2-1; but lost to Hockett of Cherryvale.
152
Neil defeated Collin Wittig of Leoti-Wichita County, 8-5, and Thomas Rachow of Phillipsburg. He then lost to Kyle White of Horton, and defeated Zach Eaton of Smith Center, 6-0.
160
Johnson defeated Levi Koehn of Holcomb, 6-0, and Dillon Kinderknecht of Council Grove, 6-2, but lost to Colton Gentry of Rossville. Johnson then defeated Menear of Council Grove, 7-2.