Staff writer
The Marion High School wrestling team finished second Saturday in the Chase County Tournament with 133.5 total points.
Brody Carroll, 130; Cole Lewman, 140; and Andy Shipman, 145, took first place in their weight classes. Eric Regnier, 119, and Randy Regnier, 125, took second. Andrew Kjellin finished fourth in the 189-pound class.
Thursday
On senior night Thursday for the Marion High School wrestling team, the performance of three seniors provided a window into the entire season.
Marion’s most consistent wrestler, Randy Regnier, easily defeated all three of his opponents in the 125-pound weight class.
Regnier pinned Bryce Boxberger of Hoisington in the first round. Regnier’s only trouble during the match was when Boxberger gripped the Marion grappler’s right leg, leaving Regnier with only one foot standing on the mat. Regnier was able to wiggle and put Boxberger’s back to the mat for the pin. Colter Krehbiel of Smoky Valley lasted one round longer before he was pinned.
Darren Mueller of Hillsboro was the only opponent to go the distance with Regnier, but the match was never in doubt with Regnier winning after three rounds, 10-0.
Regnier and sophomore Brody Carroll are the two state-ranked wrestlers on the Warrior team. They are both ranked sixth in their respective weight classes, 125 and 130.
Carroll also defeated his three opponents: 3-1 over Zach Sanders of Hoisington, a pin over Alex Chesbro of Smoky Valley, and 6-2 over Brett Mueller of Hillsboro. Carroll’s common maneuver in all three matches was at least one up-ending body slam that rattled his opponents.
Andy Shipman was not in attendance at the meet; he was at home recovering from an illness.
His absence is appropriate for a Warrior season that has been wrought with misfortune. Coach Chad Adkins said the Warriors have had two hours of practice in the past two weeks because of recent snowstorms.
“It’s bad for wind,” Adkins said of Marion wrestlers’ stamina, “and it’s bad for these kids who just need to wrestle.”
The low point for Marion was junior Colten Johnson breaking his wrist in practice in December. Marion’s second-best wrestler was done for the season with two months of matches to go.
Because of Johnson’s injury, many Warrior wrestlers have had to compete in heavier weight classes. Wrestling at 135 last year and the beginning of this year, Shipman switched to 145 for the past two tournaments.
“We’re all light,” Adkins said. “Even with two weeks off, weight has not been a problem.”
One senior represented the majority of the young Marion team. Although he is wrestling at the same weight where he started, 160, Galen Funk had an up-and-down night.
Funk pinned Hoisington freshman Avery Urban but was subsequently pinned by Smoky Valley junior Lars Peterson in his second match.
The night did not get easier for Funk. In his last match, he faced formerly state-ranked wrestler Aaron Bina of Hillsboro.
Although Bina got on the board first with a takedown, Funk recovered to reverse on top of Bina to end the first round tied at 2. The second round started in similar fashion, Bina almost had Funk wrapped up for a pin but Funk quickly reversed the move from the down position and took the lead, 4-2.
Bina then escaped from Funk’s grasp and swung around Funk to score 3 points. Bina led, 6-4, but before the end of the second round, Funk performed another successful reverse to tie the match at 6. Bina scored an escape to take a 1-point lead, 7-6, at the beginning of the third round.
Starting in the up position, Funk elected to allow Bina to stand up, forfeiting a point to the Hillsboro wrestler, so the two grapplers could stand. Bina eventually took down Funk to score two points. Funk scored an escape to return the difference to a single point. With 20 seconds remaining, Bina put away the match with a reverse, winning 10-8.
“He wrestled him tough at Hoisington, too,” Adkins said of a previous Funk and Bina matchup. “He just gave him some points he couldn’t give him.”
Like Funk, the Warriors wrestled hard but came up short. Marion lost its first two duals to Hoisington, 38-27, and Smoky Valley, 46-28, before defeating Hillsboro, 28-22.
“This is the worst format for us,” Adkins said. “We’re not going to win many of these deals.”
Also like Funk, other Warriors battled for up-and-down nights.
Freshman Zach Lewman pinned Weston Loder of Smoky Valley in the third round of their 171-pound match. He nearly pinned the Smoky Valley sophomore in the second round. Although Lewman was pinned in his other two matches, Adkins is impressed with the progress the young wrestler has made this season.
“He’s just wrestling more aggressive,” Adkins said.
Sophomore Christian Larsen won 4-3 over Cody Delk of Hillsboro in the 135-pound weight class. Even though Delk came back to tie the match at 3 in the second round and had Larsen’s face to the mat in the third round, Larsen escaped the Trojan wrestlers’ hold to win the match.
Even in defeat, Marion wrestlers showed the heart Adkins wants from the team.
Wrestling up two weight classes at 152, sophomore Derrick Dvorak fought out of five different cradle pins by Matt Manka of Hoisington. He was barely able to keep his right shoulder off the mat while Manka had Dvorak’s left leg and neck.
“A lot of the goal right now is to not get pinned,” Adkins said.
While Carroll and Regnier are examples of the combination of talent and hard work paying dividends in victories, the rest of the Warriors are working hard to improve their skills while facing heavier opponents. The payoff for the younger Warriors will be harvested in future seasons.