Dillon Wildin earns Hesston championship; ranked first in state
Sports editor
It was a better second week of the season than the opener for the Marion High School wrestling team.
The Warriors won their first dual of the season Thursday against Chase County, and had team members who placed Saturday at the Hesston tournament.
As a team the Warriors finished fourth, .5 points out of third place.
Dillon Wildin led the way for Marion at Hesston, taking first place in the 140-pound weight class.
He improved to 12-0 after winning all four of his matches, and is now ranked number one in the state in class 3A.
Cody Wildin dropped his first match of the season in the 130-pound championship match, but the junior still stands at 9-1 on the year.
Adam Regnier (135) and Tylor Neil (145) took third place in their respective classes.
Regnier won three of his four matches, and Neil won four of his five.
Neil, who qualified for state last year as a sophomore, has now won 10 of his past 11 matches after starting the season 1-2.
The final placers for Marion were freshman Cole Lewman (112) and sophomore Andy Shipman (125) who both took fourth.
MHS head coach Chad Adkins was pleased with his team’s performance at Hesston.
“The competition at this tournament was better than it has been in a long time,” Adkins said. “That is great for us and the other teams there.”
However, like any coach, he is never 100 percent satisfied, and knows his team can improve.
“We wrestled all right,” he said. “We lost some matches we shouldn’t have, but we will get them back.”
So far this season the Warriors have struggled in duals, losing their first three, but finally notched a victory Thursday at Chase County.
Adam Regnier picked up the team’s only pin against the Bulldogs in the 140-pound match.
Marion picked up four pins in a match against Burlington at Chase County.
Randy Regnier (119), Shipman, Dillon Wildin, and Neil all recorded six points with pins despite a 44-33 loss to the Wildcats.
Adam Regnier earned three points with a victory against Trevor Kraft.
Injuries and ineligible players have plagued MHS so far this season, but with just one varsity match let before January, Adkins thinks his team will get it together in the second half.
“We will keep working hard and be right where we need to be in February,” he said.
The final match for the Warriors before the holiday break will be Thursday at home.
A home dual last year was snowed out and eventually moved to Minneapolis.
To make up for the missed dual, Marion will play host to the Minneapolis dual Thursday at the USD 408 Sports and Aquatics Center.
Chase County dual results:
marion 42, chase county 34
103: open, both schools. 112: Glen Blue (CC) d. Cole Lewman (M). 119: Randy Regnier (M), open (CC). 125: Ariel Depler (M), open (CC). 130: Cody Wildin (M), open (CC). 135: Galen Funk (M), open (CC). 140: Adam Regnier (M) p. Joe Gile (CC). 145: Levi Anderson (M), open (CC). 152: Tylor Neil (M), open (CC). 160: Ben Green (CC) p. Colten Johnson (M). 171: Cody Simpson (CC) p. Andrew Kjellin (M). 189: Logan Anderson (CC), open (M). 215: Alec Wold (CC), open (M). 275: Trenton Harshman (CC), open (M).
burlington 44, marion 33
103: Colt Skillman (B), open (M). 112: Michael Vander Linden (B) d. Cole Lewman (M). 119: Randy Regnier (M) p. Connor Freeman (B). 125: Andy Shipman (M) p. Cody Fritz (B). 130: Ariel Depler (M), open (B). 135: Adam Regnier (M) d. Trevor Kraft (B). 140: Dillon Wildin (M) p. Brent Sturgeon (B). 145: Tylor Neil (M) p. Zach Harred (B). 152: Jordan Kopfman (B) d. Levi Anderson (M). 160: James Iseman (B) p. Colten Johnson (M). 171: Brock Ditto (B) p. Andrew Kjellin (M). 189: Nicholas Hawkins (B), open (M). 215: Tanner Taylor (B), open (M). 275: Jericho Hawkins (B), open (M).