Wildin claims Chase County championship
Sports editor
With the regular season ending Saturday, the Marion High School wrestling team is now preparing for the postseason.
Warrior wrestlers will compete Friday and Saturday at Garden Plain High School for individual and team regional titles.
Any wrestler who finishes in the top four of his weight class advances to the state tournament Feb. 27-28 at Fort Hays State University.
MHS head coach Chad Adkins is feeling good about his team’s chances.
“We should be well-represented,” he said. “A lot of it will depend on whether or not our young kids believe they can win or not.
“They have the talent and can do very well. We are working on the mental side of it. That will be a big focus as well.”
Cody Wildin (130), Tylor Neil (145), Andy Shipman (125), and Adam Regnier (135) are the team’s top performers this year, but anything can happen at regionals.
It’s a win-or-go-home tournament, and has a lot to do with who is wrestling well that day.
“We will talk a lot about improving every match at regionals and talk about wrestling within your ability and wrestling your match,” Adkins said. “It is very important to make your opponent do what you want them to do.”
Although seeding for the tournament will not be until Friday at Garden Plain, Adkins has an idea where most of his wrestlers will end up.
“We are going to be seeded two, three, or four a lot,” he said.
The head coach anticipates Shipman, Wildin, Regnier, and Neil to be in the two-to-four range, while freshman Cole Lewman (112) and sophomore Randy Regnier (119) could be a four or five.
Senior Hector Cardenas could wrestle as a three, four, or five seed Adkins said.
Usually there are anywhere from six to 16 wrestlers in each weight division.
Currently, Wildin has the team’s best record at 25-2 and Neil leads the team in wins with a record of 32-7.
Adkins, who has been the school’s only head coach, is ready for the challenges a regional tournament presents.
“I believe if we continue to improve like we have all year long we are going to make some noise at the state tournament,” he said. “We have several kids who are capable of placing if they wrestle well.”
Chase County
In the final tune-up for the postseason, MHS took sixth place Saturday at the Chase County tournament.
Its 78 points edged out Burlingame by .5 points.
Emporia claimed the championship with 114 points.
Wildin was the team’s top-performer with a first-place finish at 130 pounds.
Shipman was the next highest Warrior with a second-place finish in the 125-pound class.
Lewman moved his record to 18-19 with a third-place finish at 112, and despite losing two overtime matches, Neil moved to 25 matches above .500 with a fourth-place finish at 145.