Competition ramps up for Mustang wrestlers

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Sports

December 16, 2013 - 12:00 AM

GARNETT — Iola High’s wrestling team continues to rack up plenty of wins, although head coach Brad Carson still sees room for improvement.
The Mustangs, competing in the Anderson County Tournament, were led by senior John Whitworth, who took home the individual 170-pound title, going 5-0 on the day.
Two other wrestlers, seniors Cody Conner and Bryce Misenhelter, placed second at 152 and 182 pounds, respectively. Both were undefeated until their championship matches, going 4-1 on the day.
As a squad, Iola took seventh with 113 points. Blue Valley Southwest grabbed the first place team trophy with 236 points, followed by Independence in second with 175 and host Anderson County in third at 157.5.
“We did well, although I was a little disappointed in that we didn’t end very well,” coach Carson said.
Whitworth made quick work of his first four opponents, pinning each, before winning, 13-4, over Mill Valley’s Nathan Anderson in the championship.
“John is so quick and explosive and strong,” Carson said.
Even more impressively, Whitworth plans to wrestle at 160 pounds for the rest of the season.
“Strength isn’t everything,” Carson said, “especially if you go up against an experienced wrestler with good technique. But he has the athletic ability to keep it together for us.”
Conner rolled through his preliminary rounds, pinning three opponents and winning a fourth by injury default.
His run ended, however, against Trevor Watson of Blue Valley Southwest.
Faced with a points disadvantage in the third period, Conner had one shot at a victory, but could not complete a cradle move that could have pinned Watson. Watson won, 11-4, on points.
“But there was some confusion about what he was supposed to do,” Carson said. “The other kid wound up escaping. Cody continues to compete a lot better against schools where other guys are as good as he is. Now, he needs to work better from the bottom.”
Misenhelter came up against a familiar foe in the 182-pound championship match, Anderson County’s Lee Koch.
“His old nemesis,” Carson said.
Like he did in their previous meeting in 2012, Koch defeated Misenhelter, scoring two early points in a 2-0 victory.
Koch got his points with a takedown late in the first period. Misenhelter was unable to get any escape points after starting the second period on bottom, nor was he able to score with Koch on the bottom in the third and final period.
“He was able to get Bryce’s legs a couple of times,” Carson said. “Bryce got out of it the first time, but couldn’t the second, and he got the points.”
Prior to that, Misenhelter pinned his first four opponents on the mat.

IN OTHER competition, Iola’s Travis Rieske went 2-2 and took ninth at 160 pounds.
Rieske entered the tournament with a significant disadvantage.
“He was hoping to wrestle at 145 pounds, but weighed in at 145.4 pounds,” Carson said. “With Cody at 152, we wrestled Travis at 160. That’s not an excuse. He had a tough day, but he was still able to get a couple of pins.”
Tavon Blazek, wrestling at 182 pounds, went 1-3 on the day, finishing sixth.
“Tavon has a lot of ability, but position on the mat is more important,” Carson said. “He got himself out of position, and it wound up costing him.”
Andrew Garber, at 195 pounds, placed fourth by going 2-2. He won his first two matches before being pinned by D.J. Kessler of Independence — his second loss to Kessler in two weeks — and then dropping a third-place match to Griffin Berrigan of Blue Valley Southwest, 8-1, in the third-place match.
“Andrew goes so hard out there, and he never quits,” Carson said. “A couple of times, he forgot what his next move was supposed to be until it was too late. But I don’t have to worry about Andrew. He’ll continue to keep working and doing better.”
Seth Sanford picked up his first ever wins of his high school career at 220 pounds. He dropped his first two matches before pinning Alec Derritt of Mill Valley with a pin in the second period. He then fell in a consolation match before rebounding to pin Derritt again, in 40 seconds to take seventh.
Likewise, Colton Toney took seventh at 285 pounds. He went 2-4 on the day, pinning Anderson County’s Michael Bauchman and Steven Cronick of Parsons.
“Seth is in a tough weight class, where he’s going up against a lot of juniors and seniors who are simply more physically mature. Colton is in the same boat.”
Both of the youngsters continue to improve, Carson said.

IOLA RETURNS to the mats Thursday in Cherryvale with a quadrangular meet against the host Chargers. Also competing will be Erie and Jayhawk-Linn. The competition begins at 5:30 p.m.
Individual results
Cody Conner, 152 pounds
(4-1, second)
Conner def. James Loudon, Central Heights (fall 0:35)
Conner def. Kyle Lamb, Anderson County (fall 3:07)
Conner def. Wyatt Scott, Central Heights (injury default)
Conner def. Dillon Brookshire, Frontenac (fall 2:52)
Trevor Watson, BVSW, def. Conner (Dec. 11-4)
Travis Rieske, 160 pounds
(2-2, ninth)
Andy Blanton, Osawatomie, def. Rieske (fall 2:26)
Geoffrey Grabbe (Mill Valley) def. Rieske (fall 0:30)
Rieske def. Keith Sears, Anderson County (fall 1:43)
Rieske def. Cadin Bolinger, Frontenac (fall 2:58)
John Whitworth, 170 pounds
(5-0, first)
Whitworth def. Gavin Badders, Osawatomie (fall 1:19)
Whitworth def. Cole Kedney, BVSW (fall 2:58)
Whitworth def. Brycen Gulick, Caney Valley (fall 1:41)
Whitworth def. Dallas Cox, Anderson County (fall 0:36)
Whitworth def. Nathan Anderson, Mill Valley (maj. dec. 13-4)
Bryce Misenhelter, 182 pounds
(4-1, second)
Misenhelter def. Kevin Rivera, Parsons (fall 2:38)
Misenhelter def. Chase Turner, Frontenac (fall 1:29)
Misenhelter def. Dillon Shamblin, Caney Valley (fall 1:54)
Misenhelter def. J.R. Dunnivan, Central Heights (fall :33)
Lee Koch, Anderson County, def. Misenhelter (dec. 2-0)
Tavon Blazek, 182 pounds
(1-3, sixth)
Shawn Wages, St. Marys, def. Blazek (fall 3:34)
J.R. Dunnivan, Central Heights, def. Blazek (fall 2:44)
Blazek def. Dillon Shamblin, Caney Valley (fall 4:09)
Noah Stroble, Independence, def. Blazek (fall 4:42)
Andrew Garber, 195 pounds
(2-2, fourth)
Garber def. Cole Wallace, Osawatomie (fall 4:52)
Garber def. Wyatt Anderson, Caney Valley (Dec. 8-2)
D. J. Kessler, Independence, def. Garber (fall :59)
Griffin Berrigan, BVSW, def. Garber (dec. 8-1)
Seth Sanford, 220 pounds
(2-3, seventh)
Kyle Loy, Frontenac, def. Sanford (fall 4:22)
Elijah Davis, Central Heights, def. Sanford (fall 1:59)
Sanford def. Alex Cerritt, Mill Valley (fall 3:41)
Chris Akin, St. Marys def. Sanford (fall 1:55)
Sanford def. Derritt (fall :40)
Colton Toney, 285 pounds
(2-3, seventh)
Austin Lawrence, BVSW def. Toney (fall :041)
Toney def. Michael Bauchman, Anderson County (fall :30)
Jordan Turner, Erie, def. Toney (fall 1:35)
Seth Stroble, Independence, def. Toney (fall 2:11)
Toney def. Steven Cronick, Parsons (fall :51)

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