LOUISBURG — Iola High’s Andrew Garber will be the lone wolf representing the Iola High’s wrestling team Friday at the Class 4A state meet. Teammates Tavon Blazek and Colton Toney fell short in their matches Saturday at the Class 4A Regional.
Garber had only one match on the second day of the competition, the finals of the 182-pound weight class. The first matches started at 11 a.m. It wasn’t until around 4:30 p.m. that Garber took to the mat.
Garber ended up losing to Chanute’s Ethin VanAnne in a 7-0 decision. VanAnne was the No. 1 seed in the weight class and pinned each of his opponents in the first period prior to Garber. The loss put Garber in second. The top four finishers of each weight class earn a trip to the state tournament.
“He wrestled very well, that’s a strong, big kid (VanAnne) that’s been wrestling for a while,” coach Jason Bates said. “I knew it was going to be a tough match. Andrew went out there and had several shots on him. He was shooting, shooting, shooting, but couldn’t finish one.”
Bates said he will work with Garber on getting deeper shots and finishing stronger this week, before state.
“State is always a good question,” Bates said. “If he comes ready to wrestle, he’ll do well. If he doesn’t have his mind in it, he won’t.”
Blazek was only one win away from qualifying for the 195-pound weight class at the state tournament. He started the day with an unexpected win — his opponent Columbus’ Gage Hudson weighed in overweight and had to forfeit.
In his first actual match of the day, Blazek beat Ottawa’s Garret Fross in an 11-0 major decision.
“It was the first match of the day, he was kind of rusting. I’m glad we got that win,” Bates said. “It’s good to get those first-match jitters out of the way.”
Wrestling in a heavier weight class caught up with Blazek. He lost his next match to Frontenac’s Kylan Dixon in a 7-3 decision.
“He’s giving up 10 pounds,” Bates said. “He wrestled hard and he’s still young, he makes some mistakes. He gave up a two-point near fall there, which we lost by two. That’s the key right there, not making little mistakes.”
Blazek ended up losing by three because Dixon picked up a final point in the final seconds of the match. Had Blazek won, he would have placed in the top-four of the 195-pound weight class.
“I really wish he would have picked a new weight class in the beginning of the year” Bates said. “He wanted to get down to 170 pounds, but didn’t quite get there. Fortunately, he got to wrestle at 195 pounds, which helped him improve a bunch. He only lost three matches at 195, so he did very well.”
Toney lost his only match of the day. He was pinned by Independence’s Seth Stroble in the 285-pound weight class.
“He’s improved quite a bit,” Bates said. “It’s hard for him because he’s our heavy weight and the closest guy we have is almost 100 pounds lighter. So, it’s hard for him to have a partner to drill with. He still improved quite a bit.”
The Class 4A State Wrestling Tournament is in Salina’s Bicentennial Center Friday and Saturday.
Garber on to state; season over for Blazek, Toney
