SALINA — Three Iola wrestlers followed varying paths en route to the Class 4A state wrestling tournament, which opens Friday.
Senior Stephen McDonald and sophomore Trey Colborn, both of whom are previous state qualifiers, both were sidelined due to injury or illness for extended periods. Meanwhile, junior Bryce Misenhelter was perhaps the Mustangs’ most consistently tough wrestler each week.
McDonald takes his 21-3 record to the Salina Bicentennial Center in the 220-pound division. It should be noted a shoulder injury played a role in all three losses. He injured his shoulder in a loss to Gershm Avalos, the second-ranked 4A wrestler in the state at that weight level, in early January.
McDonald returned in early February, only to tweak his shoulder again in a default injury loss. He rested his shoulder last weekend for the championship match and potential rematch with Avalos in the Class 4A regional tournament.
McDonald will take on Tiler Garcia (26-15) of Baldwin in the opening round.
Avalos takes a 31-6 record into Salina. Other wrestlers to watch are top-ranked Justin Scott (35-0) from Topeka’s Jefferson West High School. Thomas Miller (35-6) is from Tonganoxie, while Austin Gates of Pratt (28-8), Otto Orosco (27-7) of Ulysses and Jon Yates (30-6) of Buhler also expected to be heard from.
Misenhelter avoided Iola’s injury bug at 182 pounds, compiling a 31-12 record in the process. He gets the honor of wrestling the state’s top-ranked 4A wrestler, Andale’s Levi Eck (35-2), in the opening round. Other wrestlers to watch are Prairie View’s Jake Bradley (38-4), Armando Sandoval (30-9) of Ulysses, Colton Cooper (30-13) of Goodland, Lee Koch (39-6) of Anderson County and Weston Loder (27-6) of Smoky Valley.
Colborn, who qualified as a freshman last year, struggled early in the season with a back injury and illness. He rebounded nicely to capture third place at regionals in the 285-pound division. He will face Brandon Neal (18-6) of Perry Lecompton.
Other wrestlers to watch include Josh Horn (29-2) of Winfield, Zell Bieberie (35-5) of Colby, Matt Kellerman (31-7) of Prairie View, Joe Pomatto (34-5) of Paola, Jason Zook (29-8) of Chapman and Cooper Zeller (32-5) of Holton.
The ongoing winter storm has forced state officials to push back the start of Friday’s competition to noon, two hours later than normal. Weigh-in is at 9 a.m.
Wrestlers geared for state
