Kansas high school wrestling regional results: Maize, Derby, Andale all big winners
Ill-timed injuries derailed the Maize wrestling team’s shot at winning the program’s first Kansas high school team state championship last year.
Nothing is holding Maize back this season, as it is loaded with state champion contenders up and down its lineup. That depth was on full display this past Saturday when the Eagles qualified 11 wrestlers to the state tournament at the Class 5A West regional tournament hosted by Andover.
After the injuries brought frustration this time a year ago, Maize coach Mike Schauer was feeling elated about his team’s performance after the Eagles, the No. 1-ranked team in 5A, sent nine different wrestlers to the finals to win the team title in a stacked regional tournament.
“I think we get an ‘A’ on the report card for the weekend,” Schauer said. “Putting nine in the finals is pretty unheard of for a tournament this tough. We maybe would have liked to win another one or two, but this was a good team effort. Everybody contributed and we took care of business.”
The individual regional champions from Maize were senior Connor Padgett (175 pounds), junior Ayden Flores (215 pounds) junior Jayden Ford (165 pounds) and freshman Talon Verbeck (106 pounds).
Padgett won the 5A state title at 170 last season and is currently the top-ranked wrestler in the 175 division entering state. He improved to 44-3 this season with an impressive pin against Kapaun Mt. Carmel senior Adrian Turner, who actually scored a takedown against Padgett in the first 30 seconds, only for Padgett to escape and notch the pin at the end of the first period.
All three of Turner’s losses in his 36-3 record have come to Padgett, who also reached the milestone of 150 career wins earlier in the tournament.
“Connor is our team captain and our leader because he’s a very blue-collar worker on the mat,” Schauer said. “He’s never out of position. He’s always coming at you. You don’t catch him sleeping or back him up. He’s just in your face and working all of the time. He doesn’t really give other wrestlers a chance to open up and get their offense going because they’re always defending his offense.”
Flores, the top-ranked wrestler at 215, is on the hunt for his first state title after finishing runner-up at 182 last year. He notched a second-period pin over Kapaun’s Omari Elias in the 215 finals on Saturday and improved to 18-2 this season.
Meanwhile, Ford scored a takedown in the final moments of the 165 finals to notch a 5-4 upset victory over Arkansas City’s Wyatt Bahm, who is ranked ahead of him. Verbeck also pulled a seed upset in the 106 finals, taking down No. 1-ranked Taylor Rickard of Newton with a decisive 5-1 decision.
Other Maize wrestlers who reached the finals were junior Daniel Gomez (132), senior Nakaylen Shabazz (138), senior Camden Padgett (144), senior Clayton Bowers (150) and junior Ronan Wunsch (190). Other state qualifiers included senior Cody Hughbanks (157) and junior Basilio Wilson (285).
“All of these guys have been wrestling their whole lives,” Schauer said. “Some of them have been wrestling in the same club with each other for a long, long time. This is just one of those things where everything has come together and the stars have aligned where we have a good group of kids who are at different weights and they’re just a bunch of hard workers.”
Newton wasn’t far off from Maize, finishing with 23 fewer points in the team standings. The Railers, considered Maize’s biggest challenger, had three individual regional champions in senior Nick Treaster (120), senior A.B. Stokes (126) and sophomore Lucas Kaufman (113).
Treaster, looking to become a 4-time state champion, improved to 32-1 this season in the 120 division with a second-round pin in the finals over Goddard’s Levi Glover, who was his state finals opponent last year. Stokes, a state runner-up last year, won a 10-3 decision over Valley Center’s Jett Scwhartz, a state champion last year, in the 126 finals, while Kaufman scored an 11-2 major decision over Bishop Carroll’s Caden Denton in the 113 finals.
The Railers other state qualifiers included senior Rio Gomez (285, second), sophomore Taylor Rickard (106, second), junior Logan Buchanan (190, third), junior Keon Edwards (165, third), junior Bailey Steinmetz (132, third), junior Marcel Gonzalez (215, fourth), senior Brody Harper (175, sixth), sophomore Nate Barron (138, seventh), junior Kamden Wise (150, seventh)
Andover junior Adam Maki improved to 47-1 this season in dominant fashion, pinning Maize’s Nakaylen Shabazz, a former state champion and second-ranked in the division, in the third period in the 138 finals. Maki enters the state tournament as the No. 1-ranked wrestler in his division. The Trojans also had nine other state qualifiers in sophomore Tate Hutchinson (175, third), sophomore Luke Potter (126, third), junior Bradley Trimmell (144, fourth), sophomore Logan Warkentine (165, fifth), senior Landon Sherrow (132, sixth), junior Cole Compton (190, sixth), junior Coulter Rieschick (120, sixth), freshman Aaron Kimball (157, eighth) and senior Brayden Harman (215, eighth).
A first-period takedown proved to be the difference for Kapaun Mt. Carmel senior Nathan Fury, who won a 3-1 decision over Maize’s Ronan Wunsch in the 190 finals to improve to 43-1 this season. A 3-time state medalist, Fury is ranked second in his division entering the state tournament. The Crusaders also had state qualifiers in senior Adrian Turner (175, second), junior Omari Elias (215, second), senior Efe Otarighobe (150, eighth) and senior Grady Klein (157, seventh)
In another matchup between the top two-ranked wrestlers in the division, Goddard sophomore Jacob Goodwin notched a second-round pin over Maize’s Camden Padgett to earn gold at 144. His teammate Zachary Wessley, a 2021 state champion, had a dominant performance to win the 157 division, scoring a 14-1 major decision in the finals over Valley Center’s Easton Boone. The Lions, the 8-time defending state champions, finished a distant third place in the team standings and also had other state qualifiers in senior Levi Glover (120, second), freshman Kolton McElwain (126, fourth), sophomore Preston Hagel (165, fourth), freshman Harrison Glover (113, fifth), sophomore David Sample (150, fifth) and junior Gavin Lamkin (106, sixth).
Valley Center scored 146 points in the team standings and finished fourth, which featured nine state qualifiers: senior Easton Boone (157, second), junior Jett Schwartz (126, second), junior Dai’mont Mucker (190, third), sophomore Aiden Shields (120, third), sophomore Braxton Moody (113, third), senior Cameron Bowyer (215, seventh), freshman Cooper Boone (138, sixth), junior Derek Truman (165, sixth), sophomore Steel Schomaker (175, seventh).
Bishop Carroll finished seventh in the team standings, but qualified 11 to state in senior Sam Duling (157, third), sophomore Caden Denton (113, second), sophomore Brady Duling (138, third), senior Isaac Arredondo (175, fifth), senior Broc Eastman (190, fifth), senior Brennon Gann (150, sixth), senior Kaiden McElwain (165, eighth), sophomore Elijah Means (144, seventh), freshman Owen Newll (120, seventh), freshman Campbell Denton (126, seventh), freshman J.P. Morgan (106, seventh)
Other area state qualifiers included Andover Central senior Jaxson Newcomb (120, fourth), sophomore Dawson Rodd (285, fifth), junior Cash Henning (132, seventh) and sophomore Liam Coultis (126, eighth); Eisenhower junior Braedyn Blasi (144, fifth); Maize South freshman Gavin Munoz (106, eighth); Hutchinson sophomore Kade Smith (150, third), senior Dorian Hippen (215, third) and junior Camden Jensen (285, fourth); and Arkansas City senior Derek Honeycutt (285, first), senior Wyatt Bahm (165, second), sophomore Spencer Mosier (132, fourth), sophomore Carlos Leyva (113, sixth), freshman Kolby Quint (106, fifth), sophomore Cameron Bruce (120, eighth) and senior Francis Abrams (138, eighth).
Derby wins regional title, qualifies 13 wrestlers to state
Derby put itself in position to make a run at its first team state championship since 2019 with a strong showing at the Class 6A West regional hosted by Washburn Rural.
The Panthers, the No. 1-ranked team, featured three regional champions, sent three more to the finals and qualified 13 of their 14 wrestlers to the state tournament, all while winning the team regional title with 247 points — edging Garden City by 6.5 points.
It was a trio of seniors who won individual gold medals in Braden Tatum (126), Tate Rusher (150) and Knowlyn Egan (157).
Tatum, who has two runner-up finishes at the state meet under his belt, made easy work of his competition at 126, earning two pins, a technical fall and then a 14-0 major decision in the finals to improve his season record to 31-2.
Rusher, a state champion at 138 last year, is looking for another title at 150 this season and enters state in prime form after pinning the No. 3-ranked wrestler in his division in the semifinals and winning a 5-0 decision over the No. 4-ranked wrestler in the finals.
Egan, a 3-time state medalist, has his sights set on his best finish at state yet in the 157 division after improving to 37-9 this season by handling all four of his opponents.
Derby’s other state qualifiers included senior Layne Sweat (138, second), senior Troy Allen (144, second), junior Peyton Neptune (175, second), senior Miles Wash (215, third), sophomore Jayden Grijalva (106, third), junior Mason Hopper (190, third), junior Diego Guana (132, fifth), senior Maxwell Robinson (285, sixth), senior Lane Bernstorf (165, seventh), sophomore Tanner Heincker (113, eighth)
The City League featured several state qualifiers, led by a total of six from West: senior Rashad West (165, fourth), sophomore Chance Johnson (175, fifth), junior Jamal Garrett (106, seventh), junior Zeke Brown (126, seventh), junior Carson Bandy (132, eighth) and junior Jacob Bible (150, eighth). Other state qualifiers include East junior S’Ron Hill (190, eighth); Heights sophomore Chase Plank (157, eighth); North senior Richard Shields (120, second), junior Orlando Watley (113, fifth), sophomore Damarie Martin (106, sixth), freshman Noe Alvarado (165, sixth) and senior Evan Esparaza (144, eighth); Northwest senior Luis Gonzalez-Romo (113, sixth) and senior Josh Dafforn (138, eighth); South senior Matt Godsey (285, second), Kenneth Brasher (175, seventh) and Lucas Suffield (120, eighth); and Southeast sophomore Natavious Matthews (120, sixth) and junior Sirvauntae Williams (150, seventh). The other area qualifier was Campus junior Julio Sanchez (120, fifth).
Andale edges No. 1-ranked Rose Hill for 4A regional team title
The Class 4A team state championship seems destined to be decided between three Wichita-area teams in the Ark Valley-Chisholm Trail League.
Rose Hill, Augusta and Andale top the 4A team state rankings and all three were at the same regional, as Andale came away with the temporary bragging rights from the 4A regional tournament hosted by Augusta.
Andale had three individual goal medalists in senior A.J. Furnish (138), junior Owen Eck (144) and junior Ian Aouad (165) and qualified a total of 10 wrestlers to the state tournament, which included senior Jonah Meyer (157), senior Riley Marx (215), senior Kelby Eck (150), senior Brayden Weber (285), sophomore Isaiah Wilson (175), freshman Tristen Cox (106) and freshman Ethan Eck (126).
That was good enough for Andale to score 214 team points, which was 17 more than runner-up Rose Hill, the No. 1-ranked team entering the tournament.
The Rockets had a tournament-high five individual champions and qualified a total of nine wrestlers to the state meet. The individual champions were senior Bronx Wood (215), sophomore Milan Colvin (285), sophomore Johnny Leck (106), sophomore Adam Bilby (113) and sophomore Damon Ingram (126). Other state qualifiers included senior Boeden Whitted (132), junior Rhett Briggs (150), sophomore Tyren Emberson (157) and freshman Julio Aguirre (120).
The race for the team state title will also include Augusta, which had regional champions in seniors Kalvin LaPlant (132) and Cannon Carey (150), plus qualified a total of 10 wrestlers, including senior Marcus Terry (126), sophomore Willy Jon Morales (285), senior Grady Fox (138), senior Gabe Kant (215), junior Cooper Buell (190), junior Elijah Foy (106), senior Haze Flower (144), freshman Gunner Carey (165). The Orioles, ranked second in the rankings, finished third at the regional tournament with 192 points.
Other area state qualifiers included El Dorado senior Terek White (175), senior Collin Scott (190) and senior Levi Wittenberg (215); Mulvane senior Chris Dietrich (190), sophomore Koehn Dietrich (106) and senior Maurice Fuller (144); Cheney sophomore Parker McClellan (138); Clearwater junior Bryson Snell (165), senior Jacob Finney (175), sophomore Brody Harman (113) and sophomore Dylan Hanna (120); and Winfield sophomore Owen Suttles (120), senior Kody Brenn (175), sophomore Talon Suttles (113).
At the McPherson regional, area state qualifiers were Buhler sophomore Cruz Hersberger (138), Colton Parsons (113), freshman Sammy Hersberger (120), senior Jaxson Roeder (144) and junior Cooper McCloy (165); McPherson freshman Julian Glover (120) and freshman Cooper Reves (157); Nickerson sophomore Addrick Nelson (113); and Hesston senior Tyrone Taylor (150).
Halstead senior continues pursuit of a 3-1A state title
The rise of Halstead’s Skyler Geer is almost complete: the senior punched his ticket to the Class 3-1A state tournament in dominant fashion at the regional hosted by Marion.
Geer picked up two pins and two comfortable decision victories en route to the title in the 150 division, improving his record to 38-2 this season. Geer is ranked No. 2 in his division entering the state tournament.
Led by Geer’s individual gold, Halstead finished in second place in the team standings and also qualified four others for state: sophomore Clayton Considine (113), junior Tucker Divine (144) and sophomore Connor Herman (215).
Other area state qualifiers included Sedgwick senior Kaden Foster (157); Douglass senior Wade Morgan (190) and sophomore Gavin Bowman (165); Bluestem junior Dagan Turner (113), sophomore Laythan Vice (120), freshman Ian Fazier (126) and senior Kolby Hebb (285); Remington junior Andrew Peters (120); Hillsboro junior Anthony Fickes (120), freshman Aaron Hein (138), senior David Schafer (157), freshman Sutton Redger (165) and senior Lane Rogers (175); West Elk junior Evan Coble (126) and sophomore Creyo Koop (165); and Burden-Central junior Xander Woods (190) and junior Hunter O’Neil (285).
At the Larned regional, Chaparral finished third place in the team standings and qualified six to the state tournament: senior Joseph Ord (157), junior Josef Planasky (150), sophomore Payton Haley (120), sophomore Keaton Bollman (126), freshman Jesus Reyes (165) and senior Carson Gates (285).
Other area qualifiers included Haven junior Dustin Loughrie (138), senior Gavin Moore (132), sophomore Jacob Moore (120), freshman Tanner Loughrie (113) and sophomore Van Loop (144); Garden Plain senior Elliot Helten (157), junior Gage Lee (165) and senior Thane Stuhlsatz (175); and Kingman freshman Jon Silba (190).
This story was originally published February 20, 2023 at 6:00 AM.
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