Five Wildcats medal at state wrestling

By Kendra Moppin

Holton High School wrestlers brought home five medals from the Class 4A state wrestling tournament held at Salina on Friday and Saturday, Feb. 28 and March 1. The top six wrestlers in each weight class earned medals. Three HHS boys medaled at state and two HHS girls medaled at state.

Making his third straight state wrestling tourney appearance, senior Lucas Batz took third place and medaled in his 120-pound weight class. Batz finished the season with a 37-6 record. He also placed third at state last year and sixth at state the previous year, medaling both of those years, all in the same weight class.

Making his fourth straight state wrestling tournament appearance, senior Kyler Jackson placed third and medaled in his 190-pound weight class. He finished the season with a 45-4 record. Last year at state, he placed fifth and medaled in the 165-pound weight class. 

Making his second state wrestling tournament appearance, senior Sean Morrissey took fourth place and medaled in his 126-pound weight class. He finished with a 36-9 record.

Freshman Sophia Arredondo earned her first state medal by placing sixth in her 110-pound weight class. She finished with a 33-15 record.

In her second straight state wrestling tournament appearance, sophomore Marley Gilliland took fifth place at state and medaled in her 190-pound weight class. She finished with a 34-5 record.

More results of the state meet were as follows.

Team Scores

• Boys: 1. Rose Hill 215.5, 2. Paola 142.5, 3. Andale 137.5, 4. Abilene 117.5, 5. Fort Scott 76, 6. Tonganoxie 72.5, 7. Augusta 64.5, 8. Colby 62.5, 9. Scott Community 57.5, 10. Holton 56. More than 50 schools were represented at the 4A boys state tourney.

• Girls: 1. Tonganoxie 104, 2. Fort Scott 87, 3. Pratt 85.5, 4. Rock Creek 74.5, 5. Colby 70, 6. Abilene 59.5, 7. Chapman 59, 8. Larned 56.5, 9. Columbus 55, 10. Burlington 54.5, 11. Wellsville 52, 12. Chanute 49, 13. El Dorado 48, 14. McPherson 47, 15. (tie) Clay Center 46, 15. (tie) Jeff West 46, 17. Girard 45, 18. (tie) Santa Fe Trail 44.5, 18. (tie) Winfield 44.5, 20. Paola 41, 21. Wellington 39, 22. (tie) Frontenac 38.5, 22. (tie) Nemaha Central 38.5, 24. Rose Hill 38, 25. Baldwin 46, 26. (tie) Holton 34, 26. (tie) Scott Community 34. More than 50 schools were represented at the 4A girls state tourney.

Holton Boys Results

• 106: Tyson Carlson (26-17), unknown placing. Champ. round 1: C. Minick (Ind.) def. Carlson (fall 1:25); cons. round 1: C. Rowley (Chapman) def. Carlson (decision 3-0).

• 120: Lucas Batz (37-6) placed third and scored 17 team points. Champ. round 1: Batz def. C. Clayton (Louisburg) (fall 3:03); quarterfinal: Batz def. K. Dietrich (Mulvane) (MD 13-1); Semifinal: B. Luinstra (Augusta) def. Batz (decision 5-3); cons. semi: Batz def. T. Sleichter (SFT) (decision 3-1); 3rd place match: Batz def. T. Saferite (RH) (SV-1 3-0).

• 126: Sean Morrissey (36-9) placed fourth and scored 16 team points. Champ. round 1: Morrissey def. C. Saporito (Columbus) (fall 1:57); quarterfinal: Morrissey def. J. Cornejo (El Dorado) (fall 2:44); semifinal: B. Rockers (Paola) def. Morrissey (fall 1:33); cons. semi: Morrissey def. T. Frank (Scott Comm.) (decision 12-10); 3rd place match: S. Rieck (Girard) def. Morrissey (decision 2-1).

• 165: Andrew Keighley (24-23), unknown placing. Champ. round 1: E. Eck (Andale) def. Keithley (fall 0:34); cons. round 1: C. Neely (Paola) def. Keithley (fall 1:42).

• 190: Kyler Jackson (45-4) placed third and scored 18 team points. Champ. round 1: Jackson def. B. Richardson (McPherson) (fall 0:42); quarterfinal: Jackson def. M. Morin (Winfield) (decision 8-1); semifinal: C. Small (Chanute) def. Jackson (MD 17-8); cons. semi: Jackson def. R. Perez (Pratt) (fall 2:46); 3rd place match: Jackson def. P. Casteel (Abilene) (decision 5-1).

• Taven Dick (34-8), unknown placing and scored two team points. Champ. round 1: Dick def. K. Naff (Chanute) (decision 7-0); quarterfinal: C. Rogers def. Dick (MD 12-2); cons. round 2: T. Conrad (Wamego) def. Dick (decision 11-4).

• 285: Cael Frazier (23-8), unknown placing and scored four team points. Champ. round 1: Frazier def. B. Alonzo (injury 2:06); quarterfinal: W. Morales (Augusta) def. Frazier (medical forfeit); cons. round 2: J. Flanigan (Wamego) def. Frazier (injury 0:00).

Holton Girls Results

• 110: Sophia Arredondo (33-15) placed sixth and scored 12 team points. Champ. round 1: Arredondo def. L. Patterson (McPherson) (fall 3:12); quarterfinal: K. Miles (Ft. Scott) def. Arredondo (MD 12-3); cons. round 2: Arredondo def. A. Rohrer (Wellington) (TF-1.5 3:43 (15-0)); cons. round 3: Arredondo def. M. Renville (Augusta) (TF-1.5 2:58 (17-1)); cons. semi: K. Holmes (SL) def. Arredondo (decision 7-2); 5th place match: C. Obermeyer (Chapman) def. Arredondo (decision 8-3).

• 120: Lexie Larson (36-13), unknown placing. Champ. round 1: E. Catlin (CC) def. Larson (fall 1:14); cons. round 1: P. Ganger (SFT) def. Larson (decision 5-4).

• 125: Sadey Gross (35-13), unknown placing and scored seven team points. Champ. round 1: Gross def. J. Rosales (Ulysses) (fall 3:03); quarterfinal: G. Koppes (CC) def. Gross (fall 1:46); cons. round 2: Gross def. C. Altis (Columbus) (fall 2:33); cons. round 3: C. Mund (Field Kindley) def. Gross (fall 2:23).

• 130: Jacey Willard (16-23), unknown placing. Champ. round 1: W. Candia (Pratt) def. Willard (fall 1:35); cons. round 1: M. Fullerton (Wellington) def. Willard (fall 0:35).

• 135: Ansley Bear (33-14), unknown placing. Champ. round 1: G. Lange (Concordia) def. Bear (TF-1.5 4:10 (19-3)); cons. round 1: P. Newell (Clearwater) def. Bear (decision 8-7).

• 140: Kennedy Smith (22-20), unknown placing. Champ. round 1: G. Mallon (Augusta) def. Smith (fall 2:19); cons. round 1: M. Jackson (Buhler) def. Smith (decision 3-1).

• 170: Kylie Carlsen (8-5), unknown placing. Champ. round 1: A. Fabrizius (Colby) def. Carlsen (fall 2:35); cons. round 1: A. Bartlett (Paola) def. Carlsen (fall 1:18).

• 190: Marley Gilliland (34-5) placed fifth and scored 15 team points. Champ. round 1: Gilliland def. S. March (CC) (fall 0:39); quarterfinal: Gilliland def. R. Wilson (RC) (fall 0:36); semifinal: A. Brenn (Winfield) def. Gilliland (fall 1:29); cons. semi: A. Simhiser (Ft. Scott) def. Gilliland (decision 3-1); 5th place match: Gilliland def. R. Wilson (RC) (fall 0:49).