Spartans reclaim league title
Rick Peterson, Special to the Gazette
Monday, February 16, 2009
TOPEKA — The favorite doesn’t always win, but Emporia’s wrestling team not only won Saturday, it dominated its Centennial League competition at Washburn Rural.
The Spartans, who had dropped the 2008 league meet by five and a half points to Manhattan, put 11 of 14 wrestlers in the finals, won eight individual league titles and finished with a 284 1/2-204 margin over Shawnee Heights.
“We were the favorites, and that puts a little pressure on you sometimes,” Emporia coach Greg Buckbee said. “They took the pressure well and they did very well.
“We had a couple of question marks; a couple of kids hadn’t wrestled in a while with injuries and sickness, and they stepped up and won league championships.”
The end result Saturday was the Spartans’ 25th league title over the past 28 seasons.
“Emporia’s on a different level right now, they really are,” Shawnee Heights coach Chad Parks said. “They’re extremely good this year.”
Leading the way for Emporia were senior 130-pounder Justin Rose and senior 135-pounder Sal Tovar, who both won their fourth Centennial League titles.
Rose, returning from a rib injury, took a 2-0 decision over Junction City’s Lance Maldonado, while Tovar pinned Manhattan’s Lucas Wagner with 1:26 remaining in the second period.
“I was a little nervous because I wasn’t sure how I was going to feel once I got out there and actually wrestled live,” Rose said. “But it didn’t hurt too bad.
“(Winning four titles) is a great accomplishment. I’m just glad I can do it, and Sal can do it. Being hurt made it a lot harder, but I was glad I could overcome it and complete it.”
Tovar was happy to join his teammate as a four-time league champ.
“It means a lot,” he said. “It’s a great accomplishment. It’s one of the things that I wanted to do since last year. I got this and I want to get more, but I’m very proud of myself that I got it.”
The Spartans also got league titles from Colby Walecki (125 pounds), Tavo Dikin (140), Chase Sanchez (145), Logan Gaskill (160), Mark Kolmer (189) and Lorenzo Serna (285).
“We want to get better next week even and then again the following week,” said Buckbee, whose team is top-ranked in Class 5A.
And even though Buckbee didn’t continually talk about last year’s narrow loss to Manhattan, the Spartans knew it was important to the school and wrestling community to regain the top perch.
“Our coach pushes us every day at practice to get that league title back and eventually get the state championship,” Rose said.
Tovar agreed.
“This is what we all wanted to do,” he said. “We always get reminded of that and that drives us to work harder. We came out and showed it today.
“Our goal was 12 (in the finals) but we got 11, and we did really well.”
Emporia will be on its home mats Saturday for a 5A Regional meet. The top four regional finishers will qualify for the State meet the following week at the Kansas Coliseum in Wichita.
Saturday at Washburn Rural
Centennial League wrestling meet
TEAM SCORES
Emporia 284 1/2, Shawnee Heights 204, Junction City 153 1/2, Manhattan 147, Seaman 123, Washburn Rural 93, Topeka High 56, Topeka West 27, Highland Park 23, Hayden 17.
INDIVIDUAL RESULTS
Championship finals
103 — Kmiec, SH, pinned B. Dakin, Emp; 112 — Ruiz, JC, dec. Norris, Man, 3-1 (OT); 119 — Vesta, Man, dec. J. Dakin, Emp, 3-0; 125 — Walecki, Emp, pinned Strimple, SH; 130 — Rose, Emp, dec. Maldonado, JC, 2-0; 135 — Tovar, Emp, pinned Wagner, Man; 140 — Dikin, Emp, def. Rickabaugh, SH, 5-0; 145 — Sanchez, Emp, dec. Charland, JC, 3-1; 152 — Crumpton, JC, dec. Pressgrove, WR, 8-4; 160 — Gaskill, Emp, dec. Stanley, WR, 7-6; 171 — Newberry, SH, maj. dec. Lee, Emp, 14-4; 189 — Kolmer, Emp, maj. dec. Williams, TH, 12-1; 215 — Knudson, JC, dec. Singer, Sea, 8-4; Hwt. — Serna, Emp, dec. Tuiloma, WR, 5-4.
Consolation finals
103 — Davin, Man, pinned Pittman, Sea; 112 — Simmons, Sea, pinned Allen, SH; 119 — Garrett, Sea, maj. dec. Trevino, SH, 14-4; 125 — Hilgers, Man, maj. dec. Garrison, Sea, 12-2; 130 — Schreiner, Sea, pinned McGilvalry, SH; 135 — Poff, SH, win by default over McCall, JC; 140 — Harrison, TH, dec. Dougan, WR, 9-0; 145 — Shipley, WR, win by default over Rodeheffer, TH; 152 — Peak, Emp, win by default over Willis, SH; 160 — Royal, JC. dec. Thurber, SH, 6-2; 171 — Hunter, TH, pinned M. Cooksley, Sea; 189 — S. Cookley, Sea, dec. West, Man, 7-1; 215 — Holly, SH, dec. Barr, Emp, 2-1; Hwt. — Fisher, Man, 18-3 tech. fall over Bowers, SH.