EHS wrestlers in first place at Newton
Saturday, January 17, 2009
Emporia High’s wrestling team got off to a strong start in its second weekend road tournament in as many weeks on Friday in Newton.
The Spartans ended Friday’s action in first place with 149.5 points and had five grapplers reach today’s championship matches. With a 17-point lead over Colby, Emporia was in good shape entering today’s action, scheduled to start at 9 a.m. And in a good sign going forward, the Spartans showed they’ve made big strides in the fight to avoid getting caught on the bottom, one of coach Greg Buckbee’s big recent concerns.
“I don’t remember us in particular ever getting rode in a match,” Buckbee said. “We rode out two kids in the semifinals — we were ahead 1-0 going into the third period, and we had to ride ’em out to win, and Justin Rose did that, and Tavo Dikin did that. ... And Lorenzo — in overtime, Lorenzo Serna had to ride a kid out in the third overtime to win the match. So we kind of turned the tables on that. That’s probably one of the biggest keys to us.”
Rose, Dikin and Serna all won out to advance to tonight’s championship matches, along with Sal Tovar and Mark Kolmer. Rose, now wrestling at 130 pounds after spending the rest of the year at 125, will face Kash Biddle of Arkansas City in the 130 title bout. Tovar will face off against Clay Center’s Tyler Anderson at 135 pounds. Dikin will take on Wichita Heights’ Kendrick Maple at 140, Kolmer will face Joel Marrs of Clay Center at 189 and Serna will take on Wichita Northwest’s Trey Page at heavyweight.
Chase Sanchez reached the semifinals for the Spartans at 145 pounds before losing to Hutchinson’s Colby Crank, the top-ranked wrestler at 145 in Class 5A.
Tovar had a dominant first day, scoring a technical fall in his first match and winning the next three by pin. Kolmer also was impressive, earning two pins in his first three matches, then beating Shawnee Mission West’s Jared Sanchez 8-6 in the semifinals.
Serna scored a victory over Derby’s Kyle Westmoreland, last year’s third-place finisher at state in Class 6A by a 3-1 decision in three overtimes.
Colby Walecki, a recent newcomer to varsity, continued to impress with a first-round win. Wrestling at 125 pounds, Walecki beat Gardner-Edgerton’s Zach Litvak, a state qualifier last season, by a 6-1 decision in the opening round. He lost to a defending state champion, Wichita Heights’ Daniel DeShazer, by a 12-5 decision in the second round.
Newton Invitational
Top 10 team scores
Emporia 149.5, Colby 132.5, Clay Center 111, Wichita Heights 94.5, Bishop Carroll 86.5, Arkansas City 79, Liberal 78, Derby 76, Wichita Northwest 73.5, Newton 48.5.