Greenbacks grab win at home
By Barbara Prater
The Pratt High Wrestlers won the 39th annual Pratt Tournament Saturday with a score of 151 points.
"I told the kids that the tournament title came down to the finals round, and it was theirs to win or lose. Fortunately for us, they came through and Richard Pope's overtime decision gave us enough points to defeat Wellington. It was a true team effort all day," said Head Coach Bruce Kocher.
Pope had to win his finals match in order for Pratt win the tournament. With the Pratt crowd on their feet chanting his name, Pope got an escape in last five seconds of double overtime with a score of 4-3 against Richard Vratil from Andover Central.
Wellington came in second with a score of 148, Ulysses placed third with 96 points.
Pratt had all their weights filled. The 112 pound weight had four wrestlers, Benton Stull, Ted Duncan, Chris Salago, and Shalaine Filas. Filas placed second.
Deene Senter, freshman, placed third at 103 pounds.
Eric Kocher, freshman, 119 pounds, placed third and wrestled a very good tournament. He had two falls for the day and ended the tournament with a record of 4-1.
Parker Huitt, freshman, was also at the 119 pound weight class but was unable to place.
Aaron Blasi, senior, 125 pounds had to injury default out of the tournament after the first round.
Ryan Jones, sophomore,130 ounds, wrestled but was unable to place.
Wrestling at 135 pounds, Jonathan Prater, freshman, pinned his way into the finals where he took a tough loss to Danny Dawson from Wellington.
Trey Langford, freshman, wrestled hard in the 140 pounds weight class but was unable to place.
Joey Schaffer, junior, 145 pounds, was the other champion for the day. Schaffer spent little time on the mat as he took all his wins by pin to place first.
Cole Kreutzer, junior, 152 pounds, pinned his two opponents to get into the finals where he took a loss the Spencer Burns, a senior from Cimarron. Kreutzer placed second. Freshmen Cody Inslee and Jarid Rojas also participated in the 152 pound weight class but were unable to place.
Tyler Tresner, sophomore, 160 pounds, came one match away from placing in the 160 pound weight class. Chris Shumway, freshman, also participated in the 160 pound bracket and gave it a good effort but was unable to place.
Spencer Siroky, junior, 171 pounds, kept everyone on the edge of their seats when he came from behind in the third period with his match against Anthony Rodriquez from Ulysses. Siroky lost his next match putting him on the backside where he wrestled his way into the consolation finals, placing fourth.
Kade McDiffet, junior, 189 pounds, lost his first match, and then won his next three matches to place third.
Richard Pope, senior, 215 pounds, ended the tournament with a perfect 3-0 record for first place. Jacob Dill, freshman, wrestled in the 215 bracket but was unable to place.
Calab Cambell, sophomore, placed fourth at the 275 pound weight class.
The Numbers
Team Results:
1. Pratt 151
2. Wellington 148
3. Ulysses 96
4. Larned 93
4. Lakin-Deerfield 93
6. Cimarron-South Gray 90.5
7. Andover Central 79
8. Wichita-Independent 63.5
9. Hugoton 31
10. Chaparral 15.5
11. Kinsley 6
Individual Results:
103- Pat Mosley, Wichita Independent, Tyler Zimmerman, Chaparral, Deene Senter, Pratt, Eric Russett, Ulysses
112-Brandon Toothaker, Cimarron, Shalaine Elias, Pratt, Bob Litton, Cimarron, Regina Ward, Lakin
119-Tyson Wheeler, Wellington, Trent Gray, Ulysses, Eric Kocher, Pratt, Jeff Stan, Hugoton
125-Alex Meisch, Wellington, Jess Lee, Andover Central, Daniel Rosales, Lakin, Omar Aguirre, Ulysses
130-D.J. Cline, Wellington, Kurt Hershhey, Hugoton, Dru Hinman, Andover Central, Lonny Miller, Larned
135-Danny Dawson, Wellington, Jon Prater, Pratt, David Graham, Larned, Ryan Woods, Cimarron
140-Brian Hauser, Ulysses, Rodrick Orosco, Ulysses, Taylor Finch, Wellington, Tanner Welsch, Larned
145-Joey Schaffer, Pratt, Dusty Redding, Larned, Andrew Adams, Ulysses, Tolan Seger, Ulysses
152-Spencer Burns, Cimarron, Cole Kreutzer, Pratt, Jordan Soloman, Andover Central, Marquis Bradley, Wichita Independent
160-Courtney Nightengale, Cimarron, Dara Walker, Wichita Independent, Matt Martinez, Larned, Chase Carroll, Wellington
171-Ryan Mosley, Wichita Independent, Daniel Guebarra, Lakin, Anthony Rodriquez, Ulysses, Spencer Siroky, Pratt
189-Ben Norris, Wellington, John Robinson, Larned, Kade McDiffett, Pratt, Joe Steckfus, Lakin
215-Richard Pope, Pratt, Atticus Disney, Andover Central, Richard Vratil, Larned, Saul Landeros, Ulysses
275-Nick Appel, Lakin, Dakota Thome, Larned, Travis Martin, Wellington, Caleb Cambell, Pratt
