Still-dominant Carroll wins its tournament
Wichita Eagle correspondent
Jeremy Costello

Bishop Carroll showed why it is the two-time defending Class 5A wrestling champion.

The host Eagles won the Bishop Carroll Invitational Saturday after racking up 171 points. Valley Center finished in second with 142, and Andale in third with 115 ½.

"We're trying to keep our momentum going. We're wrestling really smart right now," said Carroll coach Jamie Finkeldei. "It's good to bring in good teams and compete against them."

This is Carroll's second tournament victory in as many weeks after a tournament in Oklahoma last weekend.

Carroll placed a finalist in either the championship or consolation round in 10 of the 14 weight classes. The team was 4-1 in championship rounds. John Keller, a state champion in 2005, defeated Andale's Darin Stroot 5-0 in the 103-pound championship.

Jordan Keller (112 pounds), Mitch Arnold (140)and Kyle Detmer (145) also won championships for Carroll.

Creeping up in fourth place was Wichita South with 112 points, one point ahead of Rose Hill, one of top-ranked teams in Class 4A this season.

South was in fifth place with four bouts to go. But South had finalists in three of them and won them all.

Jacup Richey and Mulvane's Dante Johns were tied in the third period with less than 30 seconds remaining. That's when Richey spun around Johns after being in a headlock, scoring two points on a reverse to win 8-6. The win put South in fourth place.

Though early in the season, South coach Mike Church knows what a boost this was for his team.

"They showed up in the end," Church said. "Hopefully we'll be rolling in the second half of the season."

Andale's Trent Cox won the award for outstanding wrestler voted by the coaches. Cox pinned Bron Greenfeather of Campus in his first bout, then won the last two by a combined 26-2 score. Cox remains undefeated at 10-0.

"It's pretty cool," he said. "I'm really surprised. But I think we're doing good [as a team]."

Team results -- Bishop Carroll 171, Valley Center 142, Andale 115 ½, W. South 112, Rose Hill 111, S. South 87 ½, Winfield 58 ½, Newton 44, KC Schlagle 37, Mulvane 28, Campus 5.

Championship Round

103--John Keller (BC) def. Stroot (Andale) 5-0. 112--Jordan Keller (BC) def. Nitcher (VC) 4-1. 119--Cox (Andale) def. Mainz (BC) 8-0. 125--Bowen (Rose Hill) def. Walker (KC Schlagle) 4-3. 130-- Harding (Winfield) def. Sallee (VC) 5-0. 135--Price (W. South) def. Ahlstadt (Newton) 19-3. 140--Arnold (BC) def. Plott (S. South) 6-2. 145--Detmer (BC) pinned Hynick (Rose Hill) 3:20. 152--Thoman (Andale) def. Schwind (VC) 3-1. 160--Schroeder (Andale) def. Forsberg (Rose Hill) 6-0. 171--Webb (W. South) def. Chadd (BC) 7-3. 189--Richey (W. South) def. Johns (Mulvane) 8-6. 215--Ward (W. South) def. Raney (VC) forfeit. 285--Smith (Rose Hill) pinned Hedges (VC) 3:46.

Third place consolation round

103--Sparr (Rose Hill) def. Sauls (KC Schlagle) 9-3. 112--Seibel (S. South) def. Jones (W. South) 8-3. 119--Drone (KC Schlagle) pinned Dalke (Newton) 1:43. 125--Mertins (VC) def. Axman (BC) 8-0. 130--Armstrong (Andale) def. Harradine (S. South) 1-0. 135--Young (Winfield) def. Johnston (BC) 8-2. 140--Brietigan (VC) pinned Oliver (Winfield) 3:23. 145--Moberly (S. South) def. Eck (Andale) 3:20. 152--Hoover (S. South) def. Tapia (Winfield) 6-5. 160--Cody (BC) pinned Brandon (W. South) 1:21. 171--Sooter (Rose Hill) def. Case (VC) 4-1. 189--Cole (BC) pinned Hopper (VC) 1:25. 215--Wulf (Newton) pinned Fleming (Mulvane) 4:58. 285--Finney (Andale) pinned Schackelford (S. South) 1:00.