Carroll retains crown

BY JEREMY COSTELLO
Wichita Eagle correspondent

Bishop Carroll's wrestling team already had a 53-point lead going into Saturday's championship bouts of the City League wrestling tournament.

Carroll didn't let down, going 8-2 in championship matches and winning the tournament with a 244 points, the school's sixth consecutive City League crown. Kapaun finished second with 170 points, South was third with 130 and Northwest fourth with 127.

"We wrestled well," Carroll coach Jamie Finkeldei said. "It's very important, as we prepare for regionals and state, to win the big matches in front of a big crowd."

Carroll's John Keller (103) started the final round by pinning North's Jack Wenzel with 10 seconds left in the match. Jordan Keller (112) followed suit with a 3-0 win over KMC's Stephen Santiago.

Carroll wrestlers were 2-1 against Kapaun in the final round and 2-1 against Northwest as well.

Even South's Mike Webb (171) could not stop Carroll freshman Tim Chadd, whom Webb had beaten in their three previous meetings. Chadd won the bout and earned wrestler-of-the-tournament honors.

"It means a lot," Chadd said about the win. "Mike's a really good wrestler. For a freshman to beat someone who's a lot older is really good."

Chadd started with a takedown of Webb in the first period. Webb was able to escape, but Chadd was able to take him down two more times in the second round, one in the last five seconds.

Chadd finished the match by getting out of Webb's grip and holding him down to clinch the match 16-6.

Carroll's biggest advantage was in the heavier weight classes. Tanner Cody (160), Chadd, and Nick Heincker (215) won their respective classes.

Kapaun's Will Engels and Northwest's Bacilio Mendez had the longest match of the tournament in the 171-pound weight class. The score was tied 3-3 until the second overtime, when each wrestler scored a point on an escape.

With less than 20 seconds left in the match, Engels knocked Mendez on his back, then jumped on him to hold him down for the last five seconds and preserve a 6-4 win.

Kapaun coach Tim Dryden was named the coach of the year for finishing second in the league.

It's always nice to be recognized by your peers," Dryden said. "I'm grateful, but there's probably any number of coaches who could have won. We have a lot of good coaches in this league."