Strong start for Cardinals
By Justin Jarrett
Sports editor
Welcome to college wrestling, Alex Saunders.
And what an introduction it was.
Saunders, a freshman from Newcastle, Okla., was one of three Labette Cardinals who won individual titles at Saturday's Cameron Bradshaw Takedown Tournament, and he sealed the Cards' dual victory against Colby Community College with a 4-1 decision over Bobby Dennis in his first official collegiate match on Sunday at the Cardinal Gym.
When Saunders took the mat against Dennis, Colby had claimed its first lead of the dual, going ahead 17-15 on Zack Luedke's 7-3 decision over Blake Hohensee. With the Cards set to receive six forfeit points in the afternoon's final match because Colby's Ed Jaramillo didn't make weight at 197 pounds, Saunders only needed to avoid being pinned or beaten by 15 points to guarantee a Labette victory. He did better than that.
"I like to start it off or finish it, so I like that feeling of having it all on the line," Saunders said. "It's my first time to be on a good team, and I love it."
After neither wrestler scored in the first period, Saunders was able to ride Dennis for the entire second period. He then escaped four seconds into the third for a 1-0 lead and scored a takedown with 12 seconds left to ensure victory, for himself and the Cards.
"He did a good job," Labette coach Joe Renfro said. "Across the board, I could say every one of them did a good job. Except for a couple of mistakes, they did good. We had five freshmen in the lineup that have never wrestled a college match, and that's quite a bit of pressure on a guy."
Heavyweight Shane Grant set the tone for the dual, beating Colby's James Mason 9-3 in the opening match. After Grant took a 1-0 lead on a penalty point for stalling in the first period, Mason elected to begin the second period in the neutral position, thinking he could take advantage of his quickness to score a takedown.
"I wasn't surprised he chose neutral," Grant said. "He was faster than me, and he probably thought he could get his shot."
Grant turned the tables, though, getting a nice takedown on the edge of the mat with 1:11 left in the second, and he scored two more takedowns in the third period to win easily.
As a heavyweight, Grant is accustomed to ending the dual, rather than starting it, but his card came up, and he took care of business.
"I don't like to go first," Grant said. "I get pretty nervous."
Grant's win gave the Cards the early momentum, and Joey Heersche received a forfeit at 125 pounds to give Labette an early 9-0 lead.
David Parker's 9-4 decision of Daniel Prater at 141 pounds and Alvin Metcalf's 8-5 decision of Jeff Klinglesmith at 157 pounds kept the Cards in the lead, but brothers Eric Luedke and Zack Luedke got Colby back into it.
Eric Luedke won by technical fall over Donnie McMillin, getting Colby within 15-14, and Zack Luedke's win gave Colby its first lead, albeit a short-lived advantage.
"This is a good start for us," Renfro said. "There some positive things that we can build off of and grow quite a bit."
On Saturday, Saunders (190 pounds), David Hagerman (162) and Jared Shelton (205) won individual titles in the Takedown Tournament, and 16 other Labette wrestlers placed in the top four in their weight classes.
"We had quite a few placers, and the guys wrestled hard," Renfro said. "That's all I expect."
Heersche (125), Parker (142), Cody Lambotte (148), Luke Elmore (155), Metcalf (162) and Chad Smith (235) took second.
Brian Womble (131), Cory Allison (155), Adam Ingram (162), Dustin Martin (190) and Grant (Unlimited) took third.
Kevin Gray (125), Thomas Kelley (162), McMillin (170), Nathan Spain (205) and William Webster (235) took fourth.
Dual results
Labette 24, Colby 17
Heavyweight - Shane Grant (L) dec. James Mason (9-3);
125 pounds - Joey Heersche (L) won by forfeit;
133 pounds - Tony Lombardi (C) pinned Brandon Pigorsch (4:01);
141 pounds - David Parker (L) dec. Daniel Prater (9-4);
157 pounds - Alvin Metcalf (L) dec. Jeff Klinglesmith (8-5);
165 pounds - Eric Luedke (C) technical fall Donnie McMillin (16-0);
174 pounds - Zack Luedke (C) dec. Blake Hohensee (7-3);
184 pounds - Alex Saunders (L) dec. Bobby Dennis (4-1);
197 pounds - Jared Shelton (L) pinned Ed Jaramillo (3:26).
Cameron Bradshaw Takedown Tournament results
125 pounds
1.Jackson VanTrece, Neosho;
2.Joey Heersche, Labette;
3.Michael Copeland, Bacone;
4.Kevin Gray, Labette.
131 pounds
1.Rashad Riley, Lincoln;
2.Clay Goodloe, Neosho;
3.Brian Womble, Labette;
4.Erik Johnson, Lincoln.
136 pounds
1.Jarod Spoon, Neosho;
2.Beau Tillman, Kansas St.;
3.Keil Barnhisel, Lincoln;
4.Tony Lombardi, Colby.
142 pounds
1.Joel Scholfield, Neosho;
2.David Parker, Labette;
3.Jake Ashpole, Neosho;
4.Jeremy Spoon, Neosho.
148 pounds
1.Matt Gilliland, Colby;
2.Cody Lambotte, Labette;
3.Jason Smith, Lincoln;
4.Brett Fiene, Neosho.
155 pounds
1.Emanual Brooks, Lincoln;
2.Luke Elmore, Labette;
3.Cory Allison, Labette;
4.Brad Lies, Newman.
162 pounds
1.David Hagerman, Labette;
2.Alvin Metcalf, Labette;
3.Adam Ingram, Labette;
4.Thomas Kelley, Labette.
170 pounds
1.Eric Luedke, Colby;
2.Damel Roberts, BAC;
3.Tyler Williams, Lincoln;
4.Donnie McMillin, Labette.
180 pounds
1.J.D. Johnson, Newman;
2.Zach Luedke, Colby;
3.Dustin Gordon, Lincoln;
4.Justin Carver, York.
190 pounds
1.Alex Saunders, Labette;
2.Cody Millard, York;
3.Dustin Martin, Labette;
4.Scott Steidinger, Lincoln.
205 pounds
1.Jared Shelton, Labette;
2.Nikko Kiliostasis, BAC;
3.Sal Woods, Lincoln;
4.Nathan Spain, Labette.
235 pounds
1.Richard Agee, MWWC;
2.Chad Smith, Labette;
3.Adam Knipp, Neosho;
4.William Weber, Labette.
Unlimited
1.Kyle Stevenson, Lincoln;
2.David Grayson, BAC;
3.Shane Grant, Labette;
4.James Owens, Newman.
