A consolation-round rebound saved the day for five WYCO teams, and a total of eleven wrestlers are still in contention for a medal heading into day two of the KSHSAA 5A and 6A boys’ state tournaments.
The opening round was a tough one for the local squads. The 24 wrestlers entering the brackets Friday morning went 1-23 in the opening round, with only Bonner Springs freshman Jeremy Welch grabbing a win.
Here’s a rundown of results for each school:
Bonner Springs (5A)
Jeremy Welch (106) won his first-round match with a 7-1 decision over Bishop Carroll's J.P. Morgan, but lost a major decision (8-0) in the quarterfinal to Triston Tomlinson of Great Bend.
Welch faces off with Maize South freshman Gavin Munoz (season record 17-18) in the consolation wrestleback match tomorrow morning, and two wins tomorrow will put him on the podium.
Frankie Garcia (120) won his consolation round match with a 5-4 decision over Leavenworth's William French to stay in contention tomorrow.
Ethan Cook (126) lost a major decision 13-2 to Great Bend's Kaiden Hoffman, but rebounded to beat Piper's JaVon Simmons in the consolation round.
Lane Vogel (138) lost to Emporia's Lukas Hainline in the opening round but pinned Lansing's Aidan Lessard in the second period of the consolation match.
Braeden McGrath (144) pinned Karter Moore of Blue Valley Southwest to move on to day 2 action in the consolation bracket.
Thomas Cullum (132) and Sam Harrigan-Hernandez (215) lost their two opening matches and were eliminated. Shayne Pier (165) was unable to wrestle and forfeited his rounds.
Piper (5A)
Ruben Escalante (150) lost his opener to Brennon Gann of Bishop Carroll, but got a sudden victory win over Collin Gessner of Blue Valley Southwest to advance in the consolation bracket.
Sawyer Vas (175) lost a narrow 6-4 decision to Newton's Brody Harper in the first round, and got a medical forfeit from Seaman's Zackery Adams in the consolation match.
Jacob Patrzykont (215) pinned Valley Center's Cameron Bowyer in the third period of their consolation match to move on to day 2 wrestling in Park City.
Makao Groneman (113), Payton Mills (120), JaVon Simmons (126), Nick Hoover (132), and Keith Slaughter (138) were all eliminated with two opening losses.
Sumner (5A)
Deavon McWashington (157) scored a consolation match win by fall over Valley Center's Easton Boone. He’ll have a tough match-up with Emporia’s 26-12 Christian Trujillo on Saturday to advance in the consolation bracket.
Sommyr Moore (113) and Miles Dean (120) were eliminated in the opening rounds.
Turner (5A)
Kaden Roebuck (157) lost an 8-5 decision to Maize's Cody Hughbanks in the opening round, but scored a 14-4 major decision at the expense of Andover's Aaron Kimball to move on to day 2.
Devin Vogel (106) lost his two opening round matches and did not advance.
Harmon (6A)
Raymond Ladd (120) lost his opener to Manhattan's Taivaughnn Walsh, but got a default in his consolation match to move on in the bracket.
Carlos Gallardo (190) lost both his matches and did not advance.
Washington (5A)
Genaro Jaramillo (285) drew two tough match-ups against wrestlers from powerhouse programs Newton and Maize. He lost both and did not advance.