SALINA, Kan. – Teams from the Ad Astra Radio central and west areas competed at the KSHSAA 4A State Wrestling Championships on Friday and Saturday in Salina. On the boys side, Andale brought home the third place trophy as all six of their wrestlers that qualified ended up on the podium.
Rose Hill took the team title with 215.5 points with Paola in second at 142.5 and Andale coming in five points behind in third with 137.5. The Indians had four wrestlers in state title bouts with three champions and a runner-up. They also brought home two fourth place medals.
At 190#, senior Isaiah Wilson took the state title. Wilson opened with a win by fall in just 43 seconds over Ryder Newton of Fort Scott and followed with a win by fall in 1:22 over Brock Crome of Marysville. In the semis, Wilson won by fall in 3:17 over Broderick Desch of Topeka-Hayden. He capped his senior season at 42-5 with a win by fall in just 1:25 over Cade Small of Chanute in the title match.
At 165#, junior Ethan Eck won the state championship. Eck opened the tournament with a win by fall in 34 seconds over Andrew Keithley of Holton, then picked up a 15-0 technical fall over Dawson Degood of Colby in the quarters. In the semis, he won by fall over Blaze Gossman of Scott City. The championship match saw an 11-3 major decision win for Eck over Brody Gomez of Fort Scott, as he finished his season at 43-2.
Freshman Judd Eck took first place at 120#. After an 18-0 technical fall win over Deonte Crain of Smoky Valley in the first round, Eck won an 18-3 technical fall against Tyler Chrisp of Tonganoxie in the quarters. He moved on to the championship match with a 16-4 major decision over Tucker Saferite of Rose Hill. In the finals, Eck took a 7-1 decision over Brayden Luinstra of Augusta, finishing the season 39-9.
Freshman Luke Martin made the championship match at 106# with wins over Cael Rowley of Chapman and Colton Minick of Independence in the first two rounds. A 4-0 decision over Keyen Taplin of Abilene put Martin in the finals where he lost a tough 4-1 decision to Samson Whitted of Rose Hill. Martin finished 22-12.
Also medaling for the Indians were freshman Luke Seiler at 113# and junior Tristen Cox at 144#. They both took fourth place for the tournament.
In other results from 4A on the boys side, Buhler junior Sammy Hershberger finished as a state runner-up at 132#, falling to Noah Wuthnow of Abilene by a 9-2 decision in the championship. Crusader senior Cruz Hershberger was also a runner-up at 144# with a 16-4 major decision loss to Rose Hill’s Johnny Leck in the title bout. At 165#, Buhler junior Luke Kerns took fifth place. Connor Herman of Halstead finished in 6th place at 285#. Full results from 4A boys can be found below. Parker Gardner of Smoky Valley was also a state champion at 157# and you can read more on that in our story from earlier today at adastraradio.com.
KSHSAA 4A Boys State Tournament Full Results
In girls notes at the Class 4A State Championships, three Ad Astra Radio area wrestlers competed for state championships with two coming away with the top prize.
McPherson senior Ciara Rawson finished her season as the 235# 4A state champion, compiling a 20-1 record on the year. She won the championship by fall in 1:58 over Meaa Allen of Perry-Lecompton. Buhler junior Macey Parks also took a state title at 145#, defeating Taya Rowley of Chapman in a tough 6-5 decision to finish her season at 38-6. More in-depth stories on McPherson and Buhler wrestling should follow soon.
Halstead senior Kahlyn Davis made the championship match at 130#. She opened with two wins by fall, then beat Addilyn Wacker of Iola by an 11-2 major decision to make the championship. Wendy Candia of Pratt picked up a 7-3 decision over Davis in the final. Davis finished her season 28-6.
From Larned, junior Cara Herbert took home third place at 135#, senior Teagan Walker finished fourth at 100# and junior Mia Munden took fifth at 140#. Nickerson Junior Elizabeth Dick finished in third place at 235#. Final results for the 4A Girls State Tournament are below.
KSHSAA 4A Girls State Tournament Full Results
