More than 400 youth wrestlers and their families packed the Iola High School gymnasium Sunday.
The occasion was the annual Iola Open, a youth wrestling tournament hosted by the Iola Wrestling Club.
While the club has hosted annual competitions in the past, none were as big as Sunday’s, noted Jana Taylor, one of the 40-strong volunteers who helped put the competition together.
She suspected Sunday’s tournament ranks up with the largest sporting events ever hosted in Iola, in terms of numbers. The tournament drew competitors from across Kansas, Oklahoma, Missouri and even Nebraska.
“We can’t grow any more,” Taylor noted. “There’s nowhere to put anybody else.”
With easily more than 1,000 parents, workers and curious onlookers, the gym was a cacophony of noise from start to finish.
The workers kept the proceedings going at a brisk pace, so much so that the last competition was over by 4 p.m.
“Once you get these tournaments going, they almost run themselves,” Taylor said.
Included in the competition were more than 60 wrestlers from Iola and Humboldt.
Their results follow.
Iola Open
Iola Mustangs
6-and-under
Wyatt Griffeth (1-2), third in 37 pounds
Knox Hufferd (4-0), first in 40 pounds
Elisha Ivy (3-0), first in 40 pounds (B)
Hadwin Collins (1-2), third in 40 pounds (B)
Jyler Granere (1-3), fourth in 43 pounds (B)
Cohen Sigg (0-4), fifth in 43 pounds (B)
Wendell Tyler (0-4), fifth in 52 pounds (B)
Daegen Rodriguez (1-1), third in 88-95 pounds
Kyndal Mathes (4-0), first in 46-51 pounds
6-8 years and under
Bayleigh Scheibmeir (1-3), fourth in 58-61 pounds
Kinzley Fountain (3-1), second in 58-61 pounds
8-and-under
Braylon Keithly (0-3), fourth in 55 pounds (B)
Milo Franklin (1-2), third in 61 pounds
Kamdon Barnett (0-2), third in 67 pounds
Evan Boeken (2-1), second in 70 pounds
Brayden Griffeth (1-2), fourth in 73 pounds
Lukey Boeken (3-0), first in 80 pounds
Case Schomaker (1-3), fourth in 61-64 pounds
