SALINA — Cole Mathes put another notch in his wrestling belt over the weekend, claiming fifth in the Class 3-1A State Wrestling Championships.
Mathes, who had been ranked among the top wrestlers in the state throughout his junior season, faced the best of the best down the stretch.
Aiden Amrein, the top-ranked 175-pounder in 3-1A — and eventual state champion — defeated Mathes with a pin in semifinal action Friday.
That sent Mathes, already assured of a state medal, into the consolation side of the bracket.
There, he squared up with Brayden Suchy, the fourth-ranked wrestler in the state, according to the Kansas Wrestling Coaches Association.
Suchy netted a pin late in the second period, delegating Mathes to the fifth-place match.
Undaunted by the losses, Mathes ended on a high note, pinning Elijah Webb of Atchison County Community High School in 1 minute, 33 seconds.
With his fifth-place medal, Mathes ends his year at 27-7.
HUMBOLDT narrowly missed out on two other medalists.
Senior Garren Goodner, who started his tournament with a loss on Thursday, followed with a pair of victories to make it to the consolation semifinals — otherwise known as the “blood round” — where a victory earns a top-six finish and a medal; and a loss ends the competition.
Goodner trailed 3-1 going into the third and final round of his match, and netted two points in a key reversal with 36 seconds remaining to tie the score.
But almost as suddenly, his opponent, Brian Nguyen of Marison, escaped Goodner’s grasp and got a takedown for three points.
Goodner had no answers as the clock struck zero, falling 6-3.
Goodner ends with a 25-9 record.
AS NOTED in Saturday’s Register, Humboldt’s Taevyn Baylor also was eliminated in the girls Class 4-1A tourney, also held at Tony’s Pizza Events Center in Salina.
