OSAWATOMIE — The Iola Mustangs built a bit of steam ahead of the upcoming postseason as multiple grapplers finished on the medal podium during Thursday’s Pioneer League Wrestling Tournament.
The Mustangs finished fifth as a team with sophomores Cale Pratt (22-9) and Ruger Boren (17-15) finishing second, as well as junior Trapper Boren (13-20) and freshman KyDane Loving (19-19) finishing third.
“We finished fifth by 4 points,” Iola coach Doug Kerr said. “A lot of kids wrestled very hard. They were able to achieve a lot of their goals. We had a lot of kids in the final four that placed. We’re so young though, we have a lot of sophomores and one junior.”
At 157, Pratt won two of three matches in a round-robin. His only loss came in the finals via second-period pin by Wellsville freshman Jake Doles (30-9). He opened the tournament with a 7-0 decision over Santa Fe Trail sophomore Cayden Newton (16-18) and tied up Anderson County freshman Lucas Mills (11-15) with a half-nelson in the second round.
At 126, Ruger Boren took second after winning two of three matches in a round-robin tournament. Boren opened the tournament with an 11-9 decision over 9-8 ACHS freshman Braxton Williams (9-8). A second-period pin of 6-15 OHS freshman Bryce Ortiz put Boren in the finals, but he fell to 25-7 Santa Fe Trail senior Bryce Combes via second-period pin.
One weight-class lower, Trapper Boren was the first to reach the podium after opening the tournament with a 18-2 tech-fall of 6-19 Wellsville sophomore Tyson Benjamin. Boren fell to 17-13 Osawatomie freshman, and eventual runner-up, Caden Peterson via 18-0 tech fall. A second-period pin of 11-16 Prairie View freshman Chance Briggs put Boren in the consolation finals. He had a half-nelson in a scramble with 7-13 ACHS freshman Chase McClain.
“A lot of kids wrestled above their (tournament) seed, which is always what you want to do,” Kerr said. “For the Boren boys, second and third is awesome. Cale is always in the mix of it and did a good job. Some of our big boys wrestled well, too. It’s great to see the growth we’ve had at this tournament and moving forward.”
Iola freshman Kevon Loving had a breakout performance for the Mustangs. As part of a round-robin, he opened by falling to Kain Tantaros in a 10-3 decision, then lost to eventually champion Parker Slayman (23-6) of OHS by first-period pin, but forced a three-way tie for third after locking up a cradle on PVHS freshman Braden Shrum (4-19).
“Everything we did here was just a bonus. The coaches did a great job of putting the practice plans together,” Kerr said. “We pushed the kids a little each week and grew slowly knowing our time will be the next year after that and the next year after that. This was a building year not a rebuilding year and, so far, mission accomplished.”
Other results: 132 – Beau Erickson (0-2) fell to SFT senior Blake Slavin (27-10) via 17-2 tech fall, then fell to Burlington freshman Lukas Harred (17-18) via second-period pin.
138 – Evan LaCrone (22-14) lost in a 3-0 decision to ACHS junior Owen Thompson (17-8), defeated OHS freshman Daniel Ross via cradle and lost by 16-0 tech fall to PVHS senior Levi Benedick (25-15). 150 – Tripp Mathes (10-12) fell to OHS freshman Emmit Chapman (17-13) in a 10-3 decision, then fell to BHS senior Aden McManus (26-7) in a first-period pin.
160 – Berdjonley Séance fell to WHS junior Collin McClendon via first-period pin, then fell to ACHS freshman Brody Kohlmeier (10-12) in the consolation semifinals via first-period pin.
190 – Franklin Kerr sophomore (8-5) had an 11-1 major decision loss to BHS junior Jake Leiser (17-13), defeated STF freshman Tristan Goltz (1-10) with a half-nelson, then fell to WHS junior Maddex Doherty (13-14) in the consolation semifinals via second-period pin.
215 – sophomore Alston Nelson (0-2) fell to SFT senior Tage Skocny (17-12) and PVHS junior Parker Schwarz (25-7) with first-period pins.
285 – sophomore Roman Ballin (9-10) opened the tournament with a pin via half-nelson of WHS senior Zach Soetaert (6-24), then fell to 21-6 PVHS junior Josh Goodwin via second-period pin and OHS senior Draison Lucas (13-9) via first-period pin.
