FREDONIA — Multiple area wrestlers medaled at Saturday’s Fredonia Invitational, the final tournament before the postseason begins Thursday with the Pioneer League and Tri-Valley League tournaments.
Iola sophomore Kevon Loving, 144 lbs., took first place while teammate Kale Pratt, 157 lbs., took second, along with Humboldt junior 157 lbs. Broc Ivy, 157 lbs.
“This is the first meet I thought about going right off the whistle,” Loving said. “Usually, I’d back off, but I’ve been hitting ankle picks. It’s confidence. Last year, I wasn’t that confident. I’d look for the perfect shot. At the end of the year, I realized you’re not going to get a perfect shot against a good guy.”
Loving (26-9) crushed the competition in a five-man round robin. He opened with a 16-0 tech-fall Humboldt junior Emmitt Carson (11-9), who went on to take third place. He later defeated Andover Central junior Grant Pfanenstie (4-11) by first-period pin, then Fredonia junior Anthony Beard (1-3) by 6-0 decision, earning him a spot in the title match. Against Wyatt Dobson (24-7), a senior from Council Grove, Loving had to be a bit more patient but the result remained the same.
“I just didn’t want him to hit me anymore. He was winding up (for a cross-face) from the clouds,” Loving said. “I figured, if I timed it out, I could get a double-leg in and seal the deal.”
As for Carson, he rebounded with a 9-2 win over Beard, then fell to Dobson by 17-1 tech-fall. In the consolation finals, he clamped down on Pfanenestie with a cradle for a pin with 15 seconds left in the first period.
Ivy seems on a hot streak. Ivy had a second-period pin of Iola junior Trip Mathes (10-19), who went on to take third place. Ivy posted a first-period pin of Andover Central sophomore Chase Poppineau (1-14) but fell to Fredonia senior Noah Howard (13-3) 10-1. Ivy hopes to get another shot at Howard at Thursday’s TVL tournament.
“It was a tough outcome, and losing is not the best feeling, but you learn from it,” Ivy said. “He’s a really good wrestler, and a really good friend of mine. I’ve wrestled him four times this year, and we’re even. I’m going to see him at league and regionals.”
Broc Ivy ties up with his opponent in the championship match.
Mathes went on to rip through the consolation bracket with a first-period pin of Uniontown senior Joseph Robinson (4-1). He later defeated Burden Central junior Isaiah Williams (2-2) 8-6, then crushed Council Grove freshman Jackson Stecher (8-17) for third place.
Pratt seemed unstoppable until the championship round. He opened with a first-period pin of Elk County freshman Corbin Arbuckle (4-19), then defeated freshman teammate Spence Sargent (1-4) by first-period pin. Pratt teched Council Grove sophomore Zac Warnick (8-9) 17-1, then pinned Andover Central sophomore Caden Bond (4-12) to earn a spot in the 165 lbs. title match. There, he fell to 24-9 Council Grove freshman Easton Stohs (24-9) by third-period pin after a slip.
Sargent fell to Warnick by first-period pin, then Bond by first-period pin, and then Stohs by first-period pin. He ended on a high note with a first-period pin of Arbuckle for fifth place.
Iola senior Trapper Boren, 126 lbs., took third place. After opening with a loss to Andover Central junior Ethan Worthington (17-5) by first-period pin, Boren rebounded with a 12-3 victory over Andover Central sophomore Shion Hurst (8-14). He continued rolling with a first-period pin of Burlingame sophomore Jude Aguilar (9-16) but fell out of the gold-medal running with a loss by first-period pin to Council Grove senior Leo DeDonder (31-3). Boren took bronze with a first-period pin of Erie senior Mark Tenebro (13-18).
Staying at 138 lbs. from earlier in the week, Iola junior Ruger Boren took fifth place. He opened with a loss to Fredonia sophomore Kristopher May (8-6) by second-period pin, then rebounded with a second-period pin of Council Grove sophomore Tripp Darbro. He fell by a second-period pin to Uniontown freshman Kyson Stock (11-8), then took fifth with a 9-0 victory over Burlingame sophomore Cameron Watts (8-20).
At 190 lbs., Iola junior Rohan Springer (9-6) and IHS junior Franklin Kerr (15-13) took third and fourth, respectively. Springer (9-6) opened with a first-period pin of Burlingame freshman William Welch (2-16), then fell to eventual champion Logan Overton (17-4) by second period pin. Kerr opened with a third-period pin of Elk Valley junior Denver Cascrano (0-3), then fell to tournament runner-up Cameron Hagemann (16-16) of Council Grove by 13-9 decision.
Springer defeated Cascarano by second-period pin, then Kerr defeated Andover Central junior Aiden Gratz (7-9) by 8-6 decision. In the consolation finals, Springer held on for a 10-4 decision to take third.
Humboldt returns to the mat Tuesday for the Tri-Valley Tournament in Eureka. Iola returns for the Pioneer League Tournament in Burlington.
