FREDONIA — A pair of Iola High wrestlers each placed second at the Fredonia Wrestling Invitational on Saturday. Andrew Garber came in second at the 182-pound weight class and Colton Toney came in second at the 285-pound weight class.
“Garber had another good tournament, making it to the finals for the second tournament in a row,” coach Jason Bates said.
Garber won his first match by pinning Rose Hill’s Luke Culberston in 2:51. In the quarterfinal, he again won by pinning his opponent. This time it was Erie’s Rowdy Lahey in 1:52. Garber won his semifinal match in an 8-3 decision over Burlington’s Tyson Breshears. Garber then went to the championship match, but lost in sudden victory in overtime to Wichita South’s Torion Neloms. Garber is now 22-7 on the year.
Toney received a bye in the first match, making his first actual dual in the quarterfinals. He beat Fredonia’s Tristen Jansen by pinning him in 3:24. In the semifinals, Toney pinned Wichita South’s Jeremiah Napier in 1:48. Toney wasn’t able to keep his winning streak alive and was pinned in the championship match. He lost to Eureka’s Grayson Pryce at 4:53.
“Toney had his best tournament this weekend,” Bates said. “I saw a lot of offensive attacks from him, which is what we’ve been working on. That first take-down is crucial in any match and we have to give ourselves the opportunity to get it.”
Chandler House also wrestled at the tournament, going 1-4 on the day. His win came in round two of the consolation bracket, when he pinned Erie’s Jacob Linnebur in 4:42. He placed eighth overall in the 220-pound weight class.
With only three wrestlers, Iola placed 11th out of 15 teams. Garber and Toney each earned 22 points, while House earned the team eight points. Two of Iola’s wrestlers didn’t compete this weekend due to illness.
“Typically, we only have three to four wrestlers scoring points for us. A team that has a full roster has 14 scoring participants,” Bates said. “Even so, we still placed higher than a handfull of teams at most of the tournaments we’ve gone to. I think that says something about the work our athletes do.”
Iola has only two competitions left on the season. The Mustangs host Osawatomie and West Elk on Thursday in a dual match. Iola hasn’t gotten a team win at dual matches because they don’t have enough wrestlers. However, the team has won 18 of 24 individual matches this season.
Iola wraps up the regular season at the Silver Lake Invitational on Saturday.
Garber, Toney each earn second place at Fredonia
