CANEY — Brad Carson was feeling pretty giddy by the end of the day Saturday. MIKE ARMSTRONG, who qualified for state as a freshman for the Mustangs, but didn’t go out for the sport his last two years, took second at 138 pounds, compiling a 4-1 record.
His team was a little more understated; almost businesslike.
Perhaps it was because the Iola High Mustang wrestling team finished in second Saturday at the Kan-Okla Classic, and not first, Carson surmised.
Taking second to Independence was understandable, perhaps even expected, Carson noted.
After all, Independence fielded a full squad, while Iola didn’t enter a wrestler below 138 pounds. The Mustangs did not have a wrestler in six of the 14 weight classes.
But with all that, the Mustangs were downright dominant at times on the wrestling mat.
Iola racked up two first-place finishes, from seniors Cody Conner and Bryce Misenhelter, and three more runner-ups, courtesy of Mike Armstrong, Travis Rieske and Tavon Blazek.
Iola’s 205 points were second to Independence’s 259, but well ahead of third-place finisher Coffeyville’s 149.
“I’m very excited about what this team can do,” Carson said after the Mustangs went a combined 35-13 on the day.
Leading the charge were Misenhelter, the team’s only returning state qualifier from last season, and Conner, who came up just short of a state berth last spring.
Misenhelter rolled through the 182-pound weight class, winning all five of his matches with pins. His opponent in the championship match was teammate and freshman Tavon Blazek, whom Misenhelter quickly pinned. The loss to Misenhelter was Blazek’s only defeat on the day, Carson noted.
Misenhelter allowed only one match to make it out of the first period, Carson noted, and had only one opponent — Independence’s Nick Stroble — score any points.
“He got out of position a little, and he knew what was coming,” Carson said.
Misenhelter was able to quickly work out of his minor jam with a reversal. He got the pin a short while later to set up the championship match against Bryant.
“I was very happy with how Bryce did,” Carson said. “He worked hard and did what he was supposed to.”
Carson was equally as impressed with Blazek’s performance.
“I think we really have something in Tavon,” he said. “He has wrestled before and he knows what he’s doing.”
With two wrestlers in the same class, Blazek’s performance didn’t net Iola any team points, Carson noted. Otherwise, the Mustangs would have been even closer to knocking off Independence.
Conner, wrestling at 152 pounds, won four of his five matches by pins. His fifth win, in the final round of pool play, came via injury default.
“Sometimes, Cody’s biggest issue is wrestling with confidence,” Carson said. “He did a great job, especially in his first match of the day.”
Conner fell behind Frontenac’s Dillon Brookshire, 2-0, on a quick takedown, but was able to work his way out of the hold, rolled Brookshire, and had him pinned seconds later.
“I think that gave him a good shot of confidence,” Carson said.
Conner pinned Reid Hugo of Cherryvale for the individual title.
He won by pins in his first four matches before losing via technical fall to Fredonia’s standout Logan Humphrey, a three-time state champion at that weight level.
“Mike did a lot of good things out there today,” Carson said. “He’s stayed strong and looked really good. I expect some big things from him this year.”
Travis Rieske also nabbed second at 160 pounds. He won by pins over two of his three opponents in pool play, and by injury default in the other. He pinned Isaiah Harris Pittsburg to set up a championship match against Jayhawk-Linn’s Tommy Avery. Avery pinned Rieske in the final match of the day.
“Travis gave us a nice surprise,” Carson said, “particularly because he’s still working to make weight. He’s at about 150 pounds right now.
John Whitworth took third at 170 pounds, going 4-1. He earned pins in all four of his victories, including over Tommy Finley of Fredonia in the third-place match.
Whitworth’s only defeat came in the semifinals in a loss to eventual weight champion Paxton Noll of West Elk.
“John is such a gifted athlete. He’s quick and explosive, two things you want in a wrestler,” Carson said. “He got a little frustrated against the West Elk kid and wound up getting out of position. But these are things we can work on and correct in practice. As he gets more experience, he’ll get himself out of those situations.”
Andrew Garber took third at 195 pounds, going 3-2 on the day. His only losses came to eventual champion, Grant Newton of Coffeyville and runner-up D.J. Kessler of Independence, on scores of 6-4 and 7-1, respectively.
Garber rebounded nicely to pin his last two opponents to secure third.
“Andrew’s a great kid, who does everything we ask of in practice,” Carson said. “He’ll continue to work and get better.”
Dacoda Hunt won four of his five matches at 220 pounds, but was relegated to fourth because of the tournament’s pool system setup, Carson said.
“He looked a little sloppy at times, but these are things he can work on in practice,” Carson said. “He lost his head a little bit against the kid from Frontenac, but he’ll learn from that.”
Freshman Colton Toney, wrestling in the heavyweight division went 2-3 and took fifth. One of his highlights was pinning Nick Noland of Coffeyville, who eventually took third.
“Colton did a nice job of standing his ground, particularly against several wrestlers who were much older and much more experienced than he was,” Carson said.
Another freshman, Seth Sanford, went 0-3 on the day at 220 pounds.
“He had a tough day, but I don’t worry about Seth at all,” Carson said. “He got down on himself a little bit, but he had a tough bracket. He shows up every day at practice, and he’s willing to work and be coached. He’ll take his lumps now, but he’ll get better.”
Iola returns to action Saturday at Anderson County.
IHS wrestlers hit mats running (and winning)
