LACKEY AND BAKER QUALIFY FOR STATE TOURNAMENT

The Viking wrestling team competed in the 4A regional tournament in Pratt on Friday and Saturday. The team placed eighth out of thirteen teams, and qualified two wrestlers for the state tournament to be held this Friday and Saturday.

Adam Lackey placed second at 145 pounds, losing his first match of the year in the finals to Travis Budke of Hays – TMP. Adam now has a record of 38-1. His first round opponent on Friday will be Ethan Bogner of LabetteCounty. Bogner is currently ranked 5th in the state, and has a record of 27-12. Lackey is ranked 7th.

Michael Baker will make his second trip to the state tournament. He placed first in the regional tournament after defeating Derek Heckel of Ulysses in the finals. Baker’s record now stands at 36-1. His first round opponent will be Eric Wright of Marysville who has a record of 24-15. Baker moved up in the state rankings to 2nd following his regional victories over the previously 2nd and 3rd ranked wrestlers at 189 pounds.

Coach Ben Elliott was pleased with the team’s effort. “We improved a lot over last year’s performance in arguably the toughest regional tournament in the state. Adam and Michael both defeated some very good kids to earn a trip to the state tournament. We also had four wrestlers – Eric Mitchell, Zach Cook, Jake Brady, and Joe Harrington -- who came within one match of qualifying for state. After the success we had as a team in our area tournaments this year, some people may view an eighth place finish at regionals as a letdown. But anyone who was in Pratt last weekend knows how hard our kids competed and how badly they wanted to win. There is a saying in wrestling that if you’re having too much success, you haven’t been far enough away from home. With the improvement we have had in our program, we have been invited to a couple of different tournaments for next year. That should help us see some different competition and hopefully prepare us better for success at the regional and state tournaments.”

Individual resultsfrom the regional tournament include:

103 – Eric Mitchell: LBF Sheldon (Goodland); Won 6-4 o.t. over Pierce (Clearwater); LBF to Reed (Colby)

112 – Zach Cook: Lost 11-0 to Baird (Pratt); Won 7-5 o.t. over Lawrence (Buhler); Lost 6-3 to William (Russell).

119 – Kaitlin Wiseman: LBF Cox (Andale); LBF Bates (Clearwater)

125 – Brock Reid: LBF Huitt (Pratt); LBF Eakin (Larned)

130 – Ian Lackey: LBF Olsen (Colby); WBF Snyder (Clearwater); Lost 8-2 to Newell (Ulysses)

135 – Jake Brady: Lost 12-3 to Petz (Pratt); Won 13-2 over Heimann (TMP); Lost 7-0 to Stoss (Buhler)

140 – Jake Coney: Lost 11-2 to Zweygardt (Colby); WBF Bowman (Clearwater); Lost 17-2 to Landis (Pratt).

145 – Adam Lackey: Won 13-3 over Mullis (Clearwater); Won 8-5 over Flanagin (Colby); Lost 15-4 to Budke (TMP)

160 – Nick Henry: LBF Schroeder (Andale); Won 8-3 over Snyder (Clearwater); Lost 5-2 to Garcia (Ulysses)

171 – Joe Harrington: Lost 11-2 to Riner (Pratt); Won 8-7 over Gerstberger (Ulysses); Lost 2-1 to Juby (Buhler).

189 – Michael Baker: Won 9-2 over Reddig (Russell); Won 3-2 over Goodley (Goodland); Won 3-2 over Heckel (Ulysses).

215 – Logan Spohn: Lost 10-5 to Kriss (Colby); LBF to Dill (Pratt).

285 –Jacob Baker: LBF Campbell (Pratt); LBF Holmes (Larned).

The State Tournament will be held in Salina on Friday and Saturday. The first round starts at 10:00. Quarterfinals and semifinals will also be wrestled on Friday beginning at 1:45 and 4:30, respectively.