Warriors take fifth

By RYAN RICHTER

Staff writer

Heading into the final two weeks of the season, with regionals on tap for Friday and Saturday at Eureka, Warrior wrestling coach Tyler McMichael is pleased with where his team is.

“For this week, it’s just making some small tweaks and adjustments before Friday,” he said. “I like where we are sitting going into regionals, and we’re peaking at the right time.”

The Warriors enjoyed a successful Saturday at the Chase County Invitational, finishing fifth out of 13 with 97 points.

Marion managed two first-place finishes to go along with a pair of thirds and a fourth.

Tyler Palic and Charlie Nordquist were top finishers in the 195- and 220-pound class, respectively, while Kolton Brewer and Jarret McLinden posted third place finishes.

Freshman Todd Palic was fourth in the 170-pound class.

Brewer’s day got off to a rough start in the 160-pound division, tumbling to Mulvane’s Jaxen Young.

Brewer rebounded to win his next four matches, including avenging his loss to Young, en route to outlasting Council Grove’s Alvin Holmes, 16-12, for third place.

Todd Palic was 4-2 on the day with just three actual matches, dropping a 7-1 decision in third-place to Council Grove’s Bo Kraus.

Tyler weaved a path of destruction, dispatching Mulvane’s Kole Long in 52 seconds for a perfect day.

Nordquist also breezed through the competition, taking down Chase County adversary Joseph Stout in the title match in 43 seconds.

The heavyweight McLinden was on track to make a title match appearance, but Wamego’s eventual champ and 4A’s third-ranked Tylar Patrick derailed him in the semifinals.

McLinden bounced back to take down Burlington’s Keller Snesrud in the consolation final in 29 seconds.

The Warriors travel to Eureka for regionals Friday with action starting at 3 p.m.