Staff writer
The Marion High School wrestling team finished sixth as a team Saturday at the Mission Valley Wrestling Invitational.
Junior Colten Johnson won the 152-pound weight class. Coach Chad Adkins said Johnson was dominant, winning all but one of his matches by pin fall. He pinned his opponent in the final to take the first-place medal.
Sophomore Brody Carroll placed second in the 130-pound bracket, barely losing in the finals to Mason Hurla of St. Marys. The match was tied with 40 seconds left in the third period before Hurla scored a point and stalled while Carroll was attacking to try to win the contest.
“Brody wrestled efficiently: taking advantage of situations presented to him, wrestling a patient match, and not giving up a lot of points,” Adkins said. “Not so much defensive as smart.”
Senior Randy Regnier also lost in the finals of the 125-pound weight class to Michael VanderLinden of Burlington. VanderLinden is ranked third in the state in the 125-pound class by Catchitkansas.com; Saturday was the first of four possible meetings between Regnier and VanderLinden. Adkins said Regnier will have to temper his aggressive style against the Burlington wrestler to get a win.
“The VanderLinden kid is just so long and tall,” Adkins said. “He can be in a bad position and score points.”
Fellow senior Andy Shipman finished third in the 135-pound class. He lost in the semifinals to a freshman from Rossville who eventually won the bracket.
“He would have been the number one seed,” Adkins said. “He wasn’t built like a freshman.”
Sophomore Eric Regnier placed sixth in the 119-pound weight class. Adkins said Regnier had a chance to finish third but he had momentary lapses in his final two matches. In both matches, he was running a leg drag, presented his head to the opposing wrestler, and was subsequently pinned.
Senior Galen Funk won two matches in the 160-pound class, but did not place.
Freshman Zach Lewman won a match in the 171-pound class.
Junior Cole Lewman lost both of his matches but faced the No. 2 wrestler in the state in the 140-pound weight class.
“He looked much better than the results will show,” Adkins said of Cole Lewman.
The Marion Wrestling team will travel to the Hesston Invitational Saturday.