News editor
The Marion Warriors wrestling team was bitten by the injury bug Saturday at the Eureka Invitational. Three of the team’s 10 varsity wrestlers at the meet were sidelined by injuries.
Brayden Putter, wrestling at 138 pounds, won his first match but hurt his arm in his second match. Coach Chad Adkins said Putter may not wrestle at the Hoisington Invitational on Friday, but shouldn’t miss much more time than that.
Derrick Dvorak was 2-1 at 160 pounds before tweaking his groin in his fourth match. Adkins said he shouldn’t miss any competition.
John Nordquist in the 195-pound division was injured in his first match of the invitational and will likely miss the most time of the three.
Adkins isn’t sure of the timetable for Nordquist to return to competition. Despite the injuries, Marion placed fifth out of 21 teams, and the Warriors finished only four points behind the third-place team.
Evan Slater was dominant in the 220-pound division, going 3-0 en route to a first-place finish. He pinned his opponent in the finals in less than a minute.
Beretta Janzen also had a successful tournament, placing second at 113 pounds behind only the No. 1 ranked wrestler in Kansas at that weight class. Adkins said Janzen has turned his season around since the Christmas break.
Brody Carroll was second at 152 pounds, with a 2-1 record. Adam Janzen was 3-2 at 182 pounds and placed third in his second tournament of the year. Eric Regnier placed fourth at 126 pounds. Luke Steele was 0-2 at 145 pounds and did not place. The Warriors had two first-place, one second-place, and one fourth-place finishers in the junior varsity portion of the tournament.
Zac Dvorak was 5-0 at 152 pounds to place first. Adam Kjellin was 4-1 at 285 pounds and placed first on a tiebreaker. Dylan Cochran was 2-1 at 195 pounds and placed second, and Remington Putter was 2-1 at 120 pounds and placed fourth on a tiebreaker.
The Warriors’ next tournament is the Hoisington Invitational on Friday. The Marion Junior Varsity Invitational is Saturday at home.