MHS wrestlers compete at state
Sports reporter
Four Marion High School wrestlers and almost 50 supporters made the long trek Friday to Hays for the Class 3-2-1A state wrestling tournament, hosted by Fort Hays State University.
Three of the wrestlers — Cody Wildin, Dillon Wildin, and Charlie Holub — bowed out early, after just two matches.
Wrestling at 119 pounds, Cody Wildin (21-16) drew a difficult first-round assignment against Norton's Zane Perez (28-8). Perez outscored Wildin 6-1 to send the Warrior to the consolation bracket.
Wildin's opponent, Trevor Oliver (24-7) of Osborne, rebounded from his 7-1 first-round loss to overpower Wildin, 15-2.
In the 130-pound division, Dillon Wildin (26-12) faced off against Brandon Tyler (21-4) of St. Mary's. Wildin dropped to the consolation bracket, edged by Tyler in a close match, 5-2.
Scott City's Morgan Munrich (21-14) awaited in the second round, and once again Wildin came up on the short end of a tough match, 7-4.
At 18-11 for the season going into the opening match of the 145-pound division, Holub looked to spring an upset similar to the one he pulled in 2006, when he surprised a heavily-favored Spencer Hinson of Silver Lake in the 135-pound class.
Daniel Utley (24-4) of Onaga was Holub's opening upset target in 2007, and Utley was ready for the challenge, slipping past Holub by a narrow 5-3 score.
Clint Janzen (22-14) of Hesston, overwhelmed by his first-round opponent, was up next for Holub. The Swather grappler proved too much for Holub to handle, as he fell out of the tournament with a 7-4 loss.
John Barr III (28-9) was the lone bright spot for the Warriors, collecting all five Marion team points, while compiling a 2-2 record in the 152-pound bracket.
Barr entered the tournament as an underdog to his first-round opponent, Casey Bratton (27-4) of Horton. In addition to having the better record, Bratton had wrestled in the 2005 and 2006 state tourneys.
While Bratton looked better on paper, Barr III proved to be better on the mat, outlasting his more-experienced foe, 6-4, to advance in the championship bracket.
Another three-time state qualifier squared off against Barr III in the second round. Lincoln's Jake Livesay (31-6), who wound up fifth, mastered Barr III 7-2, dropping the Warrior into the consolation bracket.
Barr III bounced back against Josh Maples (23-10) of Onaga in the next match, pinning Maples at the 4:04 mark of the match.
Travis Rempe (13-4) of Smith Center, who jumped up five weight classes from his 2006 state tourney appearance, ended Barr III's run with a pin at 3:18 of the match.
