Kansas high school wrestling: Highlights from Rose Hill, City League tournament champions

For the first time in the 40-year history of the Rose Hill Invitational, the host school came away with the boys team wrestling championship.

The Rockets, which were recently promoted to the No. 1 spot in the latest Class 4A team rankings, prevailed over a loaded field that included some of the best programs in Kansas like Goddard, Derby, Andover, Andale, Augusta, Valley Center and Clay Center.

But it was Rose Hill which prevailed with 155 team points, barely edging out 4A No. 2-ranked Augusta (151½) for the title.

The highlight for Rose Hill was sophomore Damon Ingram knocking off two defending state champions to prevail in a stacked 126 field. Ingram dominated in a 15-0 technical fall victory over Valley Center’s Jett Schwartz, ranked No. 2 in 5A and a state champion from last season, then he scored the winning takedown in the finals with 16 seconds left of a 6-4 victory over two-time champion Marcus Terry of Augusta, who was ranked No. 1 in 4A.

As far as individuals go, however, no one had a more impressive showing than Augusta senior Grady Fox.

Fox scored victories over the top-ranked wrestlers in his weight class in Class 5A and Class 4A to come out on top in the 138-pound field.

Up against undefeated and No. 1-ranked Andover junior Adam Maki in the finals, Fox actually trailed 7-5 entering the third period on bottom. But Fox maneuvered an escape, then a go-ahead takedown and finished off the stunning upset by pinning Maki with 16 seconds left in the match. It was the first loss of the season for Maki (40-1), who was ranked No. 2 in the all-class 138 rankings.

The match before was arguably just as important to Fox, who faced his top-ranked competition ahead of the state tournament in Chanute senior Trey Dillow, who was ranked No. 3 in the all-class 138 rankings. Fox, second-ranked in 4A, entered No. 8 in the all-class rankings.

Fox scored the match’s lone takedown in the second period, then protected his 3-2 lead in the third period to prevent Dillow from scoring the go-ahead takedown. It was just the third loss of the season for Dillow, while Fox improved to 30-4 with his two best victories of the season.

Here are 10 other performances to know from the Rose Hill tournament:

• Valley Center junior Dai’mont Mucker made short work of the 190 field, picking up three ranked wins over Derby’s Mason Hopper (No. 5 in 6A), Mulvane’s Chris Dietrich (No. 2 in 4A) and Baldwin’s Jack Harvey (No. 1 in 4A). Mucker (33-2) handed Harvey his first loss of the season in the finals with an impressive 10-3 victory that featured two takedowns and a nearfall in the second period.

• Valley Center sophomore Braxton Moody scored a stunning victory in the 113 field, winning an action-packed 11-9 decision over Independence’s Keith Sanders (No. 2 in 4A) in the semifinals and then topping Goddard’s Harrison Glover (No. 3 in 5A) in a sudden victory with a takedown in the first overtime of a 4-2 decision. Both wrestlers were ranked ahead of Moody (No. 6 in 5A), who entered with a 10-7 record.

• In a meeting between two of the state’s best at 144, Andale junior Owen Eck (No. 1 in 4A) maintained his perfect season with a 16-5 major decision victory over Goddard sophomore Jacob Goodwin (No. 1 in 5A) in the finals. Eck, a two-time state champion, improved to 37-0 this season with another dominant performance.

• Goddard senior Levi Glover (No. 2 in 5A) picked up three pins in four matches, including a third-period pin over Winfield’s Owen Suttles (No. 1 in 4A) in the finals, to win the 120 field. The upset in the field belonged to Rose Hill freshman Julio Aguirre, who notched a 5-2 decision over Valley Center’s Aiden Shields (No. 4 in 5A) in the quarterfinals of his debut tournament. The two would later meet in the third-place match, which Shields won 4-2.

• Augusta senior Cannon Carey (No. 2 in 4A) scored a 12-4 major decision victory over Derby senior Tate Rusher (No. 2 in 6A) in the 150 finals. Carey also registered a 9-3 decision over Rose Hill’s Rhett Briggs (No. 4 in 4A) in the semifinals.

• Goddard junior Zach Wessley (No. 2 in 5A) pulled off a thrilling comeback in the 157 finals to nip Derby senior Knowlyn Egan (No. 2 in 6A) with a 3-2 victory. Wessley trailed 2-0 entering the third period, but registered an escape, then the go-ahead takedown and rode Egan out for the final 53 seconds.

• The heavyweight field provided an early taste of the 4A state tournament, as the three top-ranked wrestlers were in the Rose Hill field. Augusta sophomore Willy Jon Morales (No. 2 in 4A) prevailed by topping Clay Center senior Luke Young (No. 3) in a 5-0 victory in the semifinals and then scoring a sudden victory in the first overtime against Rose Hill sophomore Milan Colvin (No. 1) in the finals.

• Rose Hill senior Bronx Wood (No. 1 in 4A) scored an 18-6 major decision victory over Andale senior Riley Marx (No. 2 in 4A) in the 215 semifinals, then captured the title with a reversal and nearfall in the finals against Brennan Carey of Nixa (Mo.) to improve to 30-1 this season.

• Andale junior Ian Aouad (No. 2 in 4A) picked up three pins and a major decision to easily claim the title in the 165 field, punctuated by a dominant performance in the finals with a third-period pin over Clay Center’s Brett Loader (No. 3 in 4A).

• Augusta senior Kalvin LaPlant (No. 3 in 4A) picked up a pair of impressive victories in the 132 field, scoring a 13-0 major decision over Derby’s Diego Guana (No. 2 in 6A) in the quarterfinals and a 5-2 decision over Fort Scott’s Jasper Allison (No. 2 in 4A) in the semifinals. LaPlant lost in the finals to Nixa (Mo.) senior Zan Fugitt, one of the nation’s top wrestlers, in a 19-6 major decision.

Bishop Carroll boys win third straight City League championship

The Bishop Carroll boys wrestling team captured its third straight City League team championship at the league meet hosted by North on Saturday.

The No. 6-ranked team in Class 5A sent eight to the finals and had seven individual champions to pile up 219 points, 45 points more than North in second place.

There were no major upsets in the tournament, as all of Carroll’s ranked wrestlers came away with wins in sophomore Caden Denton (No. 2 at 113), freshman Campbell Denton (No. 4 at 126), sophomore Brady Duling (No. 4 at 138) and senior Sam Duling (No. 5 at 157). Joining them as league champions were sophomore Elijah Means (144), senior Brennon Gann (150) and senior Kaiden McElwain (165).

Kapaun Mt. Carmel’s talented trio in the upper weights also came away with gold medals: senior Adrian Turner (175), senior Nathan Fury (190) and junior Omari Elias (215). Turner and Fury are both ranked No. 2 in Class 5A in their respective weight classes.

The host school, North, also had a trio of champions in the lighter weights: sophomore Damarie Martin (106), junior Orlando Watley (120) and junior Martin Gutierrez (132). The other league champion was South senior Matt Godsey, the No. 4-ranked heavyweight in Class 6A.

Kapaun Mt. Carmel girls wrestling wins first City League title

Behind six individual champions, the Kapaun Mt. Carmel girls wrestling team won its first City league team championship with 200 team points, 37 points more than second-place North, which was ranked No. 6 in the Class 6-5A team rankings.

One of the most exciting finals came in the 140-pound title match, as Kapaun junior Jayla Johnson, ranked No. 6 in the 6-5A rankings, scored the winning takedown in the first overtime period against North junior Jaycee Tyler, who was ranked No. 3.

Kapaun’s other individual champions were freshman Taylor Barringer (105), junior Vy Do (125), sophomore Aalyra Arguelles (135), junior Chinyereugo Okafor (155) and Gianna Redcorn (170), while Mya Owens (130), Bella Green (145), Catherine Burr (190) and Alexandra Adame (235) all reached the finals.

North was led by four league champions in senior Larissa Garcia (110), sophomore Xitlaly Meraz (115), senior Diana Urista (130) and senior Aspen Brown (235).

Other City League champions included West senior Jacqueline Salas (100), Heights senior Makenzie Buyno (120), Bishop Carroll junior Elizabeth Foulk (145) and West junior Druzzla Johnson (190).

Here are five other victories to know about in the Kansas high school girls wrestling scene from the Circle tournament:

• El Dorado junior Trinity Motter (No. 5 in 4-1A) scored her most impressive performance of the season in a dominant victory over Coffeyville’s Melany Escudero (No. 2 in 4-1A) in the 100 finals. Motter was leading 9-2 before he registered a second-period pin to improve to 23-7 this season.

• Augusta junior Jill High (No. 2 in 4-1A) had few issues winning the 125 field, earning a first-period pin over Nickerson’s Brooklyn Schneider in the finals to improve to 28-1 this season.

• Circle senior Katelyn Schmidt (No. 3 in 4-1A) notched a solid victory in the 140 finals, scoring two takedowns before pinning Eureka’s Lyndsey Escareno (No. 4 in 4-1A) in the second period. It was just the second loss of the season for Escareno, while Schmidt improved to 33-3.

• A second-period escape was enough for Augusta’s Emily Hess to score a 1-0 victory over Stafford’s Sierra Lanning (No. 4 in 4-1A) in the 155 finals. It was just the third loss of the season for Lanning, while Hess improved to 18-4.

• In a 3-way tie with a 3-1 record in the round-robin wrestling at 170, Chaparral’s Jaiden Jones prevailed with the victory in a tiebreaker over Eureka’s Makyla Gore (No. 6 in 4-1A) and Augusta’s Brooklynn Smith. Her teammate Madison Haley (No. 5 in 4-1A) also won the 190 title.

Kansas high school wrestling team results

Rose Hill Invitational (boys)

Teams—1. Rose Hill 155; 2. Augusta 151½; 3. Derby 143; 4. Goddard 132½; 5. Nixa (Mo.) 124½; 6. Andale 118; 7. Valley Center 111½; 8. Andover 104½; 9. Clay Center 86; 10. Concordia 81½; 11. Independence 76; 12. Winfield 73; 13. Chanute 70; 14. Wamego 64½; 15. Baldwin 64; 16. Fort Scott 62; 17. Mulvane 49; 18. Bonner Springs 38.

106—Johnny Leck, Rose Hill, inj. def. Jayden Grijalva, Derby; 113—Braxton Moody, Valley Center, dec. Harrison Glover, Goddard, SV 4-2; 120—Levi Glover, Goddard, pinned Owen Suttles, Winfield, 5:42; 126—Damon Ingram, Rose Hill, dec. Marcus Terry, Augusta, 6-4; 132—Zan Fugitt, Nixa (Mo.), maj. dec. Kalvin LaPlant, Augusta, 19-6; 138—Grady Fox, Augusta, pinned Adam Maki, Andover, 5:44; 144—Owen Eck, Andale, maj. dec. Jacob Goodwin, Goddard, 16-5; 150—Cannon Carey, Augusta, maj. dec. Tate Rusher, Derby, 12-4; 157—Zachary Wessley, Goddard, dec. Knowlyn Egan, Derby, 3-2; 165—Ian Aouad, Andale, pinned Brett Loader, Clay Center, 4:20; 175—Tucker Jackson, Clay Center, inj. def. Tate Hutchinson, Andover; 190—Dai’mont Mucker, Valley Center, dec. Jack Harvey, Baldwin, 10-3; 215—Bronx Wood, Rose Hill dec. Brennan Carey, Nixa (Mo.), 4-2; 285—Willy Jon Morales, Augusta, dec. Milan Colvin, Rose Hill, SV 3-1.

City League boys tournament

Teams—1. Bishop Carroll 219; 2. North 174; 3. West 143½; 4. Kapaun Mt. Carmel 135; 5. Southeast 89; 6. Northwest 59; 7. South 46; 8. Heights 37; 9. East 2.

106—Damarie Martin, North, pinned Jamal Garrett, West, 1:41; 113—Caden Denton, Carroll, maj. dec. Thomas Shields, North, 9-1; 120—Orlando Watley, North, pinned Natavious Matthews, Southeast, 2:29; 126—Campbell Denton, Carroll, maj. dec. Richard Shields, North, 9-0; 132—Martin Gutierrez, North, pinned Carson Bandy, West, 1:33; 138—Brady Duling, Carroll, pinned Josh Dafforn, Northwest, 0:24; 144—Elijah Means, Carroll, pinned Caphers Orangi, Southeast, 2:41; 150—Brennon Gann, Carroll, dec. Efe Otarighobe, Kapaun, 7-5; 157—Sam Duling, Carroll, pinned Chase Plank, Heights, 1:11; 165—Kaiden McElwain, Carroll, pinned Rashad West, West, 3:34; 175—Adrian Turner, Kapaun, dec. Isaac Arredondo, Carroll, 10-3; 190—Nathan Fury, Kapaun, pinned Mencali En, West, 2:20; 215—Omari Elias, Kapaun, maj. dec. Angel Jeronimo, North, 15-5; 285—Matt Godsey, South, maj. dec. Steven Ramirez, North, 10-1.

City League girls tournament

Teams—1. Kapaun Mt. Carmel 200; 2. North 163; 3. Northwest 110; 4. Heights 94; 5. Southeast 84; 6. West 48; 7. East 34; 8. Bishop Carroll 24; 9. South 0.

100—Jacqueline Salas, West, pinned Samantha Fajardo, North, 4:21; 105—Taylor Barringer, Kapaun, pinned Nevaeh Carter, Northwest, 2:52; 110—Larissa Garcia, North, maj. dec. Alivia Wilson, Southeast, 10-0; 115—Xitaly Meraz, North, maj. dec. TaNayaih Hunt, Southeast, 11-1; 120—Makenzie Buyno, Heights, dec. Haley Somchay, East, SV 6-4; 125—Vy Do, Kapaun, pinned Lilly Fountain, North, 4:28; 130—Diana Urista, North, pinned Mya Owens, Kapaun, 3:38; 135—Aalyra Arguelles, Kapaun, pinned Aileya Sath, Southeast, 2:40; 140—Jayla Johnson, Kapaun, dec. Jaycee Tyler, North, SV 4-2; 145—Elizabeth Foulk, Carroll, pinned Bella Green, Kapaun, 2:55; 155—Chinyereugo Okafor, Kapaun, pinned Kimberly Valdovinos, Northwest, 1:49; 170—Gianna Redcorn, Kapaun, pinned Kyra Cole, Southeast, 4:17; 190—Druzzla Johnson, West, pinned Catherine Burr, Kapaun, 0:46; 235—Aspen Brown, North, dec. Alexandra Adame, Kapaun, 3-1.