Withrow Wins, Figueroa Second At Sidney Wrestling Meet

“I thought I had a pretty good day,” said Jonathon Withrow after spending the morning and afternoon at Sidney’s Invitational.

It was a bit of an understatement. Kimball’s 145 pound wrestler took first place in his class after pinning Chase County’s Michael May in round two and finishing off yet another unfortunate competitor for the title.

He was one of three Longhorns to place at the varsity level. Javi Figueroa rounded out an adventurous day with silver at 152 and Rowdy Keller took home third in the 106 weight class. Meanwhile Justin Mohr rode two consecutive pins to a runner up spot in junior varsity.

“We wrestled flat in the first round,” observed head coach Wade Brashear at the conclusion of the nine team event. “But we finished strong.”

Indeed, the opening matches saw Keller drop an 8-2 decision to Sterling’s Coby Duncan at 106. In the next class up, Baily Hort of Gering pinned Garrett Ryan. Meanwhile Tatum Morgan lost by technical fall.

“I just lose my temper really fast,” he admitted. “I need to work on that.”

In the 160 division, Tristan Carruthers also struggled, Sidney’s Tanner Wernsman sending him into the consolation bracket.

“I know I need to work on conditioning and do the fundamentals we practice every day,” he reported. “Eventually it should come.”

But as the tournament developed, Kimball’s prospects began to improve. Figueroa dropped Logan Guenzi from Sterling in an awkward position to capture a first round win.

Guenzi landed with one arm pegged behind his back. He left with a dislocated shoulder.

Figueroa followed this up by punishing Bayard 152 pounder Trenton Applegate before falling short in the finale.

“It’s going pretty well,” he said, summing up the early season. “I thought I was going to lose a couple today. I guess it was my day.”

Keller continues to build a respectable season. “I wasn’t awake for my first match,” he admitted. “My overall technique needs to get better, but we’re going strong as a team.”

Withrow improved to 11-1 with his gold. He heads into the conference tournament at a new weight, 138.

“Jon’s put in a lot of work,” Brashear pointed out. “He’s turned out to be a tough wrestler.”

With Keller placing consistently, Figueroa emerging as a consistent threat and Mohr on the verge of breaking through, the Longhorns appear poised for conference success if one or two others hit their conditioning targets.

“We are going to be more competitive,” Brashear promised. “I’m proud of the effort and attitude.”