Observations all along the line - Kimball & the Southern Panhandle First
Observations all along the line - Kimball & the Southern Panhandle First
Clay Keller looks to pin an opponent during the Banner County Tournament held earlier this season. Keller won the 126 pound weight class at the Garden County Tournament held last Saturday.
Kimball's Logan Stahla, left, takes on an opponent at the Banner County Tournament held earlier this season. He had a win at the WTC Tournament last week.
The Kimball High Wrestling Team did not have one of their better performances at the Western Trails Conference Tournament held this past Thursday at Hemingford with only senior Rowdy Keller bringing home a place for the Horns, but they came back stronger on Saturday at the Garden County Tournament.
Kimball finished in the bottom spot of the team standings at the WTC Tourney with 43 team points. Bayard won the team championship with 206 points edging out Mitchell with 203. Bridgeport had 171, Gordon-Rushville 159, Hemingford 96, and Morrill 90.
Commenting on the tournament coach Wade Brashear said "There were several factors that lead to a poor performance at WTC conference on Thursday. We were battling injuries and wrestlers not making weight after the holiday break. Wrestling is a very mental sport, and we were not prepared mentally for our first tournament in the second half of the season. Rowdy Keller was our lone placer, with 4th, at 120. Although Keller placed, he did not wrestle to his ability. We learned from our mistakes and looked forward to the next competition. You have to have a short memory, move forward and look to redeem yourself."
Keller ended up 2-3 on the day winning two matches by fall. Justin Mohr at 132 actually ended up with 3 wins and 2 losses. Logan Stahla at 138 was 1 and 4 and Eric Escajeda at 285 was 2 and 3.
A total of 20 schools competed in the Garden County Tournament won by Sedgwick County with 191.5 points. Kimball finished in the middle of the pack in l0th place with 55 points and they had three wrestlers place with freshman Clay Keller, who failed to make weight at WTC, crowned champion at 126 pounds. Keller won all three of his matches starting with a fall in 1:14 over Mader of Crawford, winning 10-5 over Elfeldt of Sutherland, and winning 6-4 over Graham of Sedgwick County. Rowdy Keller finished 2nd at 120 pounds registering 2 falls falls and a decision before losing 7-2 to Mann of Sedgwick County in the title match. Justin Mohr at 132 was 3 and 2 on the day with all three of his wins by fall and captured 4th place. Garrett Pedersen, Logan Stahla, and Eric Escajeda all finished at 0-2.
Coach Brashear said the Garden County Tournament allowed his wrestlers to redeem themselves on the mat. "Our performance compared to conference was like night and day. We ended with three placers and our other wrestlers wrestled well also. We wrestled several of the same opponents we faced at conference but our outcomes were very different. This type of turn around goes to show that often the wrestler who shows up that day, will dictate the quality of performance. We look to build on our approach to this tournament and continue to improve," he said.
Kimball will entertain you fans on the home mats tonight (Thursday, Jan. 15) as they host a triangular with Southeast and Lingle, a pair of Wyoming schools. Start time will be 5 p.m.
