School buses from around the region were lined up at the Kimball High School this past week as they transported their schools' Junior High Wrestling Teams to take part in the Kimball Invitational Tournament. I didn't get an actual count on schools or wrestlers who participated, but the Kimball High gymnasium was full of young grapplers vying for top honors, with two mats in use and 3 officials making the calls.
With the strong field of competition, Kimball ended up with four medalists, with all four finishing in second place in their respective weight classes. Coach Klent Schnell commented, "We wrestled a great first round, but the second and third rounds found us making some basic mistakes that cost us wins. We were in many matches that saw us give up points with only a few seconds left in the majority of those matches."
The four young men who medaled for Kimball were Bradley Lee, Scott Hunsaker, Todd Hunsaker, and Steve Bateman. Current records after the Kimball Invite - Bradley Lee 2-1, Connor McGinnis 2-4, Zavyer White 3-3, Scott Hunsaker 5-1, Corey Gardner 0-6, Ethan Ratzlaff 4-2, Todd Hunsaker 2-2, Steve Bateman 5-1.
The Kimball Shorthorns will be back in action today (Thursday) at Hemingford with a 12 noon start time.