Kimball wrestlers compete at WTC and Garden County Invite

The Kimball High wrestlers were busy this past weekend competing at the Western Trails Conference Meet in Mitchell and then the Garden County Invite on Saturday. This Saturday they will be off to the Chase County Tournament.

The Longhorns finished fifth in the team standings at the WTC Tourney, won by Bridgeport with 200 points. Mitchell was runner-up with 161 followed by Gordon-Rushville with 122, Hemingford 103, Kimball 82.5, Bayard 77 and Morrill 75.5.

Kimball was led by Jordan Cluff and Eric Escajeda, at 108 and 285 respectively, with both taking second place honors. Trevor Ryschon at 120 and Logan Stahla at 138 both finished fourth in the individual standings.

Cluff pinned his first three opponents before losing by technical fall in the championship match. Escajeda ended up 2 and 2 on the day with both losses to Payne of Hemingford. Ryschon was two and three on the day and Stahla 1 and 3.

Garrett Pedersen at 126 went 0-4, Jaden Mohr at 132 was 1-4, Isaak Glanz at 170 was 2-3 and Stephen Bateman at 182 was 1-2.

Coach Wade Brashear said, "We had a solid outing at the 2017 WTC Tournament. Our conference is a tough tournament although there are only nine teams. We were led by two finalists in Jordan Cluff at 106 and Eric Escajeda at 285 with both ending up with runner-up finishes. We also had two fourth place finishes in Trevor Ryschon and Logan Stahla. Both of these young men will end up with third place finishes as Sidney placers do not qualify for conference awards. Overall, we wrestled very well, but still have a great deal of work to do to catch up with the likes of Bridgeport and Mitchell."

At the Garden County Tournament, on Saturday, Bridgeport again came out on top in the team standings with 180 points. Kimball wound up seventh in the 17 school field of entries with 67 points. Coach Brashear commented, "Logan Stahla wrestled to a runner-up finish in the 138 pound bracket. Eric Escajeda at 285 ended up third, losing only one match to Hemingford's Cade Payne. Trevor Ryschon added a fourth place medal, losing 4-2 in the consolation finals at 120. As a team we lost several 'heart break' consolation matches that could have given us several more placers. We need to win these semi-final and consolation semi-final matches. Our wrestling was, by far, the best we have shown this year."

Cluff, at 106, was 1-2 on the day. Ryschon went 3-2. Pedersen, at 126, was 1-2. Mohr, at 132, was 2-2. Stahla wound up 2-1. Glanz, at 170, was 2-2. Bateman, at 182, was 0-2. Escajeda, at 285, was 4-1 on the day.

Wrestling Saturday at Chase County is set to begin at 9 a.m.