Four additional members of the Eureka High School wrestling team qualified for the biggest stage of the season after performances last Saturday, Feb. 21 at the KSHSAA Class 3-2-1A Regional A Tournament hosted in Eureka.
Junior Mason Hughes, Sophomore Killian Harrington and freshmen Tate Scott and Maddox Hughes all punched their tickets to state and will join Lady Tornadoes Emma Baumgartel, Maela Neill and Harlie Owings at the state contest in Hays this Friday and Saturday, Feb. 27-28 at the Class 3-2-1A Girls & Boys State Wrestling Tournament at Gross Memorial Coliseum in Hays.
A special send-off is planned for Thursday, Feb. 26, at 11:30 a.m. The community is encouraged to line 7th and Main Streets and wish wrestlers well as they head to Hays.
Scott, at 132 pounds, lead the way. He captured the regional title in dominant fashion. Scott (27-9) opened with a bye before recording back-to-back technical falls and sealing his title run with a fall over at the 3:04 mark. He will face Bentley Sutherland (24-18), of Oberlin-Decatur Community, in the opening round.
At 126 pounds, Mason Hughes (25-12) battled back after a semifinal loss to earn third place. After falling in the quarterfinals, he pinned his next two opponents to place third. He will face Marshall Waters of Easton-Pleasant Ridge in the opening round.
Heavyweight Harrington (15-13) also placed third. After dropping his quarterfinal match, Harrington responded with four straight wins in the consolation bracket. He will face Nick Miller of Ellinwood in the opening round.
At 120 pounds, Maddox Hughes (12-20) fought back through the consolation bracket to claim fourth place. He will face Xzephren Donner of Russell in the opening round.
Maddox Hughes and Scott will make their first state appearances, while Mason Hughes and Harrington will make their second state appearances. Both qualified during their freshmen years.
Also representing Eureka at the Regional tournament was freshmen Christian Sanchez and Charles Granado, sophomore Fisher Hobbs and senior Hunter Olsen.
Following are the individual match results for Eureka participants: 120: Maddox Hughes (12-20) placed 4th. He lost by fall to Silas Good (Caney Valley) 26-9 (Fall 1:11); received a bye; won a 17-0 tech fall over Kadin Wright (Whitewater-Remington) 4-16 (TF-1.5 5:00); and lost by fall to Hayden Rathgeber (Anthony/Harper- Chaparral) 32-7 (Fall 2:03).
126: Mason Hughes (2512) placed 3rd. He won by fall over Bentley Tong (Leon Bluestem) 6-19 (Fall 1:31); lost by fall to Kenneth Romiti (Caney Valley) 18-18 (Fall 4:43); won by fall over Mark Tenebro (Erie) 10-20 (Fall 0:31); and won by fall over Eli Catlin (Garden Plain) 7-14 (Fall 2:32).
132: Tate Scott (27-9) placed 1st. He received a bye; won an 18-1 tech fall over Charlie Williams (Oxford) 10-13 (TF-1.5 3:03); won a 16-0 tech fall over Ryder Whiteside (Leon Bluestem) 27-13 (TF-1.5 3:31 (16-0); and won by fall over Huck Seger (Caney Valley) 16-8 (Fall 3:04).
138: Christian Sanchez (12-15) won by fall over Xavier Haigler (Flinthills) 3-14 (Fall 5:00); lost by fall to Christian Planansky (Anthony/Harper-Chaparral) 31-6 (Fall 2:22); won by fall over Brayden Martinez (Burden-Central) 7-20 (Fall 3:58); won a 12-10 decision over Cooper Prather (Douglass) 4-14; and lost a 7-15 major decision to Kristopher May (Fredonia) 20-12.
150: Fisher Hobbs (916) lost a 2-17 tech fall to Noah Henderson (Caney Valley) 31-14 (TF-1.5 2:23); received a bye; won by fall over Lucas Anderson (Fredonia) 8-19 (Fall 1:55); and lost a 0-17 tech fall to Kegan Kelly (Oxford) 14-14 (TF-1.5 3:28).
190: Charles Granado (1-12) lost by fall to Tanner Allan (Douglass) 1719 (Fall 1:02); received a bye; and lost by fall to Paul John Haen (Jayhawk Linn) 10-15 (Fall 0:23).
215: Hunter Olsen (8-9) lost by fall to Brandon Jones (Anthony/Harper-Chaparral) 26-14 (Fall 0:46); won by fall over Kolten Hansen (Garden Plain) 3-16 (Fall 2:32); and lost by fall to Jaxon Swafford (Flinthills) 27-16 (Fall 0:27).
285: Killian Harrington (15-13) placed 3rd. He received a bye; lost by fall to Cooper Smith (Cherryvale) 30-7 (Fall 1:40); won by fall over Gage Smeeton (Whitewater-Remington) 11-17 (Fall 0:22); won a 4-1 decision in sudden victory 1 over Landon Bomberger (Anthony/Harper-Chaparral) 16-16; won by fall over Colton Babcock (Neodesha) 14-10 (Fall 1:52); and won by fall over Dylan Bailey (Leon Bluestem) 28-9 (Fall 2:27).
How to Watch
The State Wrestling Championships begin at 9 a.m. both days. The event will be broadcast on Smoky Hills PBS, with a rebroadcast of the championship finals on Sunday, March 1, at noon. The event will also be available on FloWrestling (requiring a subscription).
