Long, Evans win titles at Midwest Classic

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Andrew Long was named the meet’s Most Valuable Wrestler and he was joined on the victory stand by teammate Kalab Evans to highlight Creston/O-M’s weekend at the prestigious Toshiba Business Solutions Midwest Classic held Friday and Saturday at the KCI Expo Center. Both Long and Evans went 8-0 in the tournament featuring 24 teams from nine states, all among the top wrestling schools in their states. Omaha Skutt, Class B state champion in Nebraska for 10 years running and ranked 37th nationally this year, topped the field with 602 points. Team eighth Creston/O-M placed eighth with 342.5 points. Ponca City (Okla.), last year’s champion, took second behind Skutt with 514 points. “We did a very good job,” said Creston/O-M coach Darrell Frain. “You get to the late rounds on the second day, and you tend to struggle physically and mentally. But we came away with two champs, and three others in the top eight, and it was a good experience for everybody. From top to bottom it’s tougher competition than any tournament we’ll go to the rest of the year. Hopefully we learned to be more aggressive just from the physical nature of this tournament.” Long and Evans are the first Creston/O-M champions since Willie Harris and Chris Loudon when the Panthers began their annual trek to the Kansas City area at a tournament in Lee’s Summit. This is just the second year of the Panthers’ participation in the invitational at the KCI Expo Center, which drew 33 state champions this year among 142 state qualifiers in a field of more than 325 individual wrestlers. Long was second last year and Evans was third, losing a one-point match to the eventual champion in the semifinals. This year both Panther senior state champions rose to the top. Long dominant Long had three falls, two decisions and two major decisions on his way to the crown at 125 pounds. He defeated three-time Wisconsin state champ Bobby Wunnicke in the finals, 14-2. “Andrew knocked off a nationally-ranked wrestler and beat a three-time state champ in the finals, so it was a great tournament for him,” Frain said. “There was only one match in his pool where he had to scramble. He was down four with less than 20 seconds left. He reversed the kid to his back and ended up winning in overtime.” Long’s close call came against Oklahoma state champion Ian Fisher on a 10-8 decision. Long trailed 7-3 late in the third period, but pulled his reversal into a nearfall in the final 20 seconds. He fought back from a 4-0 deficit of Fisher’s initial takedown into cradle that almost pinned Long. “Andrew fought it off and battled back the rest of the way,” Frain said. Long is ranked fourth in the nation by W.I.N. Magazine and sixth by Amateur Wrestling News. Wunnicke is ranked 14th by W.I.N. Evans rolls Evans was dominant in the 160 division, finishing with four falls, a technical fall, a major decision and two decisions. He topped Nebraska state champion Derek Vogel of Omaha Skutt in the finals, 5-2. Evans’ only close call came in his first bracket match Saturday morning in a 6-5 decision over Josh Sublett of Norman North, Okla. He then won a 12-3 major decision in the semifinals. “There were two or three state champions in Kalab’s weight class and he had a great tournament,” Frain said. “He dominated his pool, and controlled the semifinal and final matches. He’s using a lot of things on top and scoring well. He got more pins this weekend than in a long time.” Other top finishers for the Panthers were Quin Leith, fourth at 130 pounds; Trent Tucker, seventh at 140; and Bret Kautz, eighth at 135. Brody Jay took 11th in a loaded 145 class that included seven state champions, and upper weight seniors Kaleb Livingston (215) and Casey Tanner (285) each placed 12th with several close matches during the two days. Zac Leith was 13th at 119 pounds. Overall, Creston/O-M wrestlers were 53-43 (.552) against the rugged competition with a 37-23 mark during pool matches. “Quin beat a three-time state champ from Kansas in his first match, and lost to two other three-time champs,” Frain said. “His bracket and 125 were probably the toughest weight classes. I know Quin was disappointed, but when you look at that bracket and some of the national rankings, placing fourth is still a good accomplishment.” Tucker 6-2 Tucker was 5-0 in pool matches and ended up 6-2 in the tournament. He lost in quadruple overtime in the consolation semifinals, 8-7, to David Laughlin of Omaha Creighton Prep to miss out on a chance to wrestle for fifth place. “In the first round Trent knocked off the No. 2-seeded kid from Kansas who was nationally ranked,” Frain noted. Kautz, still gaining experience after a long layoff with a broken leg in baseball, was 4-4 with some high-scoring matches. He won two technical falls and two pins, but was 0-3 in bracket matches. “Bret still has a ways to go in coming back and he had some close losses,” Frain said. Sean Eads of Creston/O-M had to forfeit his final two matches at 112 pounds due to a knee injury. Creston/O-M jumps into Hawkeye 10 Conference dual action this week with a trip to Denison Tuesday (6 p.m.) followed by duals against Kuemper and Lewis Central Thursday at Carroll. Creston/O-M Placings 103 — No entry. 112 — Sean Eads, 16th. 119 — Zac Leith, 13th. 125 — Andrew Long, 1st 130 — Quin Leith, 4th. 135 — Bret Kautz, 8th. 140 — Trent Tucker, 7th. 145 — Brody Jay, 11th. 152 — Todd Ramaeker, 23rd. 160 — Kalab Evans, 1st 171 — Jared Bevins, 20th. 189 — No entry. 215 — Kaleb Livingston, 12th. 285 — Casey Tanner, 12th. Toshiba Business Solutions Midwest Classic Results Team Scoring 1. Omaha Skutt Catholic (Neb.) 602; 2. Ponca City (Okla.) 514; 3. Collins Hill (Ga.) 453; 4. Park Hill (Mo.) 442; 5. Ft. Zumwalt West (Mo.) 367; 6. Goddard (Kan.) 366; 7. Farmington (Mo.) 355; 8. Creston (IA) 342.5; 9. Omaha Creighton Prep (Neb.) 341.5; 10. Perry (Okla.) 326.5; 11. Del City (Okla.) 323; 12. Blue Springs (Mo.) 321.5; 13. Norman North (Okla.) 318.5; 14. Kearney (Mo.) 315.5; 15. Platte County (Mo.) 315.5; 16. Oak Grove (Mo.) 291.5; 17. Oak Park-River Forrest (Ill.) 275.5; 18. Dodgeville (Wis.) 267; 19. Hutchinson (Kan.) 236.5; 20. Arkansas City (Kan.) 208; 21. Hayfield (Va.) 207.5; 22. Granite city (Ill.) 205; 23. Park Hill South (Mo.) 187.5; 24. Raymore-Pecliar (Mo.) 175. Most Valuable Wrestler Andrew Long, Creston/O-M (125 pounds). Individual Results 103 Pounds Championship — Zach Cottle, Omaha Skutt (Neb.), major dec. Bricker Dixon, Park Hill (Mo.), 14-0. Creston/O-M — No entry. 112 Pounds Championship — Alan Waters, Park Hill (Mo.), dec. T.J. Mitchell, Collins Hill (Ga.), 1-0. Creston/O-M — Sean Eads, 2-3 pool. Consolation quarter — Logan Rotha (Goddard, Kan.) injury default over Eads (Cr). Consolation semi — Ross Richeson (Platte Co., Mo.) by forfeit over Eads (Cr). 15th place — Doug Richards (Kearney, Mo.) by forfeit over Eads (Cr). 119 Pounds Championship — Lillashawn Coleman, Oak Park-River Forrest (Ill.), dec. Ladd Rupp, Perry (Okla.), 5-3 OT. Creston/O-M — Zac Leith, 2-3 pool. Consolation quarter — Kash Biddle (Arkansas City, Kan.) dec. Z. Leith (Cr), 1-0. Consolation semi — Z. Leith (Cr) pinned Matt Carnazzo (Omaha Creighton Prep), 2:28. 13th place — Z. Leith (Cr) dec. Michael Toon (Blue Springs, Mo.), 3-2. 125 Pounds Championship — Andrew Long (Cr) major dec. Bobby Wunnicke (Dodgeville, Wis.), 14-2. Creston/O-M — Andrew Long 5-0 pool. Quarterfinal — Long (Cr) pinned Matt Dragg (Norman North, Okla.), 1:28. Semifinal — Long (Cr) dec. Bradley Wisdom (Farmington, Mo.), 5-3. First place — Long (Cr) major dec. Bobby Wunnicke (Dodgeville, Wis.), 14-2. 130 Pounds Championship — Colin Pierce, Kearney (Mo.) dec. Kaleb Friedley, Park Hill (Mo.), 8-3. Creston/O-M — Quin Leith 4-1 pool. Quarterfinal — Q. Leith (Cr) dec. Trison Graham (Arkansas City, Kan.), 10-4. Semifinal — Colin Pierce (Kearney, Mo.) major dec. Q. Leith (Cr), 12-3. Third place — Tyler Sackett (Omaha Skutt) pinned Q. Leith (Cr), 3:09. 135 Pounds Championship — Mitchell Means, Goddard (Kan.) pinned Joel Smith, Collins Hill (Ga.), 3:23. Creston/O-M — Bret Kautz 4-1 pool. Quarterfinal — Joel Smith (Collins Hill, Ga.) dec. Kautz (Cr), 10-5. Consolation semi — Mitchell Kennedy (Park Hill, Mo.) dec. Kautz (Cr), 10-8. Seventh place — Archie Lowe (Ponca City, Okla.), dec. Kautz (Cr), 6-3. 140 Pounds Championship — Kenny Wheeler, Ponca City (Okla.) dec. Colby Crank, Hutchinson (Kan.), 5-2. Creston/O-M — Trent Tucker 5-0 pool. Quarterfinal — Colby Crank (Hutchinson, Kan.) dec. Tucker (Cr), 10-8. Consolation semi — David Laughlin (Omaha Creighton Prep) dec. Tucker (Cr), 8-7 OT. Seventh place — Tucker (Cr) by forfeit over Nicholas Hoehn (Farmington, Mo.). 145 Pounds Championship — Joey Wolfrum, Ft. Zumwalt (Mo.) dec. Stephen Swan, Perry (Okla.), 6-1. Creston/O-M — Brody Jay 3-2 pool. Consolation quarter — Jay (Cr) dec. Brock St. Louis (Platte Co., Mo.), 6-2. Consolation semi — Colin Sharpe (Oak Park-River Forest, Ill.) dec. Jay (Cr), 9-5. 11th place — Jay (Cr) dec. Greg Lee (Park Hill, Mo.), 14-10. 152 Pounds Championship — Tyler St. Louis, Platte County (Mo.) dec. Jake Cardenas, Omaha Skutt (Neb.), 3-1. Creston/O-M — Todd Ramaeker 0-5 pool. Consolation quarter — Luke Hill (Omaha Creighton Prep) dec. Ramaeker (Cr), 4-1. Consolation semi — Bryce Maar (Arkansas City, Kan.) dec. Ramaeker (Cr), 4-0. 23rd place match — Ramaeker (Cr) dec. Grant Gould (Park Hill South, Mo.), 10-8. 160 Pounds Championship — Kalab Evans (Cr) dec. Derek Vogel, Omaha Skutt (Neb.), 5-2. Creston/O-M — Kalab Evans 5-0 pool. Quarterfinal — Evans (Cr) dec. Josh Sublett (Norman North, Okla.), 6-5. Semifinal — Evans (Cr) major dec. Collin Wittmeyer (Platte Co., Mo.), 12-3. First place — Evans (Cr) dec. Derek Vogel (Omaha Skutt), 5-2. 171 Pounds Championship — Grant Miller, Dodgeville (Wis.) dec. Scott Elliott, Arkansas City (Kan.), 8-5. Creston/O-M — Jared Bevins 2-3 pool. Consolation quarter — Bevins (Cr) pinned Joel Platter (Goddard, Kan.), 3:33. Consolation semi — Daniel Mills (Hayfield, Va.) dec. Bevins (Cr), 11-10. 19th place — Dakota Sherry (Hutchinson, Kan.) pinned Bevins (Cr), 1:59. 189 Pounds Championship — Romero Cotton, Hutchinson (Kan.) pinned tommy Tuck, Ft. Zumwalt West (Mo.), 1:35. Creston/O-M — No entry. 215 Pounds Championship — Kendall May, Farmington (Mo.) pinned Zack James, Del City (Okla.), 4:40. Creston/O-M — Kaleb Livingston 2-3 pool. Consolation quarter — Livingston (Cr) dec. Spencer Tetik (Perry, Okla.), 3-1. Consolation semi — Billy Foutz (Blue Springs, Mo.) dec. Livingston (Cr), 3-2. 11th place — Will Collins (Collins HIll, Ga.) dec. Livingston (Cr), 3-2. 285 Pounds Championship — David Coffey, Collins Hill (Ga.) pinned Colton Cline, Norman North (Okla.), 1:21. Creston/O-M — Casey Tanner 3-2 pool. Consolation quarter — Tanner (Cr) by forfeit over Stoll Scratch (Oak Grove, Mo.). Consolation semi — Clint Smith (Ponca City, Okla.) dec. Tanner (Cr), 1-0. 11th place — Kurt Watters (Granite City, Ill.) dec. Tanner (Cr), 3-2.