Freshman Griffin Bergen had a banner day in action at the Southwest Invitational, in Bartley, as the Mustangs 165-pound youngster led a group of five medalists with a gold medal finish, as Sutton finished in a tie for third place in the 22-team meet, Friday, Feb. 2.
Sutton tallied 100 team points to finish tied for third place with Alma, as Red Cloud/Blue Hill earned the team title over Trego, KS, outscoring Trego 116-104.
Bergen ran his season-record to 27-9 with his title run, winning all three of his matches, opening with a 3-0 win over River Eddy of Alma, before advancing to the title bout with a 2:48 pinfall win over Cyrrus Messersmith of Maxwell.
In the championship match, it took overtime to claim gold, but Bergen worked his way to a 9-7 overtime win over Alek Molzahn, a 31-5 wrestler from Alma.
With his title capture, Bergen scored 20 team points.
Sophomore Korey Poppe and freshman Connor Hinrichs both garnered runner-up finishes, Poppe in the 113-pound class, and Hinrichs in the 126-pound class.
For Poppe, his three-round run opened with a 9-0 major decision over Chase Beutler of Hi-Line, followed by a 17-second pinfall win over Konner McCrumb of Wauneta- Palisade to reach the title tilt with Tucker Brandyberry of Alma. Brandyberry claimed a 2:34 pinfall win, as Poppe’s season record moved to 17-9, while scoring 15 team points.
Hinrichs’ run earned him three wins in four matches, opening with three straight victories.
Hinrichs opened with a 1:02 pin over Finn Kerznar of Hi-Line, followed by a 57-second pin over Cowen Anderson of Oberlin, KS.
In the semifinals, Hinrichs advanced to the championship finals with a 10-2 major decision over Dylan Kollmorgen of Hitchcock County, before Mitchell Stritt of Southwest gained a narrow 4-3 win over Hinrichs in the finals.
Hinrichs tallied 21 team points, while running his record to 29-12.
Billy Marshall and Landon Scheidemann returned home with bronze medals to their credit with Marshall running his season record to 29-10, while winning four of five matches to score 20 team points, while Scheidemann improved to 27-8 with three wins in four matches to add 18 team points to the Mustangs total.
Marshall opened with a 58-second pin over Brayden Evans of Bertrand, followed by a 27-second pin over Daylan Fairchild of Rawlings County, KS.
In the semifinals, Marshall fell to Red Cloud/Blue Hill’s Jake Hodson, a 37-3 wrestler by way of a 2:26 pin, but once Marshall hit the consolation bracket, he rolled, pinning Malakai Camacho of the North Platte Senior High reserves in 2:02, before placing third with a 37-second pin over Gabe Grove of Southern Valley.
Scheidemann’s road to the bronze medal finish began with a 1:38 pinfall win over Hayden Lans of Southern Valley, before Aidan Shutts of Hi-Line pinned the Sutton sophomore in 40-seconds to send Scheidemann to the consolation bracket, where he cruised to a pair of pinfall wins, the first over Corbin Carpenter of Arapahoe in 2:12, followed by a 42-second pin over Eli Holle of Rawlings County, KS to place third.
Brian Liberato (175), Lane Shore (120), and Javin Jordan (150) also added to the Mustangs team scoring, with Liberato scoring three points with a 1:39 pinfall win over Haydin Thomsen of Brady.
Shore claimed an 11-0 major decision win over William Rasser of Red Cloud/ Blue Hill, while Jordan gained a 14-7 win over Tommy McFee of Rawlings County, KS.
Team Scores: Red Cloud/Blue Hill 116, Trego, KS 104, Sutton 100, Alma 100, Rawlings County, KS 91, Oberlin, KS 89.5, Hi-Line 83.5, Wichita County, KS 80, Arapahoe 78, Southern Valley 76, Hitchcock County 61, North Platte Sr. High JV 57, Maxwell 50, Southwest 44.5, Cambridge 41, Wauneta-Palisade 20, SandhillsValley 14.5, Bertrand 11, Brady 8, Medicine Valley 6, Dundy County-Stratton 3, Paxton 0.
