Jim Ramirez As predicted, following the results of the eight District Tournaments just concluded state-wide, Class 4A is gearing up to be a battle of the numbers game to see how many teams can continue their quest with qualifying as many of their wrestlers as possible to keep even par with one another in this weeks Regional Tournament.
The strength and parity of the Districts, with the Top Ten Ranked teams in Class 4A that were so evenly spread out throughout the state, made it possible to see 22 teams advancing 9 or more wrestlers to the next round of Regionals. This is welcomed news for Class 4A including teams, coaches and fans that’ll keep everyone on the edge of their seats in anticipation of what’s next.
Leading the way with the most qualifiers are Ottawa in District #6 and Holton in District #5. Most interesting is that Ottawa is unranked but simply dominated District #6 by putting 8 in the Finals and crowning 5 champions. They too, went undefeated in duals this past season along with winning a couple of tournaments, So in essence, the Ottawa Cyclones could be the dark horse in the race as they certainly have potential and proven themselves worthy of a Top Ten finish at State.
Holton, in District #5 is another unranked team as well, but nevertheless qualified its entire team by putting twelve in the Finals but only crowning two champions and finished second in their district tournament to Tonganoxie. Tonganoxie ranked #4 in Class 4A showed its muscle strength by winning eight championship matches out of ten that was by far the most champions crowned in all District Tournaments state-wide while qualifying 13 wrestlers for the Regionals.
In District #3 Augusta qualified 13 wrestlers enough to make them a contender for this coming weeks regional title along with Mulvane and Rose Hill qualifying 10 and 9 each.
Next in line with 12 wrestlers qualifying for regionals is Chanute #2 ranked in state with winning District #8 and qualifying 12 wrestlers along winning six championships and three runner-ups. They will be joined by Frontenac and Independence from their district that qualified 10 and 9 district placers.
Andale, the Number #1 ranked team in Class 4A, advanced 11 to this weeks regional tournament with placing 10 in the Finals and winning 7 titles in District #2. Pratt likewise competed in District #2 and will be sending 11 to the next round.
Out West in District #1. Colby #3 ranked, managed to put eight to the finals and won five championship matches including 10 qualifiers, putting themselves in a manageable position to do battle with Andale and Pratt in this weeks Regionals. Meanwhile Scott County, Ulysses and Goodland will be sending 11, 10 and 9 wrestlers to help represent District #1 as well.
In District #4, Clay Center unranked, qualified nine wrestlers to the next tournament round with putting seven in the finals and capturing four championship titles. It’ll be interesting to see if Clay Center can keep their momentum up (which they’re capable of) to battle with other district foes (Abilene and Concordia who qualified 8 each) along with throwing in three more ranked teams (Augusta #6, Mulvane #9 and Rose Hill #5) into the mix to this coming weeks regional tournament.
District #7 found Fort Scott ranked #8 winning this district with three champions and four runner-ups that included two third place finishes to qualify 9 for regionals. Not far behind was Burlington qualifying 11 with three champions, Paola 10 qualifiers with two champions, and LaCygne-Prairie View 9 qualifiers with two champions.
All in all, it’s good to see in this weeks regional tournaments, a perfectly balanced field of twenty-two teams with nine or more qualifiers set to battle one another to determine mat supremacy in Class 4A. It’s a delicious appetizer that our sport of wrestling needs to keep fans craving for more.
