Web posted
Monday, February 25, 2008
Graham, Elliott win state titles
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Photo by Mike Beauchamp
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By DAVID WOLMAN
Traveler Sports Editor
sports@arkcity.net
HUTCHINSON -- Before the season, Arkansas City senior Scott Elliott set a goal to record 30 pins. He fell just one short.
But that's only a minor complaint.
Elliott capped off a dominating season -- and career -- by winning his third state title on Saturday at the Class 5A state wrestling tournament at the Salthawk Activity Center.
He rolled to a 9-2 decision over Pittsburg's Tyler Koehn to win the 171-pound title.
Entering the tournament, Elliott needed to record four pins to reach the goal he set for himself. It certainly appeared that he was on course to do that, as he pinned each of his first three opponents in less than four minutes.
In the final, Koehn attempted to score a couple of early takedowns, only to have them blocked by Elliott.
By the time the third period rolled around, Elliott was in control. He sandwiched two takedowns around an escape by Koehn for the final outcome.
"I was really wanting the pin, but a win is all I need for the title," Elliott said.
Elliott didn't mind conceding the pin, considering what happened last season. He lost a defensive-minded 2-1 decision in the 189-pound state final to Hutchinson's Ben Hutchinson. It was only Elliott's second loss of the 2006-07 season -- and the timing couldn't have been worse. The Bulldog senior made sure that history didn't repeat itself.
"I came in here and knew that it was a possibility," Elliott said. "I just had to do everything to prepare myself and get ready to go."
He certainly was.
Elliott finished his career with a glistening 146-3 record, including a combined 71-0 his freshman and sophomore seasons at Augusta, where he won back-to-back Class 4A state titles.
Trison Graham, meanwhile, etched his name into the record book -- a place where only 23 wrestlers in Kansas history have reached.
Graham provided the perfect ending to a storied career, defeating Valley Center's Seth Mertins by an 8-3 decision in the 130-pound title to win his fourth straight state title.
For a moment, it appeared that Graham's quest would be shattered. With just 15 seconds remaining in the third period, Mertins applied a chokehold and flipped Graham onto his back. Mertins appeared inches away from scoring at least a near fall, but the referee ruled that Mertins was never in control when he attempted to apply the move.
The final seconds then melted away and Graham walked away victorious in his final career high school match.
The usually calm and collected Graham couldn't help but exult in victory, jumping up and double-clutching his right fist in the air.
Who could blame him?
Graham became only the third Ark City wrestler in program history to win four straight state titles, joining Devin Bahm (1993-96) and Justin Ware (1989-92).
"I haven't quite comprehended it yet," Graham said of winning four straight state titles.
He said that feeling wouldn't set in "until I get back to Ark City, probably."
Graham has defeated Mertins in the state tournament each of the last three seasons. Graham finished his career with an astounding 114-29 record.
Ark City coach Shawn Silvis couldn't have been happier to see Graham and Elliott end their careers on top. Even more, to see a load of pressure taken off them.
"That's a lot of pressure for both of those kids," Silvis said. "For a kid like Trison to go four times and do the unthinkable is tough...Scott, he's wrestling a kid that's going to a Division I school (Nebraska). A kid that's been ranked in the nation and been a stud. And Scott just beat him up. Scott beat him up on the biggest stage. For both of those kids (Elliott and Graham) to end on that type of note solidifies what they've done."
Hutchinson's Romero Cotton also won his fourth straight title on Saturday, defeating Emporia's Mark Kolmer by a 19-7 major decision to win the 189-pound title. Cotton finished the season with an unblemished 41-0 record.
Overall, seven of eight Ark City wrestlers placed.
Garrett Jones was the runner-up at 112 pounds, Aaron Hoag (125) and Cameron Riojas (160) both finished third in their respective weight class, Kash Biddle (112) fourth and Clint Bruce (189) fifth.
Jones didn't even compete in last season's state tournament, falling one win short at regionals. But with an extensive training regimen, the hard work he put forth in the offseason paid off as he qualified as one of the top seeds at this year's tournament.
Jones won his first two matches and held an early 2-0 lead in the final after swiveling behind Gardner-Edgerton's Tyler Stokes for a takedown. But Stokes scored eight of the match's last 10 points en route to an 8-4 decision over Jones.
Even for someone who advanced all the way to the state final in their first attempt, Jones didn't come that far to lose.
"Last year, when Garrett got beat out at regionals, he was mad," Silvis said. "...This year, he knew that he was good enough to make it to the final. He wrestled a kid that scored all of his points with one move in the first period. When (Jones) was done, we sat down and he was mad. He was upset, the same thing like he was last year."
Still, the experience Jones gained at the state tournament serves a building block for the Bulldog sophomore.
"Now he knows that, 'I can be the best,' " Silvis said. "'I proved to myself that can do it.' He's not going to sit around...He's going to go home and think that 'it's not going to happen to me again.'"
Ark City finished second in the team standings with 137.5 points. For a team that qualified only eight wrestlers for state, Silvis couldn't have been more happy to see his team take home the runner-up trophy.
"I'm very, very pleased out of all the guys," Silvis said. "I finally got what I wanted out of all of them."
A big reason why Ark City took home second place was its ability to score bonus points. The Bulldogs earned bonus points in 16 of 35 matches.
"We brought eight guys and eight guys won and scored points and seven placed," Silvis said. "We got bonus (points) out of every guy that placed at this tournament...We walked away with second because of the extra emphasis we put into winning matches."
Bishop Carroll won the team title with a staggering 184.5 points.
Ark City results (Saturday):
112 (Garrett Jones): Stokes, Gardner-Edgerton, def. Jones, 8-4. Second.
119 (Kash Biddle): Biddle pinned Rosales, Bishop Miege, 4:42. Rose, Emporia, def. Biddle, 5-2. Fourth.
125 (Aaron Hoag): Hoag MajDec Hess, Gardner-Edgerton, 13-4. Hoag def. McCarthy, St. Thomas Aquinas, 3-0. Third.
130 (Trison Graham): Graham def. Mertins, Valley Center, 8-3. Champion.
140 (Michael Martin): Ahlstedt, Newton, def. Martin, 10-5.
160 (Cameron Riojas): Riojas MajDec Curtis, Gardner-Edgerton, 13-2. Riojas def. Truman, Kapaun Mt. Carmel, 4-3. Third.
171 (Scott Elliott): Elliott def. Koehn, Pittsburg, 9-2. Champion.
189 (Clint Bruce): Bruce pinned Cenzer, Shawnee Heights, 3:58. Bruce MajDec Cody, 12-4. Davis, Liberal, def. Bruce, 3-1. Bruce def. Elsen, Great Bend, 6-3. Fifth.
Above: Arkansas City sophomore Garrett Jones lifts Mill Valley wrestler Trevor Boyer in the second round of the Class 5A tournament on Friday in Hutchinson. Jones was the runner-up at 112 pounds.
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