Graham exits in style

He did it. Arkansas City senior Trison Graham won his fourth straight Class 5A state wrestling title today in Hutchinson. He defeated Valley Center's Seth Mertins by an 8-3 decision. In doing so, Graham becomes just the third Ark City wrestler in program history to win four straight titles, joining Justin Ware (1989-92) and Devin Bahm (1993-96).

Class 5A sub-state basketball brackets released

As expected, the Arkansas City boys will host Valley Center at 7 p.m. Wednesday in the first round of the Class 5A playoffs. The Ark City girls play at Kapaun Mt. Carmel at 7 p.m. Thursday. The winner of the Ark City-Valley Center game will face the Emporia-Wichita West winner in next Friday's sub-state championship game at Bishop Carroll. The winner of the Ark City-Kapaun Mt. Carmel game will face the Emporia-Topeka West winner in next Saturday's sub-state championship game at Bishop Carroll.

bonus points galore

The bonus points just keep coming and coming for Arkansas City. Clint Bruce earned a 12-4 major decision over Bishop Carroll's Tanner Cody in the third round of the 189-pound consolation bracket in the Class 5A state wrestling tournament in Hutchinson. Bruce scored a takedown with 14 seconds remaining for the eight-point diffential. Overall, the Bulldogs have earned bonus points in 14 of 22 matches.
Seven Ark City wrestlers are still alive in the tournament.

Graham one win away

Trison Graham takes things one match at a time. He can now start focusing his attention on tomorrow's 130-pound state championship match against Valley Center's Seth Mertins. Graham earned an 11-2 decision over Bishop Carroll's Jake Mainz in the semifinals.

correction

The championship semifinals are today, not Saturday as previously stated.

Elliott lets up...just for a moment

For a moment, there was a reason for concern. Scott Elliott allowed Hutchinson's Dakota Sherry to score a quick takedown for a 2-0 lead. Elliott, a two-time state champion who entered the tournament with only one loss, has rarely trailed in a match this season. Worried? Only briefly. Elliott earned an escape and pinned Sherry with 19 seconds remaining in the first period.
Cameron Riojas, Garrett Jones, Kash Biddle, Aaron Hoag and Trison Graham also advanced to tomorrow's semifinals.

Riojas scores upset

Their records entering the Class 5A state tournament should've been reversed. Cameron Riojas (11-7) dominated top-ranked Gardner-Edgerton's Greg Curtis (34-3) in their 160-pound first-round match. Riojas pinned Curtis with three seconds remaining in the second period.
Scott Elliott (171 pounds) and Clint Bruce (189) also dominated their first-round match-ups. Elliott pinned Shawnee Heights' Cody Mason with 52 seconds remaining in the second perido, while Bruce earned an 18-1 technical fall over Gardner-Edgerton's Kyle Pacheo. Bruce will face three-time state champion Romero Cotton of Hutchinson in the second round.
Ark City won seven of eight matches in the first round.