Ark Valley News - Boone second, Turkali sixth

Don Boone wrestles Kendall Frame of Goddard in the 145-pound championship match Feb. 28. Boone, a sophomore, lost the match and placed second, his first state medal.

Boone second, Turkali sixth
By Randy Fisher and Chris Strunk
Last Updated: March 05, 2015

At the regional wrestling tournament, Valley Center's top two state qualifiers were Don Boone and Michael Turkali, each of whom placed second. The same two were the Hornets' only medalists at the Class 5A state tournament, held last weekend at Hartman Arena.

The sophomore Boone had the highest finish with second place. Turkali, a freshman, placed sixth. It was the first state medal for each.

"I went out there and gave it my all," Boone said of finishing second.

At 145 pounds, the unranked Boone won three straight matches Feb. 27, two against ranked competitors, to get into the Feb. 28 finals.

"Donnie pretty much willed it to happen," Valley Center coach Brian Shelton said of Boone's Feb. 27 matches. "He hasn't felt good. He didn't look good at times, but he never made any catastrophic errors.

"I think he just wanted it more than those other guys. I think he beat some kids who were probably better wrestlers, but they weren't better today (Feb. 27)."

Boone ran into a familiar foe in the championship match. He fell behind 5-2 before Kendall Frame of Goddard pinned him with 57 seconds left in the third period. The No. 2-ranked Frame (34-4) is a two-time state medalist who defeated Boone in a 7-5 decision earlier this season.

"Donnie had a great weekend," Shelton said. "He wrestled absolutely unbelievable (Feb. 27). He made one mistake today."

Boone defeated Bryson Nuckles of Ark City with a 10-3 major decision in the first round. Boone and Nuckles split two matches during the regular season.

In the quarterfinals, Boone won a gutsy 6-5 tiebreaker against fifth-ranked Hayden Keopke of Mill Valley. Trailing 4-1 early in the third period, Boone reversed and got a takedown to go up 5-4. Keopke escaped to tie the match 5-all, which is how regulation ended. Boone escaped in the first overtime and kept Keopke on the bottom during the second for the win.

Boone won a 7-3 decision over third-ranked senior Joel Sponsel of Bishop Carroll in the championship semifinals.

"I'm just trying to improve every year," Boone said. "I'm just going to try to practice as much as possible and get better. Hopefully, I'll improve next year."

Boone qualified for the state tournament last season but didn't win a match.

"That experience (last year) really helped him," Shelton said. "When he was in those close matches and things weren't going his way, he was able to build off that and not fold, not quit and basically outwork the other guys."

Boone finished this season with a 40-13 record.

"If we stay on the same trajectory, Donnie has a good future, but so do a whole bunch of kids we brought here," Shelton said.

One of those other kids with a good future is Turkali. He placed sixth at 113 pounds and finished the season with 30 wins and nine losses.

"It feels amazing to place (against) such a high level of competition," Turkali said. "It's a really great feeling."

Turkali won his opening match 9-3 over Zach Campbell of Topeka West. A 9-2 loss to No. 4 Adam Ayala of Kapaun Mt. Carmel dropped him into the consolation bracket.

Turkali won a pair of 8-1 decisions to guarantee a state medal. He lost 12-2 in the consolation semifinals to Mason Turner of KC Schlagle, who placed third and won 44 matches.

In the fifth-place match, sixth-ranked Gunnar Gentzler of Andover Central won 4-0.

"He's a hard worker and there's no mystery on how you get better at wrestling," Shelton said. "You have consistent improvements on a daily basis."

Junior Ryan Delforge lost a 6-5 heartbreaker in the 126-pound consolation quarterfinals to end his junior season with a 35-15 record, one win away from a medal.

The sixth-ranked Delforge was on the wrong end of a controversial near fall in the second period against No. 4 Keaton Sander of Great Bend. The referee ruled a takedown but didn't signal it, and Delforge exposed his back and gave up two additional points.

Delforge scored a reverse late in the second and got three points in the third period, but couldn't overcome the seven-point swing.

"He's a leader of our team … and I know it hurt him a lot worse to lose that match than it did me, and hopefully it's a fire that burns and he gets better," Shelton said.

Delforge opened the tournament with a 7-1 decision over Colin McLaughlin of Blue Valley Southwest. He was sent to the consolation bracket with a 7-5 loss to Seaman's Khamin Crow. Delforge pinned Noah Schnick of Blue Valley West to set up the match with Sander.

The only other Hornet to win in the first round was junior Nick Romig, who pinned his 120-pound first-round opponent. He was pinned in the quarterfinals by unbeaten and top-ranked Paul Stuart of Andover. Stuart went on to win the tournament. In the consolation first round, Romig lost an 11-3 major decision to Jett Bendure of Mill Valley. Romig ended his season 30-12.

Freshman Carter Nold (106), junior Seth Dillman (132), freshman Tyler Boone (138), sophomore Sam Weldon (160) and senior Caleb Karlowski (182) all lost in the first round.

Dillman and Karlowski each advanced from the consolation first round. They both lost in the consolation cross-bracketing round to end their seasons. Dillman was 20-22 and Karlowski was 24-10.

Losing in the consolation first round to end their seasons were Nold (17-27), Tyler Boone (21-26) and Weldon (29-18).

Shelton saw a lot of positives from the Hornets.

"I guess you can look at it two ways," he said. "We brought nine and only one is a senior, so that means we have a lot of experience coming back. The future is bright. …

"Our guys wrestled every second of every match. We didn't win them all, but you're not going to win them all in life. You tip your hat, shake his hand and say ‘Hey, better luck next time.'"

Valley Center results

Opening round

106 — Dylan Gowin, Mill Valley, maj. dec. Carter Nold, 11-0; 113 — Michael Turkali dec. Zach Campbell, Topeka West, 9-3; 120 — Nick Romig pinned Chase Reynolds, Shawnee Heights, 4:56; 126 — Ryan Delforge dec. Colin McLaughlin, Blue Valley Southwest, 7-1; 132 — Garrett Lange, Goddard, pinned Seth Dillman, 1:25; 138 — Kameron Frame, Goddard, tech fall Tyler Boone, 15-0; 145 — Don Boone dec. Bryson Nuckles, Ark City, 10-3; 160 — Daniel Butler, Leavenworth, dec. Sam Weldon, 9-4; 182 — Dylan Prince, Pittsburg, dec. Caleb Karlowski, 5-0.

Championship quarterfinals

113 — Adam Ayala, Kapaun, dec. Turkali, 9-2; 120 — Paul Stuart, Andover, pinned Romig, 1:40; 126 — Khamin Crow, Seaman, dec. Delforge, 7-5; 145 — D. Boone dec. Hayden Keopke, Mill Valley, 6-5 TB-1.

Championship semifinals

145 — D. Boone dec. Joel Sponsel, Bishop Carroll, 7-3.

Championship finals

145 — Kendall Frame, Goddard, pinned D. Boone, 5:03.

Consolation first round

106 — Teague Rickel, Lansing, dec. Nold, 6-0; 132 — Dillman dec. Justin Louie Andrews, KC Schlagle, 10-5; 138 — Ruben Yanez, KC Turner, dec. T. Boone, 8-1; 160 — Nathan Anderson, Mill Valley, dec. Weldon, 5-2; 182 — Karlowski win by injury default over Mason Madzey, Eisenhower.

Consolation cross-bracketing

113 — Turkali dec. Drew Ernsdorff, St. James, 8-1; 120 — Jett Bendure, Mill Valley, maj. dec. Romig, 11-3; 126 — Delforge pinned Noah Schnick, Blue Valley West, 1:45; 132 -- Conor Murphy, Bishop Carroll, dec. Dillman, 3-1; 182 — Kyle True, Salina Central, tech fall Karlowski 15-0.

Consolation quarterfinals

113 -- Turkali dec. Isaac Williams, Emporia, 8-1; 126 — Keaton Sander, Great Bend, dec. Delforge, 6-5.

Consolation semifinals

113 — Mason Turner, KC Schlagle, maj. dec. Turkali, 12-2.

Fifth-place match

113 — Gunnar Gentzler, Andover Central, dec. Turkali, 4-0.