Ark Valley News - Hornets open season 2nd in December Pools

Xavier Schechter uses a cradle to get the pin against Brendan Haraburda of Douglass at 195 pounds. Schechter finished third in the tournament.

Hornets open season 2nd in December Pools
By Randy Fisher
Last Updated: December 07, 2017

With the lofty expectations of this year's Valley Center High School wrestling team, getting the season off to a good start was important. The Hornets did just that, finishing second behind two-time defending Class 5A state champion Goddard, in their annual tournament Dec. 2.

“It was a great start to the season," Valley Center coach Tate Lowe said. “Every single kid there got a win today, and that's huge. Even guys who lost matches were still competing. … As far as their effort and attitude all day, it's where it needs to be right now. It's a long way until February with a lot of work to do."

This year's event was changed to a pool format and renamed the December Pools. The change seemed to set well with coaches.

“At the beginning of the year, mat time is really important," Lowe said. “We're all looking for things we need to work on. They all said getting this much mat time and also the time the tournament ended is a good thing."

Valley Center made good use of the day. Seven Hornets advanced to the finals, and three won championships.

Winning their weights were Carter Nold (ranked fifth at 120 pounds), top-ranked Devin Gomez (138) and unranked Tony Caldwell (285). Claiming runner-up finishes were No. 4 Mike Turkali (126), No. 3 Dallas Boone (145), unranked Chase Ramirez (160) and fourth-ranked Tyler Boone (170).

“I think I just went out there and did what I love to do," said Gomez. “There's definitely room for improvement, and I'm always looking to improve. I'm excited to get back out there again."

Nold was happy to win, but thought he should have done better.

“I feel like I definitely could have scored some more points on some of the kids I wrestled," he said. “Overall, a win is a win. But if I keep it close like that, I may run into some trouble at the end of the year. I have to work on my conditioning."

Caldwell, a sophomore, had worked hard during the off-season following a rough freshman year.

“Last year, I made simple mistakes but fixed them today," he said. “I went out and was able to wrestle my matches and just won. I could tell it (off-season) helped a lot with getting my setups and getting my takedowns in."

“It really shows you what an off-season of freestyle and Greco wrestling can do for you." Lowe said of Caldwell. “He dominates positions and moves constantly. He's just a different character on the mat. I'm really, really pleased with the amount of improvement and maturity he showed."

A character of a different sort on the mat who played a key role in Valley's finish was senior Xavier Schechter. Called the X Man by his teammates, Schechter surprised everyone at 195. He went 3-1 and finished third in his first varsity competition.

“Xavier Schechter really stepped up big for us," Lowe said. “He's a go-getter and kind of what we need right now in that spot."

“He's like a dark horse," Gomez said. “I don't think he really cares, he just came out there and did what he had to do and had fun doing it. I'm proud of him."

The top-ranked Lions demonstrated why some consider them the gold standard of 5A wrestling. They easily outdistanced the field in winning by 54 points. Nold said this tournament showed the Hornets where they're at to begin the season.

“Goddard's the team we're going to have to beat at state," he said. “Our saying this year is ‘Take 2018' — we want to win state for 2018. I think we can do it."

Lowe said the tournament provided them with a starting point for what they need to work on.

“Just like any sport, after the first competition you make adjustments and see where we really need to step it up in the practice room," he said. “More than anything, we just had some situations where we need to improve on.

“We didn't lose matches we shouldn't have. In maybe one match, we made a mental error (that cost us the match). Those are things as a coach you want to see now and not in February. Those are things we'll learn from and won't happen again."

Valley Center December Pools

Dec. 2

Team scores

1. Goddard 221.5, 2. Valley Center 167.5, 3. Andover Central 161, 4. Great Bend 132, 5. Wichita Heights 80.5, 6. Douglass 46, 7. Bishop Carroll 41.

Valley Center records

106 — Ben Carver 2-2; 113 — Alyeus Craig 2-2, Jayden Sears 1-4; 120 — Carter Nold 5-0; 126 — Mike Turkali 4-1; 132 — Eli Clouse 2-2, Devin Delforge 2-3; 138 — Devin Gomez 4-0; 145 — Dallas Boone 4-1; 152 — Brantly Loibl 2-3, Quentin Collins 1-4; 160 — Chase Ramirez 2-2; 170 — Tyler Boone 2-1; 182 — Cody Johnson 1-4; 195 — Xavier Schechter 3-1; 220 — Open; 285 — Tony Caldwell 3-0.

Valley Center results

106 — Carver pinned Powell, WH, 3:58; lost 15-0 tech fall to Henschel, GD; won 7-0 decision over Baldwin, GB (third).

113 — Craig pinned Scarboro, UN, 5:11; won 4-2 decision over Dodson, DG; lost 10-7 decision to Glover, GD; lost 16-2 major decision to Dodson, DG (fourth). Sears (unattached) pinned by Glover, GD, 0:58; pinned by Liles, GB, 0:20; pinned by White, WH, 0:29; won by forfeit over Scarboro, UN; pinned by White, WH, 1:16 (sixth).

120 — Nold won by fall Parker, UN, 0:27; won 7-6 decision over Holmes, GD; won 13-2 major decision to Christo, UN; won 8-5 decision over Gottschalk, BC, 8-5; won 3-2 decision over Schooler, GB (first).

126 — Turkali pinned Burkes, GB, 1:48; pinned Pearson, UN, 1:31; won 9-2 decision over Josh Patch, UN; won 3-1 UTB to Fisher, GD; lost 3-1 decision to Jake Patch, AC (second).

132 — Clouse lost 16-0 tech fall Gentzler, AC; pinned Gann, BC, 5:32; pinned Heitkotter, UN, 1:16; lost 8-0 major decision to Weber, GB (fourth). Delforge (unattached) lost 8-0 major decision to Weber, GB; lost 8-5 decision to Salome, UN; pinned by Piri, GD, 1:41; pinned Porter, DG, 2:17; pinned Heitkotter, UN, 2:19 (seventh).

138 — Gomez pinned Campbell, WH, 1:23; pinned Karagianis, DG, 1:20; won 16-5 major decision over Atkins, GD; won 11-6 decision over Page, AC (first).

145 — D. Boone won 14-0 major decision over Morrell, BC; pinned Gilkey, WH, 5:30; won 9-7 decision over Randolph, GB; won 8-2 decision over Mumford, AC; lost 6-4 decision to Craine, GD (second).

152 — Loibl lost 16-9 decision to Fritz, GB; won 7-1 decision over Hamwi, WH; won 7-3 decision over Collins, UN; pinned by Dopps, GD, 1:42; lost 3-2 decision to Sams, AC (fourth). Collins (unattached) pinned by Sams, AC; 4:56; pinned by Dopps, GD, 1:52; lost 7-3 decision to Loibl, VC; pinned by Fritz, GB, 0:41; pinned Hamwi, WH, 5:21 (fifth).

160 — Ramirez pinned Landis, DG, 3:16; lost 17-4 major decision to Lange, GD; won 7-5 decision over Dugan, BC; lost 17-1 tech fall to Lange, GD (second).

170 — T. Boone pinned Witte, GB, 1:12; pinned Bethea, AC, 0:52; pinned by Fisher, GD, 4:43 (second).

182 — Johnson pinned by Meeks, GB, 1:28; pinned by Atkins, UN, 1:22; pinned by Dressler, DG, 2:27; pinned Rodd, AC, 1:22; pinned by Dressler, DG, 1:52 (sixth).

195 — Schechter won 15-13 decision over Ownbey, UN; won 16-1 tech fall over Haraburda, DG; lost 7-2 decision to Wood, AC; won 13-4 major decision over Ownbey, UN (third).

285 — Caldwell pinned Depperschmidt, WH, 2:19; pinned Lutt, GB, 1:56; pinned Skinner, AC, 2:26 (first).