The Sabetha Bluejay boys’ wrestling squad played host to one of the four KSHSAA Class 3-2-1A Regional Wrestling Tournaments on Saturday, Feb. 18. It has been several years since the Jays have been able to host the tournament, and they took advantage of the tremendous opportunity and showcased their talents in front of the large contingency of hometown fans.

The Jays came into the tournament as the second-ranked team in Class 3-2-1A in the state, trailing only behind perennial powerhouse Hoxie. The Jays made wrestling history for the program by qualifying — for the first time — 12 grapplers to wrestle on Friday, Feb. 24, and Saturday, Feb. 25, at the KSHSAA Class 3-2-1A State Wrestling Tournament to be held in Hays.

There were 24 teams represented at the tournament Saturday, and the Jay grapplers ran away with the team title by scoring 259 points. ACCHS finished a distant second with 212 points followed by Nemaha Central with 141.5 points, Silver Lake with 105 points and Rossville with 90 points. The Jays placed 10 wrestlers in the championship finals on Saturday night and when the spotlight was turned off after the last bout, there were six champions crowned in front of the hometown fans.

“This is what I expected from this great bunch of competitors,” said Head Coach Ricky Creek. “I am not at all surprised by what took place here today. This was our goal from day one of practice, and these guys worked hard and progressed throughout the season to get to this point. They expected this of themselves, I only nudged them in the right direction and they made it happen.”

Creek was rewarded for his team’s effort by being named the coach of the tournament by his peers.

“I hope our fans and everybody that is involved with the program realize how fortunate we are to have Ricky here coaching these guys,” said Assistant Head Coach Trevin Edelman. “He is much more than a coach to these guys and to me – he is shaping young men’s lives for down the road. There is a lot more to wrestling than just going out on the mat.”

The Jays captured six first-place finishes, four second-place finishes, and a third- and fourth-place finish from the 12 qualifiers for the state tournament. Two seniors captured gold medals in dominating fashion in their final appearance on the mat at Sabetha. Senior 157-pound Jonathan Renyer — the number two ranked wrestler in Class 3-2-1A — picked up three wins on his way to the title despite battling a nagging shoulder injury that has limited his participation all year. What made the title even sweeter was the fact that his win in the finals was his 100th career victory.

“Getting the 100th win tonight here on our home mat in front of our fans was a dream come true for me,” J. Renyer said. “Never in my wildest imagination did I think that four years ago when I started this that it would end like this.”

Senior 175-pound Josh Herrmann — the second-ranked wrestler in his weight class in the state — also claimed a gold medal in dominating fashion as he picked up three wins on his way to the top of the podium. Herrmann got a late start on the season because of a leg injury sustained during football and did not see any action until the second semester began.

“I felt like my match in the finals may have been my best match that I have wrestled this year,” Herrmann said. “I wrestled that kid a couple of weeks ago and came from behind to win, but tonight in the finals, it just all came together.”

Junior 132-pound Cullen Wikle got the first of three bouts in a row that won championships with his close-fought 5-2 win over Max Bottorf of ACCHS. Juniors 138-pound Colin Menold and 144-pound Cole Hinton grabbed gold, with Menold pinning Austin Smith early in the first period and Hinton in one of the most exciting bouts of the night defeating Tug Wilson of St. Marys, the fifth-ranked wrestler in the state, in overtime. Hinton’s win was particularly sweet because Wilson defeated Hinton a year ago to end his season at regionals. Menold and Hinton came into the tournament ranked second and sixth, respectively.

Junior 285-pound Josh Grimm capped off the tournament with a dramatic finish in his championship bout. Grimm, the second-ranked wrestler in the state, battled Josh Carver of Rossville, the sixth-ranked heavyweight in the state, to a come-from-behind win in the final seconds to decision Carver 3-2 to capture the title, much to the delight of the home crowd. That victory gave the Jays their sixth champion for the tournament.

Sophomore 106-pound Caleb Renyer, sophomore 113-pound Dennis Mortorff, and seniors 150-pound Kellan Spielman, the fifth-ranked wrestler in the state, and 190-pound Jacob Kuenzi fell just short in the finals and grabbed second place finishes for the team.  Juniors 126-pound Zach Kibbe and 215-pound Dalton Rokey rounded out the placers and qualifiers for state for the Jays as Kibbe grabbed third and Rokey finished fourth.

“We will get back to business on Monday at practice and we will go hard,” Coach Creek said. “These kids are hungry to get back to state. They were not happy with how last year turned out and they know nobody remembers who won regionals, but everyone remembers what takes place at state.”

The KSHSAA Class 3-2-1A State Wrestling Tournament begins at 10 a.m. on Friday, Feb. 24, and will continue at 9 a.m. on Saturday, Feb. 25, in Hays.