SALINA — Capping his wrestling career at Labette County with another appearance on the podium, Cason Wyrick took fifth place at 157 pounds in the KSHSAA 4A Boys Wrestling Championships in Salina over the weekend.
Cason opened the state tournament with a pin of Christian Erickson of Smoky Valley before he was upset in the quarterfinals by Rose Hill’s Thunder Page.
“He did fine here,” Labette County head coach Scott Mattison said. “He had high aspirations but got upset in the quarterfinals. It was a mental challenge to get his mind where it needed to be, but then he wrestled well. His aspiration was to be a state champion. But I’m proud of him — he’s a threetime state placer.”
Battling back in the consolation bracket, Cason pinned Beau Hall of El Dorado before winning a 7-1 decision over Caleb Menke of Hayden to secure a podium spot.
“I took a couple losses, but I came back and finished,” Cason said. “I think that was a good thing.”
In the consolation semifinals, Pratt’s Blake Winso won a 5-3 decision over Cason.
“When you’re a senior, it’s tough to come back from a tough loss when you’re seeded second,” Mattison said. “I admire his grit and what he did to come back.”
As for the fifth-place match, Cason won a 5-0 decision against Concordia’s Drake Blochlinger.
“I got that first shot on him and I feel like he was done after that,” Wyrick said. “I rode him out and got a reversal. He was just done from there.”
Cason’s little brother, Aaron Wyrick, went 0-2 at state at 144 pounds. Aaron got pinned by Concordia’s Drew Sterrett before losing by technical fall to Winfield’s Quaid Gilliland.
“It was a great thing that he got here,” Mattison said. “We’ve got to work on wrestling against people that are physical with him. He’ll get in the room and work and be as tough as his brother.”
Girls
Both Labette County girls that earned tickets to state won bouts in Salina.
Emma Whittley went 2-2 at 125 pounds. Whittley won her first match, pinning Amalee Sigg of Winfield. In the quarterfinals, Whittley got pinned by Winfield’s Olive Dubois.
In the consolations, Whittley won a technical fall over Rock Creek’s Ali Wilcoxson before getting pinned by Smoky Valley’s Kenzlie Crain.
As for Pyper White at 120 pounds, she got pinned by Joslyn Bartlett of Colby in the first round. White bounced back with a pin over Independence’s Peyton Minick before getting pinned by Clay Center’s Ezri Catlin.
