Three Greenbacks medal at state

After finishing the season with three state medallists, Pratt High School wrestling coach Tate Thompson was pleased with his team’s performances, but said he expects the Greenbacks to make an even stronger showing next year.

Leading the way in 2010-11 should be Taylor Baird. The 171pound junior went 4-1 at state and finished third.

He won his opener by default, then moved on to the semifinals with a 10-2 major decision over Tonganoxie’s Jermie Maus.

In the semis, Baird ran into undefeated Ethan Mumaw of Jefferson West, and lost 12-5. Mumaw went on to beat the Pratt Regional champion, Benny Armstrong of Andale, in the championship.

Baird pinned Chanute’s Jared McComb and then defeated Chance Davis of Clay Center 3-0 to claim the bronze.

“Taylor had an outstanding tournament and year. His only loss this weekend came to the eventual state champion. No other match was ever in question as he cruised to a third place finish,” Thompson said. “Taylor wrestled confidently and intelligently and made all of us very proud. I look forward to working with Taylor one more year as he wins his first individual state championship next year.”

Older brother Austin went out with a win, edging Colby’s Torey Taylor 3-2 in the fifth-place match at 160 pounds.

Baird also picked up wins over Tyler Henness of Paola, Joseph Wittman of Anderson County, and Cole Cannon of DeSoto. His losses came to eventual state champion John Hambelton of Labette County, and fourth-place finisher Ian Lackey of Smoky Valley.

“Austin finished his senior year well over 100 wins and placed a solid fifth. Austin wrestled very well and a few things here or there and his placing would have been even higher,” Thompson said. “Austin just had a great year. Sometimes I think people forget how hard it is to place at 4A state wrestling. There are no easy matches. I am so proud of how Austin performed this year after missing state altogether last year. I will certainly miss his leadership as well and it is very hard to say goodbye to a senior like Austin.” Pratt sophomore Kasey Crump also earned a medal for his sixth-place finish at 215 pounds.

Crump lost his opener, but won two straight matches to get to the medal rounds.

In the consolation semifinals, he lost to his first-round opponent for the second time in two days, then dropped the fifthplace match to Ottawa’s Jordan Oslidal.

“Kasey Crump wrestled the best he has wrestled all year and he did it at the right time. Every time he needed to, he stepped it up and won some big matches,” Thompson said. “Kasey is just a sophomore and he will continue to grow and improve and he made us all swell with pride watching winning big match after big match. Kasey’s sixth place finish will be improved upon every year until he graduates. I expect big results from Kasey in the future.”

PHS senior Chase Kreutzer came up one win short of collecting a state medal for the second straight year. He opened with a 3-2 win over Circle’s Colter Thoma, then lost to Zack Grimes of Osawatomie.

In the consolation bracket, Kreutzer beat KCSumner’s Darien Willis 8-3, but lost to Scott City’s Luke Hayes in the consolation quarterfinals.

“Chase Kreutzer had a rough bracket and came up short, but I am extremely proud of him and he surely has over 100 wins in his career,” Thompson said. “Chase’s finish from last year also puts him in a very elite group of Pratt wrestlers. As always, it is hard to let a senior like Chase go, but we have to as he moves on with his life.” Pratt junior Steele Flemming went 0-2 at state, but Thompson expects him to do much better next year in a different weight class. “Steele Flemming was in one of the best heavyweight brackets I have seen in a long time. This year, qualifying was a big deal for Steele as he hadn’t wrestled in a few years, but next year he won’t be satisfied with that and he should be wrestling at a weight closer to his own next year as well,” Thompson said. “I look forward to working with Steele next year and I know he is excited to come back and place at state.”

The Greenbacks finished 14th as a team, exactly where they placed at the 2009 state tournament, and Thompson expects to move up those standings in future years.

“We had a very very young team this year and ended up placing 3 wrestlers at state. We will build on the finish from this year and add three or four more wrestlers to the state lineup for next year,” he said. “We have 11 returning varsity wrestlers, 3 of which were one match from state and two state placers. I am very confident that we will only get better.

“You will see more and more underclassmen placing and eventually we will have a state championship squad,” he added. “This year was the first brick and when our house is built, it won’t come down for a long, long time.”

Pratt Individual Results 160 – Austin Baird def. Tyler Henness, Paola, by fall; lost to John Hambelton, Labette Co., by 7-0 decision; def. Joseph Wittman, Anderson Co., by 6-2 decision; def. Cole Cannon, DeSoto, by 6-2 decision; lost to Ian Lackey, Smoky Valley, by 8-4 decision; def. Torey Taylor, Colby, by 32 decision.

171 – Taylor Baird def. Max Hopkins, Anderson Co., by default; def. Jermie Maus, Tonganoxie, by 10-2 major decision; lost to Ethan Mumaw, Jefferson West, by 12-5 decision; def. Jared McComb, Chanute, by fall; def. Chance Davis, Clay Center, by 3-0 decision.

189 – Chase Kreutzer

def. Colter Thoma, Circle, by 3-2 decision; lost to Zack Grimes, Osawatomie, by 9-3 decision; def. Darien Willis, Sumner, by 8-3 decision; lost to Luke Hayes, Scott City, by fall.

215 – Kasey Crump lost to Taylor Kettler, Spring Hill, by 7-3 decision; def. John Hatfield, Prairie View, by 7-2 decision; def. Calvin Erven, Scott City, by 5-2 decision; lost to Taylor Kettler, Spring Hill, by 12-3 major decision; lost to Jordan Oslidal, Ottawa, by fall.

285 – Steele Flemming

lost to Luke Henning, Augusta, by fall; lost to Tyler Ewy, Louisburg, by 5-2 decision.