Indian Wrestlers Compete At Colby Dual Tournament
The St. Francis Indian wrestling team participated in the Eagle Invitational Dual Tournament in Colby, Kansas. The tournament began on Friday, December 9, and continued on Saturday, December 10th. Eighteen teams competed in the tournament including: Colby, Concordia, Decatur Community, Eagle Crest, Garden City, Goodland, Hays, Hoxie, Hutchinson, Legend, Liberal, Phillipsburg, Oakley, Pine Creek, St. Francis, Scott City, Valley Center, and Wray.
The tournament was divided into three pools of six teams each for Friday's competition. Wrestling was held at three different locations including the Colby Community Building, Colby High School, and Colby Elementary School. Teams were placed on the finals bracket for Saturday's competition as determined by the pool results. St. Francis competed in Pool B along with Hays, Hoxie, Goodland, Phillipsburg, and Pine Creek during Friday's pool round at the Colby Community Building.
The Indians faced Pine Creek, the eventual tournament champion, in their first dual of the tourney. St. Francis lost to Pine Creek 12-63. Zach Gienger and Paul Nelson each won by fall vs their Pine Creek opponent.
In the second dual on Friday, the Indians lost to Phillipsburg 30-43. Dylan Wolaver, Thomas Douthit, Zach Gienger, and Paul Nelson all won by fall in the dual. Tyler Raby won by forfeit.
The third dual pitted the Indians against a strong Goodland Cowboy team. Mickey Leibbrandt won by major decision and Logan Lampe won by forfeit. The Indians lost to the Cowboys 10-63.
Friday evening the team dualed with Hoxie. Thomas Douthit won a 9-7 decision over Bainter. Jon Hoard and Paul Nelson each won by forfeit. The Indians were defeated by Hoxie 15-50.
On Saturday morning, December 10th, Austin White defeated Albert from Hays High School. Austin was the only Indian wrestler to win in the dual. St. Francis lost to Hays 3-70.
St. Francis was paired with Liberal and Wray in the final round of the tournament for 16th, 17th, and 18th place. St. Francis lost to Liberal 30-34. Casey Keller and Thomas Douthit each won by fall against their Liberal opponent. Logan Lampe and Mickey Leibbrandt each won by decision. Matt Howell and Paul Nelson each won by forfeit.
St. Francis lost the dual with Wray, Colorado, 24-51. Zach Gienger won by fall over Merritt. Casey Keller and Mikey Leibbrandt each won by decision. Austin White and Thomas Douthit each won by forfeit. The Indians placed 18th in the Colby Invitational Dual Tournament.
Team placings for the tournament were: 1st - Pine Creek, 2nd - Colby, 3rd - Valley Center, 4th - Hays, 5th - Garden City, 6th - Concordia, 7th - Hoxie, 8th - Decatur Community, 9th - Eagle Crest, 10th - Goodland, 11th - Hutchinson, 12th - Oakley, 13th - Scott City, 14th - Phillipsburg, 15th - Legend, 16th - Liberal, 17th - Wray, and 18th - St. Francis.
Click here to view complete tournament information.
