CANEY — Caney Valley High School will have six wrestlers in the class 4A state wrestling tournament on Friday and Saturday, Feb. 27-28 — thanks to their state tournament qualification at last weekend’s class 4A regional meeting.
The six wrestlers include three returning state qualifiers from the 2007-08 season: Jake Price, a 171-pound senior (who also qualified for the state tournament during his freshman and sophomore seasons); Dakota Denny, a 285-pound sophomore; and Nate Hudson, a 112-pound sophomore. Joining that trio at the state meet will be Hunter Stalford, a 103-pound freshman; Brad Terry, a 160-pound senior; and Eric Mason, a 215-pound freshman.
Price and Stalford were the lone gold medalists for the Bullpup wrestling program at last weekend’s class 4A regional meet. Price waltzed through his bracket before defeating Jacob Weaver in the championship bout.
Price has a 39-2 record going into the state tournament, where he is the top seed in the 171-pound division.
Stalford pinned each of his three opponents to claim the top spot among the featherweights at the regional meet. In making his first appearance on the state tournament mats, Stalford will carry an impressive 36-2 record under his belt.
Hudson earned the bronze at 112 pounds after going 3-1 at the regional meet. Hudson’s lone loss was to Emilio Burnett of Parsons, who eventually claimed second place among the 112 pounders.
Hudson has a 35-7 record entering the state tournament.
At 160 pounds, Terry claimed third place with a 3-1 record — the only loss coming to eventual bracket champion John Hambleton of Labette County. Terry holds the distinction of having the most matches under his belt of any Bullpup wrestler this season: a total of 47 (33-14).
Mason opened the 215-pound division with a loss to David Lloyd of Columbus. However, the Caney Valley varsity rookie rebounded with four straight wins to earn the bronze medal. Mason has a 20-8 record this season — all of which came since January, when he returned from a pre-season elbow injury.
Denny was on the road toward a gold medal in the 285-pound bracket before Tank Burns of Columbus halted the Caney Valley’s sophomore progress. Denny lost to Burns on a decision in the championship bout.
Also representing Caney Valley at the class 4A regional meet were Quint Lockwood, 135 pounds; Cameron Artherton, 140 pounds; and Sam Watt, 145 pounds.
The Bullpups finished the class 4A regional meet in sixth place out of 15 schools. The Caney valley team amassed 114 team points, trailing only Chanute, Columbus, Augusta El Dorado and Mulvane.
The class 4A state tournament will be held at the Salina Bicentennial Center in Salina, Kan.
CLASS 4A REGIONAL TOURNAMENT SCORES: Chanute 184, Columbus 146.5, Augusta 143, El Dorado 130.5, Mulvane 120.5, Caney Valley 114, Independence 68, Circle-Towanda 63.5, Labette County 62.5, Rose Hill 42.5, Fort Scott 36, Parsons 31, Andover 18, Coffeyville 11, Iola 7.
