Seventeen Cougars open Barton Wrestling season at the Dan Harris Open #GoBarton
Seventeen Cougars open Barton Wrestling season at the Dan Harris Open.
The Barton Community College wrestling team got their season started Sunday in Baldwin City, Kansas, competing in in the annual Dan Harris Open at the Collins Center.
A busy week of short turnaround dates lies ahead for the squad beginning Wednesday in a 6:00 p.m. dual at Friends University before heading to Atchinson, Kansas, competing in the Loosbrock Duals on Friday capped by Saturday's Service Salute Open.
Fifteen Cougars compiled a 16-30 overall record on Sunday being led by a trio of 285 division athletes going 9-6, winning by six falls within their victories, as a pair of unattached wrestlers competed going 1-4 in their matches.
Sophomore Nathan Agudzi-Addo went 4-2 with four of Barton's pins, three coming against NAIA level opponents. Beginning his day with a ten second back flattening in the first round over a host Baker University opponent, Agudzi-Addo fell on the wrong side of the same result in the second round to NEO's Jude Beers in 4:15. The pair would square up again in the Consolation Semifinals with Beer ending the match in a similar 4:23 time on the way to earning third place overall.
Bounced to the consolation, Agudzi-Addo Nathan received a bye before registering a late third period fall and a 37-second fall in round four. Trailing 17-3 in his sixth match of the day, Agudzi-Addo showed true determination to capture his final win by pulling off a reverse from his own back and secured the clinching pin with just one second left on the clock.
A pair of freshmen also competed in the 285 division, Newton's Logan Buchanan going 2-2 with a fall as Great Bend's Keyven Schroeder going 1-1 on the mat after registering a collegiate debut fall before dropping his next match to the eventual second place finisher. Schroeder bypassed his consolation round match on an injury default.
Eureka sophomore Ethan Boles matched Agudzi-Addo's deep drive to the consolation bracket semifinal round, completing his day 3-2 in the 141 division with both losses coming to fourth place finisher Brayden Thiel of NEO.
Also in the 141, Topeka freshman Colin Little completed his debut going 2-2 as did sophomore Jarret Mader of Ellis in the 149 bracket dropping his opening match to the eventual 3rd place finisher Nikolas Slatoff of Baker.
Great Bend's Skyler McMullen (141) picked up a victory in his initial collegiate tournament as Junction City sophomore Kayden Blake (157) also earned a win.
Competing unattached, Hutchinson sophomore Keenon Gonzales-Brown also earned a victory after losing in the first round to the eventual 174 division winner, Ottawa University's Francis Morrissey, before having his day come to an end in the consolation to another Brave, Dustin Springfield, Jr., on a 10-8 decision.