Andover Central understood its dominating performance needed to be taken with a grain of salt, but the gaping disparity in points makes it difficult to dismiss the results.
“(Ark City) is missing a few kids from their lineup, but we definitely went in to make the point that we’re going to try to make a statement at state,” said Andover Central senior Alex Bontz. “I think we proved ourselves pretty well.”
The Rose Hill Invitational was decided early Saturday, as Andover Central separated itself from the field to tally 191 team points and the team title. McPherson also sent a shockwave through the wrestling community, placing second with 136. Derby and Ark City tied for third with 131 points.
Ark City brought the No. 1 ranking in 5A into the tournament, but Andover Central made its case that despite being ranked No. 4, the Jaguars intend to defend their 2011 state title.
Bontz, ranked No. 1 in 5A and a defending state champion, was one of five Jaguars to reach the finals. He was pitted against Ark City’s Tyler McMichael, ranked No. 2 in 5A, in the 152-pound finals.
The match had little offense. Bontz scored an escape in the second period, and then clung to McMichael to ride out a 1-0 victory.
The title bout is a likely preview of the state championship, but Bontz (31-1) believes he now has a feel for McMichael.
“He turned out to be a better wrestler than I thought,” Bontz said. “Going into it, I hadn’t wrestled him all year, so I went into it really cautious. I don’t think I took one shot in the first period.
“I just wrestled one of my poorest matches of the year, and I still pulled off a win. I just need to critique a few things, change up a few strategies and hopefully separate even more next time.”
Zac Gentlzer (113 pounds) and Dalton Rodd (182) also pulled out wins in the finals for Andover Central.
“It’s probably the best showing we have had this year,” said Chris Saferite, Andover Central head coach. “To put five guys in the finals at a tournament like this – I was pleased with it. We came out with three wins in the finals. All three of those guys wrestled really well.”
Perhaps the most shocking result of the championship round came when McPherson’s Andrew Archer scored a 13-10 win over Concordia’s Jordan Brown.
Brown entered the match with a 31-2 record, while Archer was 19-12. The opponents battled to a 10-10 tie early before Archer scored three points to finish off the upset.
Archer said he picked up on when Brown was going for a shot in the first period and used it to his advantage in the later rounds to take the crown.
“That’s amazing right there,” Archer said. “He’s ranked third, and I’m not ranked at all. That might get me up there and get my name out there a little bit.”
Like Andover Central, McPherson made noise in the 4A field. Ranked second, the Bullpups finished 20-1/2 points ahead of 4A No. 1 Andale.
“We’re on cloud nine right now. That’s great,” Archer said. “There were some question marks going into it this year. This right here kind of proves that we’re for real this year.”