WICHITA, Kan.—
The wrestlers from Northwest high school are in unfamiliar territory, but that is just fine with them. The boys from Northwest won the first wrestling regional in the schools 30-year history on Saturday in Garden City. Northwest qualified 10 wrestlers for State this weekend. Coach Eric Prichard said he was hoping to send at least 10 wrestlers to state, and he is very pleased to see that happen.
“These guys just went out and did what I asked them to do, and it is nice to see their hard work pay off,” Prichard said.
Northwest has every reason to be happy with how their season has gone. The Grizzlies took first in the City League, and winning regionals has added to the success for Northwest.
Senior Tyler Keller has had an especially successful season. At the GWAL tournament, Keller took first place in the 285-weight class even though he normally wrestles in the 220 class. Most of Keller’s opponents outweighed him by at least 60 pounds.
“I knew my team needed my support at regionals, as it would have an effect on how many wrestlers we would take to state. I am pleased with how I wrestled, but I always look for things to improve on,” Keller said.
Keller said having 10 out of 14 wrestlers qualifying for state is huge.
“It definitely gives us an edge over other teams when it comes time to win the state title. Our performance this season just shows how far we have come from last year,” Keller said.
The 10 Qualifiers for state and their finish at regionals are: junior Michael Lindlar second in the 113 class, junior Joey Alberts fourth in the 120 class, freshman Dylan Brazell with a third pace spot in the 132 class, senior Eric Perez first place in the 138 class, senior Antonio Terrell third place in the 145 class, freshman Saul Ortiz second in the 152 class, sophomore Jesse Oliver second in the 170 class, senior Freddie Faust second in the 182 class, senior Tyler Keller first in the 220 class and senior Tarez Griffin first in the 285 class.
Ortiz didn’t deny that he was nervous heading into regionals.
“I was pretty nervous, because it is not very often that a freshman gets the opportunity to wrestle in a regional tournament. I was very happy with our team’s performance,” Ortiz said.
Ortiz said winning regionals was great, but the boys from Northwest have their eyes on a bigger prize. That prize is winning a state title next weekend.
“I am pushing myself harder than ever, and fixing every mistake possible,” Ortiz said.
Lindlar agrees, and said winning regionals is a great achievement for the team.
“It is helping all of us get pumped up for State. We are keeping a positive mindset, and learning from our mistakes. That team title is definitely within our reach this year,” Lindlar said.
The boys from Northwest are working hard to prepare both mentally and physically for state.
The 6A State wrestling tournament is Friday and Saturday at Hartman Arena in Wichita.
