Individual Wrestlers Fall Just Shy Of Advancing to State
As the Patriot wrestling team headed to Columbus Community College for the district wrestling meet on Friday, Feb. 10 and Saturday, Feb. 11, they all had the mindset that they were going to medal at districts and advance to the State Wrestling Tournament in Omaha.
The team knew there was going to be tough competition, and they were ready to face the challenge. There were a total of 20 teams there from Class D-2. Burwell High School won the district.
Three members of the Clarkson-Leigh team made it to day two: freshman Colby Harney and juniors, Derek Gurnsey and Tim Zimmerman.
Harney and Zimmerman both won their first matches Saturday and only had to win one more to advance to state. Gurnsey lost a tough first match. Unfortunately, Zimmerman and Harney both lost their next matches in the heartbreak round and couldn’t advance to state.
Junior Derek Gurnsey said, “We wrestled some great and tough matches. The team definitely wrestled its best at districts, but unfortunately no one qualified for state. I couldn’t be more amazed at how quickly this team has come together this season. I am already looking forward to seeing what is in store for next year. “
Head coach Tyler Reeves said, “We came a long way in our first year. We wrestled our best at districts. We had two kids who were a win away from going to state, which motivated the kids. Everybody will be back out next season, as we only lose one senior, Daniel. I am very proud of the entire team, and the boys are ready to get back to work next season.
Even though the Patriot Wrestling Team didn’t have anyone advance on to state, they finished off the season very strong as a first-year program.
Individual Records for Districts:
Colby Harney- 1-2
Derek Gurnsey- 2-2
Alex Fischer- 0-2
Tim Zimmerman- 3-2
John Langhorst- 0-2
Daniel Arriaza- 0-2
Final Individual Records for the Season:
113-Cobly Harney- 11-29
132- Kelton VanPelt- 7-27
138- Derek Gurnsey- 25-18
145- Alex Fischer- 7-22
150- Tim Zimmerman- 22-21
170- John Langhorst- 1-32
220- Daniel Arriaza- 8-31