Posted on Sun, Dec. 21, 2008

Carroll rallies to win tourney

BY MATT BROWNING
Wichita Eagle correspondent
At its own tournament Saturday, the Bishop Carroll wrestling team was in an uncommon position.

The Eagles weren't winning.

After the 145-pound final, Andale led Carroll by 3 ½ points; the lead grew to 6 ½ after the 150 final.

Then the Eagles came up with clutch performances from a former state champion and a couple up-and-coming wrestlers to win the team title.

Kyle Detmer, who won the Class 5A 152-pound class two years ago, defeated Heights' Chase Nelson at 160 to start the Eagles' rally. Capping off the comeback were consecutive pins by Devon Keith at 171 and Luke Hirschler at 189 to give Carroll 148 points, 1 ½ better than Andale.

"Two-thirds of the way through, I didn't feel great and was concerned," Carroll coach Darian Eshelman said. "But I always believed in the kids. I'm really proud."

The Eagles had opportunities for championship points in 125 and 140, but came up empty.

Two state contenders battled 125 when Heights' Daniel DeShazer and Carroll's Dylan Penka squared off, with DeShazer winning 6-2.At 140, Wichita Independent's Cody Bontz took care of the Eagles' Jake Mainz 4-1.

Andale took advantage of Carroll's defeats. Jake Hattabaugh defeated Wichita South's D.J. Collins 14-2 at 145, followed by Willie Eck's 7-6 victory over Newton's Nathan Murphy in 152.

During the five middle weight classes, Andale made up 9 ½ points.

"We made a couple mental mistakes in some matches but I thought we did really well," Andale coach Brad Lies said. "Things didn't go our way later."

The other anticipated matchup of the evening was Detmer versus Nelson, the defending Class 6A 171-pound champion. Detmer recorded two takedowns early to take a 4-0 lead after the first period. He won 8-4.

Keith was dominant in his match. He took down Andale's Scott Lester twice in the first period, before recording the pin 3:26 into the match.

"When I saw Detmer get the win, it got me pumped," Keith said. "I knew I had to get us some points."

Hirschler struggled with Newton's Nathaniel Martens. He trailed 4-2 after the first period, hanging on with a couple of escapes. He seemed destined for his fourth loss of the season.

But something clicked. He responded in the second period with a flurry and recorded his pin at 3:29.

"Before my match, I talked to Coach Eshelman and former Coach Stovall and I started to believe," Hirschler said.

"Those two matches were like a dagger in the heart," Lies said.