Eck 3rd, Hathaway 5th at Emporia

EMPORIA — Uniontown’s Colt Eck and Graham Hathaway earned medals in a tournament full of mostly Class 6A and 5A schools here Saturday.

Eck finished third at 152 pounds. He earned a first-round bye then faced Matthew Cutshall of Topeka, pinning him in just 25 seconds. In the semifinal round, Duwayne Villapanado of Maize, ranked No. 1 in Class 5A by the Kansas Wrestling Coaches Association pinned Eck. However, Eck was able to take him well into the third period before Villapanado won with 16 seconds remaining.

In consolation, Eck took a 5-1 decision over Caleb Blansett of Pittsburg. He then defeated Cutshall in a rematch, pinning him with 26 seconds left in the second period of the third-place match.

Hathaway also drew a first-round bye in the 132-pound class. Will Jameson of Pittsburg pinned Hathaway in the quarterfinal round.

On the back side, Hathaway pinned Jayhawk-Linn’s Jonathan Bownes 36 seconds into the third period. He was pinned by Junction City’s Max Bazan, who is ranked No. 4 in Class 6A, in the first period of the consolation semifinal. Hathaway was then paired with Hutchinson’s Sam Tarbox in the fifth-place match, winning with a 6-4 decision.

No other Eagle wrestlers competed here but Eck and Hathaway scored enough points by themselves, 27, to place Uniontown 10th_.

The Eagles will take part in the Burlington Tournament Jan. 6.